Deathridge

This interesting name, is derived by Fransson in his "Middle English Surnames of Occupation", from the Medieval English "dethe" meaning "fuel" or "tinder", plus "wryht", a maker or worker (in wood), and is therefore seen by him as occupational for one who chopped up wood into tinder. The earliest recording from this source is John le Dethewright or le Dedewrithe (Essex, 1299) from which the modern surnames Detheridge and Deathridge are believed to derive. However, the name is also likely to be a dialectual variant of a place in Wiltshire called Ditteridge. Recorded as Dicherigge in the 1168 Pipe Rolls of that county the derivation is from the Olde Enlgish pre 7th Century "dic-hrycg" meaning "the ridge with the dyke". The name is recorded as Dederich, Detheridge and Deathridge in London church registers. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joane Detheridge married William Rue, which was dated January 2nd 1603 in "St. Christopher le Stocks", London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.