According to tradition, this ford, the Puddle Ford, was the site of a skirmish between Wallace and the English – there is no evidence that Wallace was present, but the tradition gained credibility when repeated as fact in the 1920’s.
An interesting possible origin of the name is as ‘holy steps’ (‘pas de Dieu’), the stepping stones by which the monks from the Carmelite Priory made their way to Church. Some of the stepping stones may have come from the stones later removed, of which the Granny Stane is the last survivor.
Use of the Puddleford by horses was prohibited in 1836 to safeguard access to the Puddly Well, one of the public wells all of which were repaired at about that time.
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