Many traditional stories were intended as moral or religious lessons. A tale told in this neighborhood towards the end of the 19th century served as a warning to those who failed to acknowledge how much the success of any human endeavor depends on God’s favor. In spring, two men were walking past a field of young wheat, which was growing well, ‘That’s fine wheat,’ said one. ‘Yes,’ answered the other, who was the owner of the field. ‘Yes, fine enough, if God Almighty will let it bide.’ No doubt he was thinking of the possibility that disastrous ‘acts of God’, such as heavy storms, might later spoil the crop. But God took him at his word. From then on, the wheat in that field did not grow another inch, let alone come into ear and riped. The irreligious farmer never made another penny from it.
It may not be coincidence thast the name of this place is ‘Hunger’ford (the farmer in the tale presumably went hungry), far-fetched explanations of place names are a common narrative genre.