Tuxford is listed in the Domesday Book as Tuxfarne, and was also historically known as 'Tuckers Ford'. In Daniel Defoe's eighteenth century work, "A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain", Tuxford is referred to as 'Tuxford in the Clays'; Defoe writes: 'Passing Newark Bridge, we went through the lower side of Nottinghamshire, keeping within the River Idle. Here we saw Tuxford in the Clays, that is to say, Tuxford in the Dirt, and a little dirty market town it is, suitable to its name.'