Hubberstey

This unusual and interesting name is of English origin, and is locational from a now so called "lost" village near Cockerham, Lancashire. It is the genetive form of the Olde English pre 7th Century female personal name "Hunberg" of uncertain origin and the Olde English word for an enclosure, "tiege", thus "Hunbergs settlement". The phenomenon of the "lost" village was the result of enforced land clearance in the Middle Ages to make way for sheep pastures, as well as the more natural causes such as plague and war. It is estimated that there are seven to ten thousand "lost" villages and hamlets in Britain. In Warton, Lancaster, one Agnes Hubberstey married John Howseman in 19th February 1575 and one Jane Hubberstey was christened on April 10th 1593. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Hubersty, which was dated 1452, Registers of the Freeman of the City of York, during the reign of King Henry VI, "The Founder of Eton", 1422 - 1461. 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.