Bleasby

This is a surname of English origins, but with Viking overtones. It is one of a group which originate in part at least from now 'lost' medieval villages of which the only public reminder in the 20th century is the surviving surname. In this case the origin is probably from the 'diminished' village of Bleasby in the county of Lincolnshire, a village which it is understood was largely 'cleared' in the 17th century, and the inhabitants sent packing. In this period many low lying areas of England and particularly in the Fen Country of East Anglia which included the counties of Lincolnshire and Norfolk, were drained by Dutch engineers especially brought over from Holland for the task. As a result huge areas of land were reclaimed from the sea, allowing for a vast expansion of agriculture. However because of the need for wool, these areas were not made arable, but were turned over to sheep framing, and as a result many villages were literally cleared of most of their inhabitants, sheep requiring many fewer workers. These people took, or were given as their surname, the name of their former homes, Bleasby being one of them. A Bleasby village also exists in Nottinghamshire where it is first recorded in the year 958 a.d. as 'Blisetuna', and this may have been the source of some nameholders. The derivation is from the Viking name Blis, a personal name meaning 'white', and -bi, a farm.