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The Strathclyde-Briton people of ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Couldwell. The Couldwell family lived in Renfrewshire. This place-name may also be derived from the Old English words caeld, which means cold, and welle, which means well, and indicates that the original bearer lived near a well that gave cold water. 1
The surname Couldwell was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, at the Caldwell Tower, a mansion and old estate that dates back to 1294. 2
The current Caldwell Tower stands on a mound, and is a small, free-standing tower that was probably built in the 16th century.
It was fully restored in 2011 with the addition of a small extension. Caldwell is also a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire.
"The old family of the name appears to have ended in the direct line in an heiress in the fifteenth century. In 1342 there is an entry of the fee of William de Caldwell. Robert Cauldwell was a merchant in the service of Sir John of Montgomery, 1405." 3
The Caudle variant may be related to a thickened and sweetened alcoholic hot drink so named. It was popular in the Middle Ages for its supposed medicinal properties and dates back to at least 1297.
Further to the south in the English county of Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Johannes de Coldwell; and Thomas de Coldwele. 4
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Couldwell research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1419, 1495, 1505, 1526, 1533, 1548, 1551, 1554, 1559, 1561, 1572, 1581, 1584, 1596, 1628, 1661, 1679, 1687, 1796, 1890 and 1929 are included under the topic Early Couldwell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The variation in the spelling of Medieval names is a result of the lack of spelling rules in the English language prior to the last few hundred years. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound, often varying the spelling of name within a single document. Couldwell has appeared as Caldwell, Coldwell, Caldwill, Cauldwell, Cauldwill, Cawldwell, Guildwell, Calewell, Caldewell and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Blessed John Fenwick, born John Caldwell (1628-1679), an English Jesuit, executed at the time of the Popish Plot, a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
Richard Caldwall (1505?-1584), was an English physician, born in Staffordshire about 1505. "He was educated at Brasenose, graduated as B.A. in...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Couldwell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
As the persecution of Clan families continued, they sailed for North America in increasing numbers. In most cases, they found the freedom and opportunity they sought. Land was often available and the American War of Independence allowed Scots an opportunity to solidify their independence from the English crown. These settlers and their ancestors went on to play essential roles in the forging of the nations of the United States and Canada. Among them: Archibald Caldwel, a Scottish prisoner sent to America in 1685; John Caldwell, a bonded passenger, who came to America in 1693; Charles Caldwell, who arrived in New England in 1718.