The Community In General

Stanfordbury January 2008

Landscape

Stanford is on the so-called Stanford-Broom Plateau. It consists of gleyed brown earth overlying river gravel. Most of the village lies between 130 and 140 feet above sea level.

Name

Stanford was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 by its modern name. Other variants include: Stamford (1202-1377); Staunford (1227-1346) and Standford (1535). The name means "stony ford".

Administrative History

Stanford is a hamlet in the ancient parish| of Southill in the Hundred |of Wixamtree. It lies on the south-eastern boundary of the parish, just north of Shefford|.

Population

Altogether the lands in Stanford recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 contained 20 or 22 vilagers, 3 smallholders and 4 slaves. This total of 27 or 29 must be multiplied by at least four to get a full total including dependents - suggesting that something over a hundred people lived in Stanford in 1086, considerably more than the number living in some major parishes which are, today, considerably more populous than Stanford.