Luckhurst

This interesting surname is English and locational. It is believed to originate from a place called "Lukkar's Cross", near the village of Mayfield, in the county of Sussex. Lukkar's Cross, recorded as far back as 1553 when it was called Luckers' Croche, is presumed to mean the cross where a Henry Luggere was recorded as living in 1296. This is according to the Placenames Book of Sussex. This form of the placename was to develop into the surname Luckhurst by analogy with the many English placenames incorporating the element 'hurst', meaning in pre 7th Century English, a hill or wooded place. The name Luckhurst and its variant Lukehurst, has always been closely associated with the counties of Sussex and Kent, perhaps conclusive proof as to its origin. Early examples of the surname recording in the surviving church registers of the diocese of Greater London include Francis Luckhurst who married Thomas Chard on December 26th 1682 at All Hallow's, London Wall, and that of Anne Luckhurst who married Matthew Hagstone at St. Luke's Finsbury on the June 1st 1775. The first recorded spelling of the modern form of the family name may be that of John Luckhurst who married Margery Baker, November 10th 1668 at Wadhurst, in Sussex. This was during the reign of King Charles 11nd of England, and known to history as The Merry Monarch, 1660 - 1685. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.