Ford village

HER Number:
55

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Ford village

Place:
Ford

Map Sheet:
NZ35NE

Class:
Domestic

Site Type: Broad:
Settlement

Site Type: Specific:
Village

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:
C14

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The earliest known reference is c.1360, in a report on the possessions of the deceased Alexander Hilton, when "le Forth, Grindon and Clowcroft" were held by the service of one knight's fee. Ford remained part of the Hilton estates until 1750. Because the township included the south end of the Hylton ferry and a section of river bank, it became heavily industrialized in the 19th century, and part is better known as South Hylton. If there was a village, as one would suppose, its site is unknown but there are a number of possibilities: High Ford, at the junction of Grindon Lane and Hylton Road, Low Ford, and Ford Hall and grounds between Hylton Road and Westmoor Road.

Easting:
35

Northing:
56

Grid Reference:
NZ3556

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 55 >> R. Surtees, 1816, History of...Durham, Vol. I, p. 242 1755, Particulars of the Hylton Estate, Northumberland Records Office, Watson Collection, Shelf 11, no. 19 Strathmore Collection, C188, Durham Records Office Farms of Hylton Ferry, Brecken Hill, Whinney House, High Ford etc. 739/1- Tyne and Wear Archive Service DUL Archives & Special Collections Tithe Maps, 1840, Ford Dept. Pal. & Dip. Durham 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, 1:2,500 scale, Durham vii.16, viii.13 T.F. Hunter, 1979, The Growth of South Hilton, Antiquities of Sunderland, Vol. XXVII (1977-79), pp. 84-100