Muscroft

Recorded in various spellings including Muscot, Muscott, and Muscroft, this is an English surname. It is locational from what would seem to have been a 'lost' medieval village called either Muscott or perhaps Muscroft. It has been estimated that there are in excess of five thousand "lost" medieval villages in the United Kingdom, and the great majority have provided surnames. The derivation is seemingly from the Olde English pre 7th century words Mus cote or Mus croft, which may mean the Mice Cottages or Mice Farm, but which more probably refers to their small size, since in those far off days almost everywhere was infested with rodents of one form or another. In the famous English Domesday Book of 1086 the spelling is recorded as "Misecote". Early examples of the surname recordings include: Margeria Muscot, christened at Watford, in Hertfordshire, on August 22nd 1587, John Muscott, who married Elizabeth Allen at Dodford, Northants, on October 15th 1605, and John Muscroft of Leeds in West Yorkshire, being recorded there on February 27th 1656. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hewe Muscott, which was dated June 12th 1586, Married Luce Gardner at Harpole Church, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.