Eaton Ford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eaton Ford is part of the town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire, England. Until 1965 it was a separate village in the county of Bedfordshire, when it was absorbed by its larger neighbour.

Eaton Ford lies on the west bank of the River Great Ouse, on the western side of St Neots. The old village centre is still identifiable with a triangular village green and several old farmhouses remaining amongst the newer houses.

Eaton Ford was in Anglo Saxon times known as Sudbury, but became known as Eaton Ford as it was next to the village of Eatun, now Eaton Socon, and it was necessary to ford the River Great Ouse to get to the main town of St Neots.

Eaton Ford has expanded quickly over the years but generally later than other parts of St Neots, as it was not included in the original London Overspill programme. Eaton Ford was enlarged between the 1960s and 1980s with four main developments: the Milton Avenue and Gainsborough Avenue area (known as the Poets Estate); the Meadowseet, Silverweed and Burwell Road developments (Bovis Estate); the area around Brook Road and Orchard Road; and the Trafalgar Road / Jutland Rise area (Battles Estate).

There have also been a number of smaller infill developments on brownfield sites in the area.

As Eaton Ford grew, it absorbed the ancient villages of Crosshall Ford, now only evident in the name of a local school and road, although "Crosshall" is still signposted on recently erected roundabout signs; and Maltmans Green, which is believed to have been around the Milton Avenue area.

The boundaries between Eaton Ford and neighbouring Eaton Socon are somewhat vague and mostly not signposted. The boundary runs alongside the A1 from the North until this road is bisected by Duloe Road. It then runs eastbound along Duloe Road until it reaches the junction with the Great North Road. The boundary then "dog-legs" along the Great North Road, meaning that to the East is Eaton Ford and the West is Eaton Socon. Approximately half a mile south of here, Duloe Brook runs under the Great North Road, and the boundary again changes course to the East. Everything south of the line here belongs to Eaton Socon, except Field Cottage Road which is generally considered to be part of Eaton Ford.

For more details of Eaton Ford's history, see the article History of St Neots.