Wardrop - Meno

This distinguished name, with variant spellings Wardrob(e), Wardrupp, Wardrop, Wardrope and Whatrup, originated as a metonymic occupational name from the office of keeper of the royal wardrobe. The component elements are the Old French "warder" or "garder", to watch, plus "robe", garment; hence, "garderobe", and "warderobe". It is interesting to note that the wardrope was a repository not only for articles of dress, but also for items of furniture, and for foreign spices and confections. The surname is first recorded in Scotland in the early 13th Century, (see below). Other early recordings include Joscelin de la Warderob(e), "The Curia Regis Rolls of Berkshire", (1219), and Thomas de Garderoba, "The Curia Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, (1286). Among the sample recordings in London is the marriage of James Wardrop and Margaret Burn on June 15th 1814 at St. James, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robertus de Warderob, who witnesses a charter by Margaret, countess of Buchan, which was dated circa 1210, Register of the Abbey of Arbroath, during the reign of King William, "The Lion of Scotland", 1165 - 1214. 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.