This interesting name is of English origin, and is locational from places so called in Durham and Cheshire. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century 'brad', meaning broad, or spacious, with 'byrig', a town, or fort. The place name is recorded circa 1050, in 'History of St. Cuthbert' as 'Brydbyrig', evolving to become 'Bradbery' by 1183 as recorded in the Boldon Book of the Domesday Book. During the Middle Ages, when it was becoming increasingly common for people to migrate from their birth place, to seek work elsewhere, they would often adopt the village name as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. Two early recordings of marriages in Cheshire are between one, Alice Bradbury and Richard Stockes on 6th July 1562 in Macclesfield and between Ales Bradbury and Edward Taylor on 2nd March 1594 at St. Mary's, Stockport. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Bradbury, which was dated 1288, in the Assize Rolls Cheshire, 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.

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