This interesting surname with variant spellings Flyndell, Flindale, Flindell, Flindall, etc., is of English locational origin from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets that have now disappeared from the maps in Britain. The prime cause of these "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century. Natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348 also contributed to the lost village phenomenon. The place-name Flimdale is composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century "fl(i)ema" meaning "outlaw" plus "dael or dell" "valley", hence "the valley of the outlaws". The "n" in the surname being substituted for the "m" due to dialectal influences. The surname dates back to the mid 16th Century, (see below). Church recordings include Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Flyndell, who was christened at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, on June 9th 1605, William Flindale married Alice Webb on February 4th 1643, in Clerkenwell, and James, son of James and Ann Flindall was christened on December 17th 1769, at St. Sepulchre, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Edward Flindell, which was dated 1568, in St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London, 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.

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