Surnames
The adoption of second names or
surnames in Europe took place from the 11th Century onwards. Surnames
generally
fall into four main categories.
Occupational names describe the
subject's profession.
Locational names describe the
subject's dwelling or place of origin.
Descriptive names distinguish the
subject by some physical characteristic or by a mannerism.
Patronyms are the adoption of the subject's father's first name as a surname.
Origin of the surname
Broadhurst
from the early 1300s. However there are no early records of people with the name in Sussex or surrounding counties. Broadhurst as a surname does not appear in the
records
in this area until the early 18th century by which time
surnames had
been established for many centuries.
I agree with many other researchers that the name mostly likely originated in the area of eastern Cheshire around Macclesfield probably in some now lost place called
Broadhurst.
or shire,
having its own court) This lists several Broadhurst place
names
including:
de Brodhirst
in a 1287 County Court Roll,
le Brodehirst in the 1352 and
1359 Assize Rolls of the
Justice of Chester,
le Bradehurst in the 1371
Cholmondeley Deeds.
Bradhurst 1503
From
Cheshire the name then spread to the counties of Derbyshire,
Staffordshire,
Shropshire and Leicestershire. 'Place
names
of Derbyshire’ – shows that the surname
Broadhurst was first recorded in that
county in 1625. There
is also an early enclave in
Berkshire and another in Cornwall but it is not clear how or when they
arose.
An early mention of the name is a mention in 1246 of William, son of Eve de Bradehurst, whose fine for failing to appear at the assizes (court) in Lancaster is recorded in
the Assize Rolls
(court records).
In
1286 the Macclesfield Assize Rolls record that Richard, son of Thomas
de
Brodhirst, was fined for allowing beasts to escape into the Royal
Forest of Macclesfield.
In
North America the earliest Broadhurst’s appear to be found in
Virginia.
The book Some Emigrants To Virginia by W G Stanard, which is an important resource for the genealogy of early Virginia families, mentions several people with the
name Broadhurst but does not state whether they were born in Virginia or were immigrants. The will ( dated 13 Sep 1699) of John Brodhurst, who died in 1701 shows
that he came from London, had real estate at Macclesfield in Cheshire, and was living in Princess Anne County, Virginia, when he died. Hugh (died 1659), and his
brother Walter Brodhurst, ( died in 1661),were both the sons of William Brodhurst, who is described as a “gentleman of Lilleshall, Shropshire, England.” All three probably
lived in
Westmoreland County, Virginia although Like many English people at the
time they
probably travelled back and forth between England and Virginia many
times.
Introduction
Origin
of the Surname
Surname
Distribution
UK
surname distribution
Historical
Occurrences of the
name
George
Broadis
Henry
Broadhurst
Data