Chalcot

This unusual surname can be described as habitational, and whilst apparently of Olde English origins, may also be associated both with the Romans, and one thousand years later, the 1066 Normans. The derivation is from "ceald-cote", which literally means "the cold house", an unusual distinction at a time when all houses lacked any warmth! It seems more likely that the name referred to the location, particularly as it has been suggested that wherever a Roman road existed, so did a place called "Calde-cote", the Romans preferring to construct their roads along the windy uplands, making them more difficult to attack. It is also clear that some names derive from the Olde English personal name "Cola", as in the village name of Collacotts; Thomas de Colacott being recorded in the Devonshire Hundred Rolls for 1275. Other recordings include: Geoffrey de Caudecot, of Kent, in 1206, and John Caldekot, of Sussex, in 1296. In 1524, John Calicot appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk, whilst in 1679, Edward Calcott is recorded in the Council Register of Barbados (West Indies), as being captain of the ship, "John and Mary", bound for London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon de Caldecot, which was dated 1195, in the "Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.