Stronghill

This interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from some minor or unrecorded place, perhaps a lost village, believed to have been in Kent. The prime cause of village "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade from the 15th Century onwards, along with natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348 in which an eighth of the population perished. The component elements of the placename are believed to be the Olde English pre 7th Century "strang", strong, with "hyll", hill, indicating a particularly outstanding or prominent hill. This initial element is also found in Strongford, a locality in the Stone rural district of Staffordshire, and Strongstry in Lancashire, and may also be a personal byname for a strong, powerfully built man. Recordings of the surname from English Church Registers include the marriage of Mary Stronghill to William Couchman in Willesborough, Kent, on January 13th 1625, and the marriage of John Stronghill to Mary Cox at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, London, on December 22nd 1726. On October 19th 1783, George Stronghill, an infant, was christened in Tonbridge, Kent. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Strongle, which was dated July 10th 1560, marriage to Elyne Dode, in Willesborough, Kent, 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.