Bassindale

This very unusual surname recorded in the spellings of Bassindale, Bassingdale, Basindale and several other forms, is locational and probably Anglo-Scottish. It appears to originate from either the village of Bassendean in Berwickshire, Scotland, or from just over the border at Bassenfell, in Cumberland. Failing either of these two sources, then the origination is probably from a 'lost' medieval village, in the same area. From the 15th century onwards, and with the cessation of the 'Border' wars, the whole area became a great sheep farm. As this type of farming required few workers, and as the need to maintain fighting men had gone, many villages were 'cleared' and their inhabitants forced to look elsewhere for work. In so doing they took or were given, as their surname, the name of their former village, or often a 'sounds like' form of the correct spelling. In this case the name would seem to have undergone a transposition between 17th century 'Bassandyne' in Berwick to 19th century 'Bassindale' in London. Examples of the surname recordings include Eusebius Basindale of South Cave, Yorkshire, a witness there at the christening of his son, also called Eusebius, on May 4th 1740. He had two other sons called Thomas and Joseph, and a cousin called Edward, and it may be from this family that most, if not all, present day name-holders descend. On September 11th 1864 the name is first recorded in London, when (another) Edward Bassindale was a witness at the famous church of St Martins in the Field, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander Bassendyne, which was dated May 25th 1613, at Berwick on Tweed, Scotland, during the reign of King James 1st of England and V1 of Scotland, 1587 - 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.