Stredwick

This unusual name is of English, Anglo-Saxon locational origin, from a place called Strudwick or Strudgewick in the parish of Kirdford in Sussex, and possibly from another unidentified place also in Sussex or Surrey. The Placename means 'the village or farm on the marsh', derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century 'strod' or 'stroth' meaning 'marshy land overgrown with brushwood' and 'wic', which can mean a dwelling, village, or farm, usually a dairy farm. The name development has included Annys Stroodwyk (1561, Sussex), Elner Strudwick (1563, ibid.), Elizabeth Stredwick (1599, London) and Anthony Struddicke (1613, Sussex). The marriage of Alice Stredwick and Henry Caplin was recorded on the 4th May 1606 in Kirdford in Sussex. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Agnes Strudwicke, christened, which was dated 13th January 1579, at Wisborough Green, Sussex, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603. 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.