Stitcher

A derivation name from the Olde English pre 9th century 'Stycce', meaning 'A piece of Land' and originally found as a name only in Cambridge and Essex pre 10th century. The literal translation is 'The dweller on the piece of Land suitable for ploughing', and in Middle English a 'stictch' came to mean a field in the South East of England. There have been various suffix's applied through local dialect including Stitcher, attestiche, Stit(ch)fall which means 'The place (Hall) on the Stitch' etc. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Steche which was dated 1296, in the Pipe Rolls of Sussex 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.