The present generation of the Dashwod family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon
culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in Dashwood, and held a family seat
at Cockley Cley. The place-name literally means de Ashwood,
After the Norman Conquest
, the usual preposition was de,
which was used in both English and French place-names. In French names beginning with a vowel, the de
was often merged with the name. The bearer of this surname lived by or in an area of forest that contained ash trees.
Early Origins of the Dashwod family
The surname Dashwod was first found in Norfolk
at Cockley Cley, a small village and parish. However, some of the family were found at Kirtlington in Oxfordshire
in early days. "The east end of the south aisle forms the sepulchral chapel of the Dashwood family, who have a mansion in the parish [of Kirtlington]." CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Early History of the Dashwod family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dashwod research.Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1662, 1734, 1658 and 1724 are included under the topic Early Dashwod History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Dashwod Spelling Variations
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred
years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations
in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon
and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Dashwod include Dashwood, Dashwoode and others.