Some Hollinsclough Surnames

Surname: Slack

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gerebod le Slac, which was dated 1195, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, (The Lionheart), 1189 - 1199.  Other early recordings include: Nicholas del Slac (1275) Yorkshire, and Thomas Slak (1359).

 The first grant of a coat of arms to the family had on its crest a snail.  The motto was "Lente sed Certe" which means "Slow but Sure."  The surname le Slack has been variously taken to mean "dweller at a hollow or a pass between hills" from the old Norse “slakki” but another meaning is "The Slow" or lazy.  Slack is an Old English pre 7^th century word “slaec” meaning lazy or careless.   

In England the Slacks were concentrated in Derbyshire and Cheshire and were seldom found south of there.  

There was a place called Slacke Hall in Derbyshire. 

1542 Feb 26 Thomasin d of Humphrey Slacke bap (Alstonefield)

1547 Nov 28 Christopher Mellor & Eliz Slack mar

1559 Aug 7 Ric Slacke & Margerie Sheplebotham mar

1596 July 27 Thos Slacke & Eliz Crycheloe mar

1599 Feb 1 William s Hugh & Joan Slacke of Tanstidd, laborer bap

 Surname: Belfield 

Recorded as Balfield, Belfield, Bellfield, Bellefield, Bielfelde, Bielfield, and apparently Belderfield, although this latter form is not an early spelling, this is a northern English surname.  It is locational from the two villages called Belfield in the counties of Westmoreland and Lancashire.  The place name and hence the later surname derives from bel - felda meaning an open area of fine land, suitable for agriculture.  

Surprisingly the Oxford dictionary of English Place Names does not include the Belfield villages, nor do any of the surname dictionaries except Black's Surnames of Scotland.  This dictionary however then fails to give any examples of the surname in Scotland, but claims that there are some twenty Bel(l)field villages in the British Isles, which is clearly wrong!  

Early examples of the surname recordings taken from surviving church registers from the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st (1558 - 1603) include Annis Belfeild.  She was the daughter of Thomas Belfeild and was christened at St Stephen Walbrook in the city of London, on December 3rd 1557, whilst Samuel Belfield christened at St Peters Sheffield, Yorkshire, on September 3rd 1564.  
 

Surname: Naden 

This interesting surname, widely recorded in English Church Registers from the mid 16th century under the variant spellings Nadyne, Naddan, Nad(d)in, Naidan and Neadon, is a medieval English topographical name from residence in a place at a lower altitude than the main settlement. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th century compound preposition "binithan, bineothan", containing "bi", by, with "nithan, neothan", below, down. By Medieval times, the initial element "bi" was dropped, and "nithan", also written "nidan", came to mean "directly below, in a lower position", with "place" understood. Neadon in Devonshire, recorded as "Beneadona" in the Domesday Book of 1086, is so named, and some instances of the surname may be locational from this particular spot.

Habitational surnames were originally given as a means of identification in the small communities of the Middle Ages, and when name bearers moved farther afield, regional and dialectal differences frequently produced several variations of the original spelling of the name.

1538 Nov 7 Wm s Robert Naden bap Hollinsclough

1540 May 4 Kath d John Naden bap  Hollinsclough

1548 Oct 22 Ranulph Naden & Margaret Naden mar

Surname: Tunnicliffe 

This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational name from Tonacliffe in Lancashire, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "tun" meaning "settlement, enclosure", and "woell(a)", spring or stream, plus "clif" meaning bank or slope.

Locational surnames, such as this, were usually acquired by a local landowner, or by the lord of the manor, and especially by those former inhabitants of a place who had moved to another area, and were thereafter best identified by the name of their birthplace.

The placename is recorded as "Tunwal(e)clif" in 1246. The surname dates back to the mid 13th Century (see below), and variations in the idiom of the spelling include Tunnicliff, Dunnicliff, Dunnicliffe, Toniecliffe and Tuncliffe.

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de Tunwaleclif, which was dated 1246, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272.

Will of Nicholas Tuniclif 1590  Colde Shaw (possibly near to Merril Grove)

Surname: Wheeldon 

This name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname from either the place in Derbyshire called Wheeldon, or the place called Whielden in Buckinghamshire. Wheeldon is so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "hweol", meaning "wheel", with "dun", hill; the "wheel" referring in a transferred sense to the rounded shape of the hill. Whielden is derived from the Olde English "hweol", wheel, as before, with "denu", meaning "valley"; hence, "a rounded valley". Locational surnames were usually given to the lord of the manor, and to those former inhabitants who moved away to live or work in another area.

The modern surname can be found as Wheeldon, Wheelden, Wheldon, Wildon and Whieldon. Recordings from London Church Registers include: the marriage of Cicilie Wheeldon and John Milborne on October 26th 1635, at St. Gregory by St. Paul; the marriage of Elisabeth Wheeldon and Nathaniel Lee on August 30th 1692, at St. James', Duke's Place; and the christening of Sarah, daughter of Richard and Margrat Wheelden, on July 28th 1777, at St. Olave's, Hart Street. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo de Hweldon, which was dated 1279, in the "Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

Surname: Yates

This very interesting surname is of pre 9th century Anglo-Saxon origin. It is found recorded in most English counties, but is mainly associated with the West Country. Generally the origination is topographical and describes one who lived by a prominent 'geat' (gate), and probably the gate of a walled city or town.  

