Swindlehurst

This uncommon and interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name deriving from the place called Swinglehurst in Bowland Forest, West Yorkshire. The placename is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century elements "swin", pig, wild boar, with "hyll", hill, and "hyrst", wooded ridge, hillock, knoll; thus, "wooded hill where wild boars or pigs were found". Locational surnames, such as this, were acquired by the lord of the manor, and local landowners, and especially by those former inhabitants of a place who had moved to another area, usually in search of work, and who were thereafter best identified by the name of their birthplace. The modern surname from this source can be found as Swinglehurst and Swindlehurst, and it is recorded chiefly in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The will of one John Swinlehurst, of Chepin, was recorded in the List of Lancashire Wills held at Richmond, Yorkshire, in 1576, and that of William Swindlehurst of Clitheroe in 1594. Among the recordings of the name in Church Registers are those of the christening of Christopher, son of William Swindlehurst, at Waddington in Yorkshire, on November 26th 1621, and the marriage of Robert Swindlehurst and Anna Robinson on November 12th 1674, at Whalley in Lancashire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Swynlehurst, which was dated August 30th 1550, marriage to Alitia Slater, at Whalley, Lancashire, during the reign of King Edward V1, known as "The Boy King", 1547 - 1553. 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.