Stonebanks

This most interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is either locational or topographical. It may be locational from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand hamlets and villages that have "disappeared" from maps in Britain as a result of the dispersal of former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century. The original place, believed to have been located in the northern counties is composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century element "stan", stone, plus the Old Danish element "banke", a hill or slope. The name may also have been of topographical origin for "a dweller by a stony hill-slope", from the same elements. Cathren, daughter of Adami Stonebanke, was christened at Hawkshead, Lancashire, on July 30th 1585. Recordings from English Church Registers include: the christening of Emanewell and Ralph, sons of Ralph and Elizabeth Stonebanke, on May 25th 1651 and April 3rd 1654, respectively, at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, London, and the marriage of Elizabeth Stonebanks and Henry Maskell on June 21st 1832, at Caversham, Oxfordshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adame Stonbanke, which was dated January 27th 1576, marriage to Jenatt Rigge, at Hawkshead in Lancashire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "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.