Basford's lofty position was first served by a 1759 turnpike road which was called "Fowlea Bank" by the 1770s, the name referring to the Fowlea Brook which runs through nearby Etruria and has formed the valley. This old road still exists today, complete with its steep 1 in 8 gradient, surmounted by the substantial "Queen's Arms Inn" first built in 1769. After descending this bank, the crossing of the Fowlea into Etruria was then often a matter of fording the swampy valley bottom. This may have given rise to the later recorded name of Basford, being a local conflation of 'Bank' and 'Ford'.