Haslehurst - Name

This interesting surname with variant spellings Haselhurst, Hazelhurst and Hazlehurst, is of English locational origin from any of the places named with the old English pre 7th Century "hoesel" meaning hazel, plus the old English "hyrst", (Medieval English "hurst"), a copse, wood etc.. These places include Hazelhurst near Bury in Lancashire, Hazelhurst north of Hastings in Sussex and Hazelhurst in Herefordshire. The surname may also be topographical in origin from residence by a hazel wood. During the Middle Ages when migration for the purpose of job seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village or place name as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. On December 11th 1586 Thomas, son of John Haslehurst was christened in St. Gabriel's Fenchurch, London and on August 24th 1619 John Haslehurst and Ellen Wilkinson were married in Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, Lancashire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de Haselhurst, which was dated 1332, "The Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire", during the reign of King Edward 111, "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.