|
Family Verralls Name |
||
|
The Origins of the Surname |
Fairhall
The most likely origin of the Verralls surname is that it is a variation of the surname "Verrall" which originated around Lindfield in Sussex, on the south coast of England in the 13th Century. The earlier the records, the greater the concentration of Verrall’s in Sussex. The town of Lewes features prominently and there many "Lewes Men of Note" named Verrall.
From Michael Verrall’s information it seems that the Verrall family originated in Lindfield with various spellings similar to "Fairhall". There is still a concentration of Fairhalls in Sussex. The earliest records start around 1300. There were business people in Lewes, mainly spelt Verrall from 1700 onward. I have seen their graves, family tombs, and memorial plaques and have many references to them in the books on Lewes in my possession. There is a reference to at least one Verrall in Lewes in the 1940’s. Foe more information on the Verrall of Lewes, take a Look at Jan's site,
http://members.aol.com/JLajza/verrall.html.The Verralls variant may have started further east in north-east Sussex or north-west Kent. I have no records of Verralls in Sussex but there are early records of Verrall in east Kent. In 1538 Francis Verall married Elyzabe Gylbart at Sandwich. In 1593 a Frauncis Vyrroll was "major" of Sandwich and there are other references to the Verrall's holding office of jurat. (ref: "Verrall, a Sussex surname that once was Fairhall" by Michael Verrall). The next record I have is Nicolas Verralls who marries Sarah Chilmeade in 1718 at Seal, north Kent. This is the first record of the Verralls, with the "s".
Firle
There is also a possibility that the name came form a village called Firle. This village still exists today and Firle House is a tourist attraction, owned by the same family for 500 years. Maybe we should ask them about the name? For more on Firle, click on
The Firle Connection.Huguenot
Then there is the possibility of the name coming over with the Huguenots. The Huguenots landed in Sussex from France, Belgium and Holland (Flanders). They were mainly business people and could have been the forbears of the Verrall’s that dominated Lewes business society, between 1750 and 1850. There is evidence of at least one Frenchman, probably called Gilbert Feral, changing his name to Verrall in 1524, in an attempt to localise the French spelling, (The Surnames of Sussex by Richard McKinley, page 188). But then maybe the name already existed and he thought it was a popular English name he could hide behind. Little did he know. For more on Huguenots
http://www.kopower.com/~jimchstn/timeline.htm.Lewes Virell of London, aged 21, was a quilter, born in Normandy, and had been present in London for 10 years when in July 1544 he was entered into List of Aliens in London.
The Huguenot records of the French Church in London show:-
Louise (nee Bauchamp), widow of Henry Vareilles, Sept 1699.
John James Vareilles in the province of Languedoc, France, son of James and Lewise (naturalisation 1699).
Flanders
There is a village called Virelles in Belgium. On the French border, SW of Philippville.
Norman
Then we have the Norman connection. A friend of William the Conqueror named de Veril, who was given Herefordshire, or Kent, for their assistance in the invasion. We were born too late.
Irish
Then we have the Irish painter and decorator who designed the overall, named O’Farrel.