Crees

This most interesting surname has two possible origins. Firstly it may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the Olde English "creas", Middle English "crease", meaning "fine or elegant", which was a nickname given to an elegant person or one who dressed in fine or elegant clothes. The name may also be of Old French origin, from "Crecy" in Seine-Inferieure, (spelt "Cressy", in middle English) which was the scene of the famous battle in 1346, during the Hundred Years War, when the English defeated the French. The surname first appears in the late 11th Century (see below) from the former source, while one Hugo de Creissi was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1171. One Alexander de Crecy was mentioned in 1182 in the "Transcripts of Charters relating to the Gilbertine Houses", and Richard le Cres was listed in the Norfolk Hundred Rolls in 1275. The name may also be found as Cressy, Crease and Crees, while Creasey itself is widespread in Suffolk. Coats of Arms were granted to "Creasy", and "Crecy" families, the former depicting five red escallops in cross, on a gold field". Thomas, son of Thomas and Joane Creasey was christened at st. Dunstan's, Stepney, London on December 17th 1646. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Cenric Cres of Suffolk, which was dated circa 1095, in the "The Feudal Documents from the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds", during the reign of King William 11, known as "Rufus", 1087 - 1100. 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.