Dawtre

This surname is of Norman locational origin and originates from the village of Hauterive in Orne, France. The name is a development of the Roman (Latin) "Alta Ripa" which translates as residence at "The high bank". The surname in England is first recorded in the 12th Century (see below) and other developments include Robert de Halteripa and Philipde Hauterive recorded in the Danelaw records circa 1175. The spellings as Dautry and Dawtre are recorded in the 1379, Poll Tax Rolls of Yorkshire, these forms like the later Daltry and Daldry resulting from the dialectual fusion of the preposition "de" as the "French" influence declined during the medieval period. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Alta Ripa, which was dated 1166, in the "The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.