Fordham's name is of
Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the
Old English for a village or homestead close to a
ford, likely across the River Great Ouse. The parish of Fordham has been the site of discovery for several significant
Bronze Age artefacts, including a hammer, a decorated sword and a socketed axehead. In the
Domesday Book, Fordham is listed as a settlement of 22 households in the
hundred of Clackclose. In 1086, the village was divided between the
East Anglian estates of
St Benedict's Abbey, Ralph Baynard,
Henry de Ferrers, Reginald, son of Ivo and the
Abbey of St Etheldreda, Ely. Snore Hall dates from the Medieval period and was originally built as a timber-framed, fortified manor-house. The building that stands today was built in early sixteenth century, with extensions made in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The hall has a good example of a sixteenth-century
priest hole, and was the site of a council convened by
King Charles I during the
English Civil War. There were once three
pubs in Fordham including the Green Dragon which suffered from a severe fire in 1803 which consumed a nearby granary as well. During the
Second World War, several defences were built in Fordham to protect the railway line against a possible
German invasion. ==Geography==