Scotforth

Scotforth was first named in the Domesday Book as ‘Scozforde’. The ford was no doubt over the nearby stream.
The spelling was ‘ford’ until at least 1323 but by 1501 it had changed to ‘forth’, with the Old English ‘d’ getting replaced for the softer ‘th’ . This may well have been as a result of the Scandinavian influence on how English was spoken in the medieval North.
 
The ’Scot’ or ‘Scoz’ part is again Old English and, like Galgate, probably indicates that this was the main route to and from present day Galloway and Scotland.
 
The photo shows Hala Road at Scotforth around the 1890s.