Early Origins of the Gastall family
The surname Gastall was first found in Wasdale, or Nether Wasdale, a chapelry, in the parish of St. Bees, union of Whitehaven in
Cumberland. Wasdale-Head is a chapelry, nit far from Wasdale.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. The earliest spelling of the place name was Wastedale in 1279 in the
Hundredorum Rolls. By 1334, the place name was known as Wascedaleheved and literally meant "valley of the water or lake".
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)As far as the surname is concerned, it could also have been a Norman name as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae of 1180 listed Roger and Hugh Wastel living in Normandy at that time. [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
However, another source notes that the name could also have derived from a type of "fine bread" or "wassail-bowl" as Chaucer notes as "Prioress fed her hounds with Wastel brede." [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Exploring the origins of the name in ancient Britain led to the year 1182 when Ralph Wastel held lands in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Soon thereafter the family branched north to Westmorland where they acquired Wastell-head. Ralph and Richard Wastel were listed the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. [5]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Gastall family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gastall research.
Another 191 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1406, 1410, 1406, 1410, 1460, 1515, 1632, 1592, 1632, 1623, 1599 and 1602 are included under the topic Early Gastall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gastall Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Wastell, Wastall, Wassell, Washtell, Wassall, Gastell, Westell, Wastoile, Westoile, Waistell, Wassell, Wessel, Wessell and many more.
Early Notables of the Gastall family (pre 1700)
Distinguished members of the family include Robert Wastell (
fl. 1406-1410) from Totnes,
Devon, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Totnes in 1406 and 1410; and John Wastell (1460-1515), English Gothic architect responsible for Manchester Cathedral, parts of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, the crossing tower (Bell Harry Tower) of Canterbury...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gastall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Gastall family to Ireland
Some of the Gastall family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Gastall family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Nicholas Westell, who was a child apprentice sent to Antigua (Antego) in 1721; Patience Westell, a bonded emigrant who settled came to Annapolis, MD in 1729.