As part of the quest to understand more about the origins of the Richford's, I've started to collate various name listings to see if there is a focal concentration(s) of Richford occurrences anywhere in the country. To date I've searched the British Telecom telephone directories (book editions circa 1996), the 1881 census for England, Wales and Scotland (microfiche and CD editions) and the International Genealogical Index (CD Rom edition) the results of which are shown via the accompanying links
On looking at the 16-19C distributions there appears to be a trend radiating from a nucleus centred on the convergence of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. With time the distribution can be followed with additional "hot spots" occurring in Huntingdon/Cambridgshire, Kent (Isle of Thanet),London, Sussex and Scotland. This picture may not be so clear when variant names are taken into consideration and multiple origins look more likely with several place name origins implicated.
Further sources will be added when time permits - these will include the General Register Office Births, Marriages and deaths and the 1901 census.