Midghall

There are two places called Midge Hall or Midgehall, in England, the first in Lancashire near to the town of Leyland, the second in Wiltshire near to Wooton Bassett. It would seem that both places have produced surnames, although their output was small as the surname is considered very rare. Spellings of the surname are varied and include Midghill, Midgell, Migell, and possibly others. It is a locational name, and these were usually 'from' names. That is to say names given to people after they left their original homes, as an easy form of identification. As to why people moved in ancient times, has been the subject of many books. The most likely reason was 'land clearance' to facilitate sheep farming in the Stuart Period, but other things such as plague, civil war, and land drainage, also played their part. As the name does mean the place infested by midges, perhaps this unpleasant problem also played its part in encouraging people to find other accomadation. The village in Wiltshire is recorded in the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles as far back as the year 938 a.d., although the Lancashire village does not appear in the charters until the year 1301. The name is recorded in the city of London in 1626 when Margaret Midgell as spelt, married Francis Bevis at St Mary Aldermary