Luesley - Name

This interesting and rare name has two possible origins. Firstly it could be a dialectal variant of the locational name Lustleigh from a place so called in Devon. The place name is first recorded in the Book of Fees in 1242 as "Leuistelegh" and is a derivation of the Olde English pre 7th Century "Leofgiest", a personal name of unknown etymology, with "leah", a grove. However it could also be from a so called "lost" village of that name probably in Lincoln which is suggested by the frequency of the name on record there. The phenomenon of the "lost" village, (of which it is estimated that there are between seven and ten thousand that have disappeared from the British maps) was a result of enforced land clearance during the height of the wool industry in the 13th and 14th Centuries, to make way for sheep pasture). It is also interesting to note that both Devon and Lincoln were either end of the old roman Road, The Fosse Way. One Elineer Luesley married William Lorinton on November 28th 1676 at Granhan, Lincolnshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Lucesly, witness, which was dated July 3rd 1653, St. Andrews, Holborn, London, during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, "The Great Protector", 1649 - 1658. 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.