Rodenhurst

This is a locational name from an apparently "lost" medieval village, although hamlets called Rodden are to be found today in both Somerset and Dorset. The name translates as "the wood (hyrst) in the valley (denu) of the roe deer (ra)", and as "hurst" is the southern spelling (Hirst being the usual Midlands and Northern version) it seems reasonable to assume that Roddenhurst (or Raddenhurst) was a place in the south or southwest of England, but his is conjecture. The name curiously is first recorded in London as shown below, but subsequently has generally been found in the spelling as Radenhurst, one William Rodanhurst marrying Catherine Paine at Strateford on Avon on September 4th 1786. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Edward Rodenhurst, which was dated July 31st 1768, a witness at Christchurch, Stepney, during the reign of King George 111, known as "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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.