Hudspeth

Recorded in various spellings including Hoodspeth, Hudspeth and Hudspith, this is an English surname from the North Country. It probably originates from the county of Northumberland, where it is extremley well recorded from at least the 16th Century. It is believed to have been locational from some place near the town of Corbridge, but if this was the case, the hamlet has disappeared, being one of the estimated three thousand "lost" medieval villages, of which the only public reminder in the late 20th century, is the surname itself. The origination is from the Olde English and Anglo Saxon personal name "Hudd" meaning hard, and "pithe" a varient of the word pytt to give a meaning of the coal pit of Hudd. The name development includes Edward Hudspeth of Hexham in 1605, when he was recorded in the Wills Register of Richmond, whilst in 1612, Elizabeth Hudspith married John Benton at St. Gregory's church, in the ancient city of London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Dorratye Hoodspethe. This was dated 1598, when she was baptised at Corbridge, Northumberland, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.