Hallworth Name Origins

There are huge variations in the spelling of the name Hallworth in the old records (almost as many as I get in each postal delivery!).
e.g. Hallworth, Halworth, Hallsworth, Haldsworth, Holworth, Holwith, Aldworth, Allworth etc.


Of course, the names were not really spelled 'incorrectly', but rather, spelling in those times was much more flexible & phonetic.
Spellings of names became more settled from the date 1837 when BMD registration began, though it was still rare for folks to write their own names.
They would tell the registrar/clergy their details & they spelled the names as they saw fit. At this time it was common for those writing the names to 'correct' the pronunciation of the locals - perhaps adding in a dropped 'Haitch'!

As Peter has discovered, "Going back to The Saxon Chronicles (researched by monks of the 10th century) and other documents such as the Doomsday book, the Ragman rolls 1291 - 1296 and many others, our name seems to appear as: Aldworth, Aldworthy, Allworth, Allworthy, Alesworth, Alworth, Alworthy, Alsworth and the changes occur even between father and son.

The first record of Hallworth can be found in Berkshire and this saxon family of great antiquity held the lands and parish of Aldworth. This place still exists but I have not visited. I am convinced as our surname is not a common one it can be traced back to this information."

More detail here on the theory that the name locates the family origins in either Aldworth or in Holdworth in Yorkshire.

***
A very olde recorde from the Bedford Archives - dated November 1509:

"Power of Attorney from the above-name Henry Grey to George Alworth, gent. and John Samwel to take seisin of manors of Burbage and Blunham. Signed 'Henry Grey'. Red seal."

"seisin" - sorry, don't know what that was!
Burbage is in Midlands near Hinckley, but Blunham is just East of Bedford.

***



Other Hallworths in the North-West
While we are talking about the Hallworth name, it is worth pointing out that there are many Hallworth families in the Lancashire to Cheshire region...but that I haven't heard of any family connections with them at all. Not at all sure if a Bedfordshire Hallworth settled in the North West or if it was the other way round!  My guess would be that the name sprung up independantly in both regions. No doubt we would have to go much further back than 1800 to find out!

Interesting to read this bit of history: in Maulden 1796: Two hundred villagers rioted against partial allotment and enclosure of Maulden Moor for peat and turf cutting. A troop of cavalry from Ampthill was called in to quell the riot. {source: BLARS}

Parents of Philip & Charles... & Jonathan Hallworth?
The parents of Philip & Charles were Thomas Hallworth and his second wife Elizabeth. {Recorded as Hallsworth, Thanks Susan} Thomas was a dairyman, who lived in Pulloxhill from 1749-1812.  Susan found out about Thomas when reading the will of his younger brother, James (also a dairyman, in Pulloxhill, married to Margaret Hyde. More on Uncle James another time?)

I haven't found anything yet about their parents, the earlier generation.  A possible hit on IGI for Thomas' christening? Thomas Aldsworth, Watford, Herts (16 Mar 1746), parents were Thomas & Hannah Aldsworth. 

Patti, though has done a better job. She tells me that she has found a baptism record (on IGI) for a Thomas Hallworth in Hockliffe, Beds, in July 1723.  No record, though of the baptism of his own sons Thomas & James, to prove the names of the boy's parents.

Thomas Senior was the son of Anthony & Eleanor ELSWORTH. Possibly the Anthony Ellsworth who was baptised 16 Jul 1704 at Skirethornes, near Grassington, Yorkshire; son of James Ellsworth and Elizabeth Scott?

More on Skirethornes:

"Leaving Threshfield by the Kettlewell road, five minutes' walk brings the traveller to an old lane on the left. Following this lane one August afternoon, the writer had a most interesting walk. Fifteen minutes brings us to Skirethorns, land of beetling rock and prickly thorn. Keeping to the windings of the old lane, we pass two or three pretty homesteads. The old crooked garden walls are covered with tender grey and rich golden moss; the ivy creeps into curious old niches and mullions, overspread by the lilac and wild thyme and a mingling of feathery grass, all combining to furnish a quaint and pretty picture.

It is the time of haymaking; the scent of new-mown grass, wafted on the breeze, helps to sweeten this picture of rural simplicity."

{from a book by Edward Bogg, view it here.}

Thomas Hallworth 1749-1812
Thomas, then, had two wives. First was Sarah who had two sets of twins, as well as some singleton babies.  She died in around 1783-4, perhaps with the birth of her final child William in 1783. We know, by the by, that the older set of twins died as infants, and the younger set of twins girls were brought up by their Aunt & Uncle {source - PR & the Aunt's will, through Susan}.

His second wife was Elizabeth, whom Thomas married in 1784/5? She was mother to Philip & Charles.  Could they also have had a third child, Jonathan, who later married Mary, settled in St Albans and had a son Jonathan in 1821?   {I haven't found a marriage record yet for Jonathan & Mary - but I have seen them in the Census returns, now that I've been shown where to look!}

Susan tells me that Thomas' last child, Jonathan was born in 1790, in Hertfordshire.  Wonder why he was born there?  We know that his parents had returned to Pulloxhill by the time of their death.
What drew them to settle there?  Actually, it's not that far away - only around 20 miles, further down the M1.

Jonathan & Mary had 10 children in St Albans/Hemel Hempstead.  The son Jonathan married Maria Sharp {source IGI} who was from Maulden, in the year 1842. They had two sons George & Phillip, and a daughter Sarah (all born in Maulden 1842-1858). He became the Dog & Badger publican.

Thomas Hallworth (dairyman) was buried on 2nd April 1812 at Pulloxhill St James the Apostle Church.  His wife Elizabeth died (aged 77) in 1822, and she was buried in the same churchyard on Christmas Eve.
Their sons Charles, Philip and Jonathan were also buried in Pulloxhill churchyard.

The first child of Charles Hallworth was born in April 1812 (baptised in Maulden, 19/4/1812), just after his Grandfather's death - so it's no surprise to learn he was given the name Thomas.