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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The Anglo-Saxon name Astleford comes from when the family resided in Yorkshire, where the surname is derived from the place-name Castleford in the West Riding. The place-name is derived from the Old English terms ceaster and forda, meaning fort and ford, respectively. 1
The surname Astleford was first found in Yorkshire at Castleford, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross. "This place is by some writers supposed to have been the site of the Roman station Legiolium, or Lagetium, described in Antonine's Itinerary as being situated on the river Aire, where it was crossed by a ford, on the line of the Herman-street between Doncaster and York: Roman antiquities have been frequently discovered, including a scarce denarius of Caracalla, with a lion on the reverse. It is related, that the citizens of York, being pursued by Ethelred's army, in 750, turned at this place, and committed great slaughter on their pursuers. After the Norman Conquest, the parish was given to Ilbert de Laci, the heiress of whose family conveyed it by marriage, with the whole honour of Pontefract, to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster." 2
Early Yorkshire rolls include an entry for Nicholas de Castelford in 1292 and later in Cheshire, John de Catylford was listed there in 1340. Thomas Castelford was found in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1375. 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Astleford research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1585 is included under the topic Early Astleford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Astleford include Castelford, Casselford, Castleford, Astleford and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: