Bradbrook

This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from Braybrooke in Northamptonshire, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "Brada-broc" meaning "the broad brook", plus the suffix "s" denoting "of the place". The placename appears as "Bradebroc" in the Domesday Book of 1086, as "Braibroc" in the Pipe Rolls of 1163, and as "Brabroc" in the Feet of Fines of 1197. During the Middle Ages when it was increasingly common for people to migrate from their birthplace to seek work further afield, the custom developed that they would adopt the placename as a means of identification. The surname dates back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Church Records list the christenings of John, son of George and Felicia Braybrooke on the 29th July 1573, in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, and Mary, daughter of Tinget and Elizabeth Braybrooks on the 14th October 1759 at St. Botolph without Aldgate, London. Samuel Braybrooks married Emma Bennett on the 10th February 1862 at St. Matthew's, Bethnal Green, London. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is silver, six red lozenges. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de Braybroc, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.