Ford, Argyllshire
| Ford Gaelic: Àth na Crà | |
| Argyllshire | |
|---|---|
 Ford | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NM868036 |
| Location: | 56°10’39"N, 5°25’49"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Lochgilphead |
| Postcode: | PA31 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Argyll and Bute |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Argyll and Bute |
Ford is a small village at the southern end of Loch Awe in Argyllshire. The village originated as a stopping point on the drove route to Inveraray.
The Ford Hotel dates back to 1864, and was probably erected on the site of the old change house. Today it is a guest house and is a listed building.[1][2]
There are historic paddocks along the side of the ford to Dalavich road. A hill known as Dun Dubh overlooks the village.
Prehistoric remains
Many prehistoric structures survive within the village boundary and are all easily accessible or can be seen from the public road. Opposite the guest house, in the village centre, stands a prehistoric burial mound known in Gaelic as Cnoc an Ath ('hillock of the ford'). It is a cist burial thought to have been opened in the 1800s and the remains of a food vessal found in it is thought to be in the National Museum of Scotland.[3] Several standing stones are scattered around the area, the three most notable ones being the one in the field next to the guest house, the one opposite Glennan Farm, and the largest one at Torran Farm. A crannog is also present in Loch Ederline and is clearly visible from the road.
In 2000, a local bird-watcher discovered a prehistoric urned cremation in a boulder shelter at Glennan. It was excavated and found to contain the remains of probably a man aged 25-40 years old. He had suffered from slight spinal joint disease, mild iron deficiency anaemia and were cremated shortly after death, together with a young sheep/goat, whose bones were also in the urn.[4]
Pictures
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ford, Argyllshire) |
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Ford hotel -
Standing stone in the snow With Ford Wood behind. -
Approaching Ford on the B840 -
Cattle near Ford -
Ford Church
References
- ↑ Ford Hotel - British Listed Buildings
- ↑ Ford Hotel, Ford of Loch Awe Village (Category C) - Listing detail (Historic Environment Scotland)
- ↑ CANMORE (RCAHMS) record of Ford
- ↑ "Vol 8 (2003): Excavation of an urned cremation burial of the Bronze Age, Glennan, Argyll and Bute | Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/sair/issue/view/26.