Plowright - Name

This interesting surname of English Origin is an occupational name for a maker of ploughs deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "ploh" meaning "plough" plus "wyrtha", "wrtha", "craftsman". The surname date's back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include William Le Plowritte (1279) "The Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire", and Robert Le Plogwryth (1285) "The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Plewright, Ploughwright, Ploughright, etc. One, John Plowrett married Joane Pendlebury on June 1st 1595, at St. Mary, Mountlaw, London. John, son of John Plowright, was christened on January 15th 1604, at St. Mary Somerset, London, and John, son of John Plowright, was christened on October 29th 1609, at St. Mary Somerset, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Le Plowritte, which was dated 1273, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.