Melmeth

Recorded in a wide range of spellings including Melmoth, Mellmoth, Melmeth, Milmith and Mildmott, this is an English surname. It is almost certainly locational form some now "lost" medieval vilage of which the only public reminder in the late 20th century is the surname itself, and as with this one recorded in a myriad of spellings. "Lost" villages are a feature of the history of the British Isles, and it has been estimated that not less than three thousand surnames and possibly as many as ten thousand, do originate from this source. In ancient times before the 16th century, few houses were built to last. Most were simply rough poles, the gaps filled with a mud mix, and a turf or thatch roof. The lifetime of such dwellings being thirty to forty years. In addition plagues were a regular occurence, and later the infamous Enclosure Acts which allowed land owners to fence off the commons, forcing tenants off the land, to seek homes and employment elsewhere. Many went to London, and this surname in its various forms is fairly well recorded in the surviving registers of the diocese of Greater London from about the time of King Charles 11nd (1660 - 1685). These recordings include: Thomas Mellmoth who married Marie Beere atr St Olaves church on June 3rd 1662, and Jane Mellmouth, who married John Swale at St Mildreds, Bread Street, on April 11th 1738, both in the city of London.