The name Benthall is part of the ancient legacy of the
Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in the county of Salop (Shropshire), where the Benthall family took their name from the parish of Benthall, near Much Wenlock. References to the family name in this area date back to the 12th century. Benthall Hall is a 16th century English country house is located there, a few miles from the historic Ironbridge Gorge. The Hall was built around 1580, on the site of an earlier 12th century medieval manor and manor house. It proudly retains much of its fine oak interior, and an elaborate 17th century staircase. Moreover, it is still occupied by the Benthall family, but has been owned by the National Trust since 1958. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Benthall, a village in
Northumberland about 6 kilometers south east of Bamburgh.
Early Origins of the Benthall family
The surname Benthall was first found in Middlesex, in south east England.
Early History of the Benthall family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Benthall research.
Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 122 and 1221 are included under the topic Early Benthall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Benthall Spelling Variations
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few
hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time,
spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Benthall has been spelled many different ways, including Bendall, Bendell, Bendal, Bendel, Bendle, Bentall, Benthall and many more.
Early Notables of the Benthall family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Benthall Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Benthall family to the New World and Oceana
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Benthalls to arrive in North America:
Benthall Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Jos Benthall, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8) - Walter Benthall, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and servants
Contemporary Notables of the name Benthall (post 1700)
- Dwinelle Benthall (1890-1931), American screenwriter
- Michael Pickersgill Benthall (1919-1974), English theatre director, director of the Old Vic
- John Benthall (d. 1887), English Vicar of Willen (1852-1887)