Rufford, Lancashire
| Rufford | |
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 View across St Mary's Marina towards the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin |
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 Rufford
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| Rufford shown within Lancashire | |
| Population | 2,049 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SD458155 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ORMSKIRK |
| Postcode district | L40 |
| Dialling code | 01704 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Rufford is a village in West Lancashire, England. It lies at a point where the Leeds and Liverpool Canal (Rufford Branch), the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway, the A59 (Liverpool to Preston road) and the River Douglas all meet.
Rufford is also a civil parish, which includes the neighbouring village of Holmeswood. In 2001 the parish had a population of 2,048, only increasing marginally to 2,049 at the 2011 census.
Rufford's name derives from the Old English rūh and ford, the rough ford. It was a crossing place over the River Douglas. Rufford was recorded as Ruchford in 1212, Rufford in 1285, Roughford in 1318, Rughford in 1332 and Roghforth in 1411.
Part of the manor was granted by Richard Bussel, baron of Penwortham to Richard Fitton in the reign of Henry I. His descendant Dame Maude married Sir William Hesketh. Sir William's grandson married the daughter of Edmund Fitton, who owned the other moiety of the manor which then descended with the Heskeths.
In 1339 Sir William Hesketh was granted a charter for a weekly market and annual fair. He fought at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and was knight of the shire in 1360.
In the late 15th century the Heskeths built Rufford Hall. It was altered in 1661 and redeveloped in the 1820s. The family built Rufford New Hall in 1760 and enlarged it around 1798-99 when the family left the old hall for the new.
Rufford was a chapelry in the parish of Croston from which it was separated by act of parliament and became a parish in 1793. It was part of the Leyland hundred and after 1837 became part of the Ormskirk Poor Law Union which built a workhouse and took responsibility for the poor in that area.
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