The surname Gazeley was first found in Suffolk at Gazeley, a village and civil parish in the Forest Heath district that dates back to 1219. It was originally listed as Gaysleand which literally meant "woodland clearing of a man called Gaegi," having derived from the Old English personal name + "leah." [1]
One of the first records of the surname was in the 13th century when Alexander de Gaseley was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. The same source lists Andrew de Gasele in Norfolk. [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gazeley research. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1326, 1630, 1669, 1762, 1839, 1824 and 1824 are included under the topic Early Gazeley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Gazeley include Gazeley, Gazely, Gaselee, Gaselea, Gaysley, Geysley, Gesley, Gezley, Gayslee, Gazelee and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include Sir Stephen Gaselee (1762-1839), Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, the son of Stephen Gaselee, an eminent surgeon at Portsmouth. "On the resignation of Sir John Richardson, he was selected on 1 July 1824 to supply the vacant justiceship in the common pleas, became a serjeant-at-law 5 July 1824, and was knighted at Carlton House on 27 April...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gazeley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.