The Origin of the Radford Name
The
English name Radford is local in origin, being one of those names derived from
the name of the place where a man once lived or where he once held land. In this
case, the name simply signifies "(a local) of Radford", Radford being
the name of different towns in Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire in
England. The literal meaning of the name is "red ford" or "reed
ford", as the Old English word "read" can be translated by
"red" or by "reed".
Radford in county Nottinghamshire originated as a
surname, which spread over the border into Derbyshire, and thence to Cheshire
and Lancashire
Early records of the name include John de Radford, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls
of Nottinghamshire in 1209 and Geoffrey de Ratforde cited in the Sussex Subsidy
Rolls in 1296. The presence of "de" meaning "of" emphasizes
the local origins of the name. The Rolls were ledgers that that
recorded money from each county which was paid to the Crown on a annual
basis.
The
oldest documentation of a direct ancestor is when the Radford name appears in
the Normanton Registers in the 1700s. Robert Radford (b. 1706 at Mickleover,
Derbyshire d. 15 Mar 1796 Littleover, Dbys.), is our most distant ancestor
documented so far. Robert and his descendants were a well-known yeoman family
who farmed the Cottons Farm until 1894.
The
site of Cottons Farm is an ancient settlement. Reference is made to it in “The
Domesday Book, England's Heritage, Then and Now” edited by Thomas Hinde,
“Cottons; Codetune: Kings Land, Henry de Ferrers. It was the largest farm
extending from the former Normanton Barracks to Sinfin Moor, in area about 380
acres.