Bulcroft

Recorded as Bulcraft, Bullcraft, Bulcroft, Bullcroft and possibly others, this is a rare English medieval surname. It does not appear in any of the known dictionaries of surnames, and yet is one of the most logical around. As Bull Farm it does mean what is says, and described a stud farm. In fact it is surprising that there are not more places called Bulcroft or Bullcroft, but according to the gazetters of the British Isles for the past three centuries, there is not even one! On this basis as it had to come from somewhere, it would seem that the surname is one of the three thousand and more examples which are known to have originated from now "lost" medieval hamlets and villages, and whose only reminder of their former existence is the surname itself. Being a locational surname usually means that it was a "from" name. In otherwords it was a name given to somebody after they had left their original homes to live somewhere else, but for easy identification were called after their former home. Spelling being at best indifferent and local accents very thick, sometimes lead to thje creation of "sounds like" forms. Croft is essentially a northern word and we would have expected to find traces in northern counties, but this is not so. The first recording that we have been able to establish is that of Cornelius Bullcraft at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on April 24th 1681.