Stitwell

By any standards this is a rare surname, and one which has undergone a long period of dialectal change and development. It derives from the almost equally rare Stichel, itself a derivative from the Olde English "Stich-halh", which translates as "the valley of tree stumps". The surname derives either from such a place, or from the village now called Stivichall, but pronounced Stitchal, in Warwickshire. There are several medieval spellings of the village name, which no doubt helped to produce the variety of spellings in the surname. These include such forms as Stichel, Stichall, Stirtle and Stitwell, examples of the recordings include: John Stitle, who on August 10th 1658, in the "reign" of Oliver Cromwell, married Jane Scriven at the famous Church of St. Dunstan's in the East, Stepney. Somewhat later, almost on the date of the Battle of Waterloo, Matthew Stittle married Hannah Palmer at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, whilst on June 29th 1885, Raphael Stittle, son of Walter Stittle, was born at Mitchan, Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Stichell, which was dated July 16th 1612, marriage to Henry Monday, at Salisbury, Wiltshire, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.