However the name can also be job descriptive for the keeper of the 'geat', or locational for one who came from a place called Yate. As the surname 'Gate, Gayte or Gates' is relatively common, and has the same meaning, Yate, Yates, Yeats, Yeates, and Yetts are dialectal, the original 'g' in 'geat' being pronounced as a 'y'. The name is first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Charters of 779 as 'aet Gete', however this is purely descriptive and in no way a hereditary surname. These were much later, and date usually from the 11th century, and never before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The earliest true recordings as a surname include those of Philip del Yate in the piperolls of Cheshire for the year 1260, and Robert atte Yates in the Assize Rolls of Norfolk in 1344.

'Mr Yates' is recorded in the records of 'Elizabeth Cittie, Virginea' in February 1624, making him one of the earliest settlers to the American Colonies.

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hereward de Jette, which was dated 1198, in the "Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199.

 Elizabeth Yate widow of Moscarr  Rental 1627

Surname: Wardle 

This well known northern English name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from any one of three places: Wardle in Cheshire, near Nantwich; Wardle in Lancashire, near Rochdale; or Weardale in County Durham.

Wardle in Cheshire is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Warhelle", and as "Wardhul" in 1278, while the place in Lancashire appears as "Wardhill" in the Assize Court Rolls of the county of 1218. Both placenames share the same meaning and derivation, which is "the watch hill", from the Olde English pre 7th Century "weard", watch, with "hyll", hill. Weardale in County Durham is recorded as "Werredal" in the 1227 Close Rolls, and as "Weredal" in the Durham Assize Court Rolls of 1242; the region is so called from the river Wear, itself named with an ancient British (pre-Roman) word meaning "liquid, water", and the Olde English "dael", valley.

Early examples of the name include Thomas de Wardhill (1218, Lancashire), and Richard de Wardle (1275, Lincolnshire). The modern surname forms range from Wardle and Wardel(l) to Wardill, Wardall and Wardale.

The family Coat of Arms depicts, on a silver shield, three bezants on a red bend between six red martlets.  

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Werdale, which was dated 1216, in the "Priory Book of Fees of Durham", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272.  

Will of Alice Wardle 1604 Wilshaw

Surname: Chapman 

This ancient, popular, and very important surname is of Olde English, German and Anglo-Saxon pre 5th century origins.  Spelt in several ways including Chapman, Chipman, and Chipper (English), Kauf, Kaufman and Kaufler Austro-German), and Koopman (Danish), Coopman and de Copeman (Flemish), this is an occupational name for a merchant or trader.  It believed that however spelt, the origination is from the Olde English "ceapmann", itself a compound consisting of the elements "ceap", meaning to barter or bargain and "mann", a person, or in this context, a travelling man.  

The surname development includes the following early examples taken from authentic charters of the period: Alice Chepman of Derbyshire in the year 1207, Berchtoldus Kofman of Weinzberg, Germany, in the year 1287, and Henry le Chupman of Hampshire in 1327.

Amongst the very earliest of all settlers to the new English colonies of North America, was Henry Chapman, aged 19 yrs. He left London on the ship "Primrose", bound for "Virginea" in July 1635. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the world is probably that of Herbort Kofmanni of Koln, Germany, in the year 1135. This is one of the first surnames of any spelling recorded anywhere and is further proof of the early importance of this surname.

Frances Chapman of Hollesclough Rental 1627

Surname: Nield 

Recorded as O'Neill, MacNeill, Neil, Neeld, Neild, Nield, Niel, Neal, Nihell, and Nigel, this is a surname of ancient Gaelic and Norse origins.  It derives from the pre 6th century baptismal name Niall, itself from the word "niadh", meaning "The champion". This name was in turn "borrowed" by the 9th century Norse Invaders of Britain as Njall and brought back by them to Scandinavia.  From then it went to France with another group of Norsemen and in due course it completed the circle by entering England with the Norman Invasion of 1066. Here it developed other forms including Nigel, frequently Latinized as Nigellus.

It was also introduced directly into north-west England and Yorkshire by the Norwegian conquerors of Ireland, who also took the Isle of Man.  In Ireland the name was borne by "Niall of the Nine Hostages", a legendary High King of Ireland, and by Niall Glunduby, a 10th century king of Ireland, from whom the present day families in their different spellings claim descent. 

Early examples of recordings include Willelmus Nigelli in the English Domesday Book of 1086 for the county of Buckinghamshire, Robert Neel of Berkshire, in 1208, whilst later in Stuart times Daniel Nield, was christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, on May 22nd 1682.

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Donell O' Neill, grandson of Niall Glundubh. This was dated in the year 990 a.d. in the historic Annals of Ireland, during the reign of King Malachy II, High King of Ireland, 977 - 1002.

Surname: Lomas 

Recorded in many spellings including Lomas, Lomaz, Lumox, Lummus, Lummis and Loomis, this is an English surname.  It is locational from a former village called Lomax, a now "lost" place originally near the town of Bury, in the county of Lancashire.  Recorded in the Middle Ages as Lumhalghs, the component elements of the placename are believed to be the pre 7th century Old English word "lumm", meaning a pool, and reflected in the dialectal term "lum" denoting a well, plus "halh", a nook or recess.

 It is estimated that at least three thousand villages and hamlets have disappeared from the maps in Britain in the past five centuries. The prime cause for these "disappearances" was the enforced clearing of land and the dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 17th Century, along with natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348.  

Early examples of the surname recordings taken from surviving church registers of the county of Lancashire include those of Elizabeth Lomas, who was christened at Farnworth near Prescot on November 8th 1549, whilst on January 13th 1562, Alice Lomax and Roger Wroe were married at Middleton by Oldham. A coat of Arms granted to the family depicts three black fleurs-de-lis between two red palets on a silver shield.

 George Lomas for Hills cottage (Hollinsclough) Rental 1627

Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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