Facer

This unusual and interesting surname is well recorded particularly in London. It is usually medieval English and job descriptive for a specialist mason, one who literally put the finished "face" on stone work. Medieval fortresses and city walls had deliberately smooth faces to prevent missiles from sticking and making it generally more difficult to "storm" the walls. However in the wilds of old Sussex and Kent, they had the habit of adding "er" to existing names and some modern name holders will probably derive from the personal nickname "face" plus, the suffix "er" to create the patronymic "son of Face". One of the interesting facts of the surname "Facer" is that the spelling has never changed since its development, although "Face" recordings are earlier; one Ernest Feace being recorded in London on June 23rd 1577. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mary Facer, which was dated November 11, 1659, married Salathyell Lovewell at St. Bride's, London, during the reign of Richard Cromwell, "The Lord Protector", 1658 - 1659. 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.