| ![Show Contents]() Burwele History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
England
Etymology of BurweleWhat does the name Burwele mean? Burwele is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Burwell, a place-name found in a number of English counties including Northampton, Cambridgeshire, and Lincolnshire. Thus, an original bearer of the surname Burwell hailed from any of the above places. The place-name Burwell is derived from the Old English byrig-wiellw which means town well or fort by a spring. Early Origins of the Burwele familyThe surname Burwele was first found in Cambridgeshire at Burwell, a village and civil parish located there since 1060 when records there have the village name as Burcwell. Remains of a 12th century fort's dry moat can still be seen there today. "Here are the ruins of a castle surrounded by a moat, which was besieged in the war between Stephen and the Empress Matilda, by Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, who was shot by an arrow from the walls. The church of St. Andrew Burwell has long been demolished, and the cemetery converted into pastureground." 1 Burwell Castle was an unfinished medieval motte and bailey castle. It was built in 1143 by Stephen I of England, on the site of a former Roman villa. Thomas Lethbridge excavated the site in 1935 and since 1983 the site is held by the Burwell Parish Council. The Domesday Book 2 of 1086 lists the spellings Burewelle, Burwella and Burwelle. At that time it was part of the Stapole hundred, held by the Abbot of Ramsey. The same reference lists Buruelle which has been modernized as Burwell in Lincolnshire. 3 Early History of the Burwele familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burwele research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Burwele History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Burwele Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Burwele family name include Burwell, Burwelle and others. Early Notables of the Burwele familyMore information is included under the topic Early Burwele Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Burwele familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Burwele surname or a spelling variation of the name include: George and Frances Burwell who settled in Virginia in 1648 with their children, Elizabeth, Francis, Lewis, Robert, William; and Dorothy Burwell, aged 50.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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