Ford, Shropshire

{{infobox UK place|

|country = England

|static_image_name = Ford Church and Yard in Shropshire - geograph.org.uk - 344573.jpg

|static_image_caption = Ford church, Shropshire

|coordinates = {{coord|52.717|-2.870|display=inline,title}}

|official_name = Ford

|population = 890

|population_ref = (2011)

|civil_parish = Ford

|unitary_england = Shropshire

|lieutenancy_england = Shropshire

|region = West Midlands

|constituency_westminster= Shrewsbury and Atcham

|post_town = SHREWSBURY

|postcode_district = SY5

|postcode_area = SY

|dial_code = 01743

|os_grid_reference = SJ413137

}}

Ford is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 890.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11123520&c=Ford&d=16&e=62&g=6460928&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1448540113734&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|accessdate=26 November 2015}}

Ford lies west of the county town of Shrewsbury, just off the A458 road and near to the River Severn, at {{gbmapping|SJ413137}}. The Royal Mail postcode is SY5.

History

Ford was mentioned in the Domesday Book and had a population of 50 villagers, {{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SJ4113/ford/|title=Domesday Book|accessdate=8 December 2019}} 14 smallholders, 20 slaves, and 6 female slaves.{{Cite web|title=Ford {{!}} Domesday Book|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SJ4113/ford/|access-date=2021-09-16|website=opendomesday.org}} It was part of the lands of earl Roger de Montgomery of Shrewsbury.

Church

St Michael's Church, Ford is located in the older part of the village. A morning Holy Communion Service takes place at 9.30am on the second and fourth Sunday of the month. An Evensong Service takes place at 6.30pm on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month (this is moved to 4.30pm in Winter). A cricketer, William Wingfield, was vicar of Ford in 1860–63.{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/stream/p2alumnicantabri06univuoft#page/538/mode/2up | title = Alumni Cantabrigienses: William Wingfield | author = J. Venn and J. A. Venn | volume = Part 6| publisher = www.archive.org/Cambridge University Press | page = 538 | accessdate = 27 September 2017}}

School

Ford has a primary school, Trinity CE Primary, which was formed through merging the schools of Ford, Yockleton and Wattlesborough.

Railway

The village was served by the Ford and Crossgates station on the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. The line was requisitioned in 1941 to serve the new Central Ammunition Depot Nesscliffe and one of the four sub-sites for ammunition storage was constructed next to Ford and Crossgates station; in 2010 ten storage buildings remained in use for civilian purposes.

Businesses

There is one pub in Ford, Smokestop BBQ, which is a barbecue-themed pub run on smokehouse lines similar to an 'average pub' in the United States. It is in the west part of the village. It had been run for three years under its previous name The Cross Gates, then in its present name for two, by former footballer Jake King, who sold it in 2016.{{cite news|first=Andy|last=Richardson|title=Ex-footballer and his family hang up their aprons after restaurant venture|work=Shrewsbury Chronicle|date=28 July 2016|page=13}}

The Pavement Gates (previously The Owen Glendower) is now an Indian restaurant called Saffron Cottage, and is next to the Shell garage. The garage now includes a Nisa shop, which is the only shop in the village.