While there is little known about the area before the Norman Conquest, there are ‘cup and ring’ marks carved into rocks near Ford which would suggest the presence of a Bronze Age settlement in the area.
It is believed that Ford derives its name from the river crossing of the River Till, a crossing which it is thought was used by the nuns and monks who travelled to and from monasteries in Iona and Lindisfarne during Anglo-Saxon times.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the manorial system was introduced and this is where the written records of the area begin, when the manor of Ford was held by the Heron family. In 1287 a substantial castle was built, its purpose being to protect the manor from the continual border conflicts between the English and the Scots. It was captured by the Scots in 1385 and they promptly dismantled it. However, by the beginning of the 16th century, it had been rebuilt and refortified. On the eve of the Battle of Flodden in 1513 it was taken by King James IV of Scotland – he then went on to become the last Scottish king to die in battle (along with 9,000 of his men) – at the Battle of Flodden. The castle and manor passed between families through marriage throughout the centuries until it passed in 1808 the Waterford family.
Etal castle was built in around 1341 by Robert Manners and was also involved in the constant feuding between the English and the Scots during the border wars. In 1428 there was a battle outside its walls between the Manners family and their rivals, the Heron family from Ford and, along with Ford Castle, it too was briefly taken by King James IV in 1513. In 1547 it passed to the Crown and it was garrisoned as part of the border defences but sadly, it fell into disrepair and was abandoned as a military fortification in 1603.
Peace eventually came to the area and by the 18th century, Ford & Etal were thriving communities which, mainly through agriculture and forestry, supported a thriving and growing population
Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford who came to Ford in 1859 aged 40, following the untimely death of her husband in a riding accident, redeveloped the village. She cared greatly for the wellbeing of her tenants and as well as creating a temperance society, she established a village schoolroom which served as the village school from 1860 to 1957, with as many as 134 pupils at its height. Inside the schoolroom, which is now the village hall which bears her name, she decorated the interior with magnificent panels painted with biblical scenes. Lady Waterford’s tomb can be found in the nearby St Michael and All Angels Church in Ford.
In 1907, the 1st Baron Joicey, James Joicey, a coal mining magnate acquired the Ford estate, including the castle and in 1908 went on to acquire Etal estate and castle, for the first time in history combining the two estates. Ford & Etal Estates remain in the ownership of the Joicey family today.
Included in the Ford Parish is the village of Crookham. Crookham is set within a circle of small rural communities that encircle the great Milfield plain. The great Milfield plain was once the base of a great prehistoric lake and the hills that surround the plain were the ancient heartland of the entire North East region, being a focal point for humanity in distant times and very likely then the most populous part of what is now North East England. Such an element of ancient history and mystery naturally attracts its share of legends and the inevitable Arthurian connection.
According to tradition, Milfield Plain was the place where King Arthur of the Britons fought the first of his twelve legendary battles against the invading Anglo-Saxons. The vale has witnessed many more battles since that time, bearing in mind its proximity to the Scottish border.
The name ‘Crookham’ is thought to have Anglo-Saxon origins, having been taken from ‘crucum’, meaning ‘At the bends of the river’.
In 1296 Crookham is listed as having a population of 13. In the Assize Rolls of 1293 there are recorded two cases of manslaughter, two burglaries and one murder – and that’s from a population of 13! Between 1256 and 1838 Crookham was regularly fined for not responding to ‘Hue and Cry’ (not pursuing wrongdoers) and also for not keeping the stocks in good repair.
Following the preaching tours of John Knox, Crookham became a great Presbyterian centre. In 1678 there was an ‘affray’ between the Covenanters (a Scottish Presbyterian movement) under Robert Morley and English troops led by Colonel Strother. Much to the anger of the Colonel, not only did the villagers refuse to respond to his call for Hue and Cry, they entertained the Covenanters to food and lodgings before the fight and supplied them with weapons and refreshment during the battle.
After 1760, the open land began to be enclosed and intensively cultivated, divided up into farms, this ending the village field system, however it developed into a thriving commercial centre. In 1828 Crookham boasted 44 houses, a school and a chapel. The population included two mole catchers, a saddler, a violin maker, two blacksmiths, three grocers, a gardener, a millwright, two joiners, two shoemakers, three stonemasons and a carrier. There were three Inns: The Red Lion, The Wheatsheaf and The Blue Bell. Two coaches, two carriers and a horse post called daily at The Blue Bell which had always been an important stopping point.
Due to the industrial and agricultural revolutions, Crookham’s population and commercial viability depleted. Lady Waterford of Ford altered the layout of the village – to its detriment: the wide square at the centre of the village was lost and many cottages and shops destroyed. The Red Lion and The Wheatsheaf were closed and in their place, cottages were built along the roadside, however, the Blue Bell survived and remains to this day.
Close by Crookham is the Pallinsburn Estate. It is believed to have taken its name from Paulinus, one of the ancient Archbishops of York who preached to and converted many people in the area. A lake here is where he baptised some of the converts which came to be known as Paulinus’ Burn, or Pallinsburn.