Insall

This unusual name is an example of a "lost" village, a common phenomenon in England, where the original location here a place called "Insoll" in Elmley Lovett, Worcestershire, has now completely vanished. It is well recorded from the 12th to the 17th centuries, first as "Inerdeshell" in 1275 and last as "Insoll" in 1642, which suggests that of the usual reasons for the disappearance of a place - plague, sheep enclosures and war - the last mentioned could account for the loss of "Insoll" since 1642 was at the height of the Civil War (1641-1649). The place name is of Old English pre 7th century origin and means "the dweller at the huts". In the modern idiom the name can be found as "Insall", "Insull", "Insoll", "Inseal", "Insole" and "Hinsull", the first modern recording being that of Philip Insoll (1603 Worcestershire). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard de Inneshal. which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls", Worcestershire. during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon" 1307 - 1327. 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.