Recorded in the spellings of Trowbridge, Troubridge, and Trobridge, this famous English surname is locational from the town of 'Trowbridge' in Wiltshire. The placename is first recorded in 1184 in the pipe rolls of the county as 'Trobrigge', and translates as 'the tree bridge' from the Olde English pre 7th Century 'treow', meaning tree, and 'brycg', a bridge. The description probably refers either to a felled tree serving as a rough-and-ready bridge, or more likely a very substantial structure made up of tree trunks, and therefore worthy of a specific description. The surname is forever associated with Sir Thomas Troubridge who served with Lord Nelson at the battles of the Nile and Copenhagen, and who made his name at the battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797. Sadly he was lost at sea in 1804, but his son also Thomas, served with distinction in the later Crimea War of 1854 - 56. Early examples of the surname recordings include William de Trewebrugg, in the subsidy rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, and John de Trowbrugge of Somerset in 1327. Ann Trowbridge married Francis Jersey on the 29th July 1667 at St. George's, Westminster, London, and John Trowbridge was christened at Stourton, Wiltshire in 1731. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter de Trobrigge, which was dated 1184, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Gloucester, during the reign of King Henry II of England, 1154 - 1189.

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