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Blandford Forum

town · Dorset

Old EnglishAI-generated

Blandford Forum is named from a ford on the River Stour, likely meaning 'the ford frequented by the Bland family' or 'the ford near the bland (smooth) river'. 'Forum' was added in the 13th century to denote its market town status.

Word origins

Bland
Old Englishsmooth, gentle, possibly a personal name or river name(from blond "smooth, gentle")
ford
Old Englishford(from ford "ford")
Forum
Latinmarket place(from forum "market place")

Historical forms

Blaneford · Blaneford Forum