Show ContentsChatall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Chatall is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Chatall family once lived in one of the various places called Chadwell in the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, and Wiltshire. Places called Caldwell exist in Warwickshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire. There is also a Chardwell in Essex and a Chardle Ditch in Cambridgeshire as well as a plethora of similarly-named places throughout England. The surname Chatall is derived from the names of these settlements, which are ultimately derived from the Old English words ceald, which means cold, and wielle, which means spring or stream. 1

Early Origins of the Chatall family

The surname Chatall was first found in Essex at Chadwell, a parish, in the union of Orsett, hundred of Barstable. "At the time of the Norman survey, the parish belonged principally to the Bishop of London, and some portions to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and others. 2 The Domesday Book of 1086 lists the place name was Celdeuuella. 3

Early History of the Chatall family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chatall research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1614, 1640, 1642, 1644, 1689 and 1692 are included under the topic Early Chatall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chatall Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Chatall family name include Chadwell, Chadall, Shadwell, Chadwel and others.

Early Notables of the Chatall family

Distinguished members of the family include William Chadwell (born 1614), an English lawyer and politician, Member of Parliament for Mitchell (1640-1644), he supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War; and Thomas Shadwell (1642-1692), an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1689. "He was grandson of George Shadwell, and son of John Shadwell of the parish of Broomhill, Norfolk. He claimed descent from the family...
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chatall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Chatall family

For 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 Chatall surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Dan and his wife Anne settled in Virginia in 1651.



  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)


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