The Name:

It is currently suggested that ADAM DE SWYNLEYHURST, living late 12th Century in the Forest of Bowland, straddling the border of Lancashire and Yorkshire, acquired the appellation about 1184 when he leased land of that description and thus may be considered to be the first Swindlehurst. One theory is that this spelling of Swynleyhurst (Swine Pasture/Grazing Wood) and early variations such as Swindlehurst (Swine Dale Wood) and Swinhillhurst (Swine Hill Wood) indicates that the earliest bearers of the name were 'swine farmers in the wood'. Early work records suggest however that the emphasis is on the -hurst (hurst - often a wooded hill/ridge), and this gives rise to other possibilities: (1) that Adam was living at a place already named from an earlier usage even though he was not personally involved in the pig-rearing business, and (2) that, although living elsewhere, he was leasing that named land mainly to fell trees and to prepare and use the wood for building, etc, and not necessarily farming swine (pigs/boar)? (An extended version of this paragraph can be seen here.)

(Please note: the above paragraph is a (slightly re-worded) copy of work by a earlier dedicated researcher into the family origins).

The National Trust has compiled a database of English language surnames and has produced a location density map for each name. Those particularly relevant to us are Swindlehurst and Swinglehurst. These links are to locations as at 1998. There is a link on each page to the 1881 equivalent.

A quick (unscientific) glance through the 1600-1699 database file (qv below) shows 36 different spellings of the Name! They are listed here. There are known to be others, which will be added in due course.

The DNA Study:

Over the past several years the University of Leicester has carried out an exhaustive study of the DNA of different groups of people sharing a surname. Turi E. King and Mark A. Jobling, Department of Genetics, at the University, have published their findings in a paper "Molecular Biology and Evolution - Founders, drift and infidelity: the relationship between Y chromosome diversity and patrilineal surnames" which is on line here. In the case of the Swindlehurst/Swinglehurst family, Dr King has issued a letter (November 2008) to 40 of the people who participated in the study (by providing DNA samples) which includes this:

The DNA study shows clearly that all of you receiving this letter are descended from a single ancestor.

The implication of this is that it should be possible to connect the whole world-wide tree, with a bit of effort and a lot of luck.

The area:

Based on information so far identified, the Swindlehurst name originated in the valley of the River Hodder, in the Forest of Bowland, on the very edge of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Names which appear in the early history such as Fair Oak, Park Gate and Stakes are still in use. The area is shown on this Google Earth vertical photograph centred on Ing Wood, historically known as Swindlehurst Ing.

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Ing Wood is considered to be pretty much the centre of the area occupied by the early Swindlehursts. The area shown in the photograph can be changed by using the arrows, and can be enlarged or reduced using the plus and minus buttons.

The area covered by this photograph is contained on Ordnance Survey maps at various scales. The most convenient is Sheet 103 of the Landranger series at a scale of 1:50000, the area of the photograph being approximately the rectangle with co-ordinates (sw corner) SD646444 and (ne corner) SD659454.

The earliest series of maps of this area produced by the Ordnance Survey is a 6 inches to the mile version, issued between 1850 and 1860. The sheets are shown on this page, prepared by Ron Catterall.

On Saturday the 4th April 2009 a small group of members of the Lancashire Archaeological Society visited the site to carry out an eyeball survey of the area, hoping to identify traces of medieval occupation and usage. The weather was less kind than we hoped, and the more recent activities in the area have made it unrecognisable from what it probably looked like 800 years ago. The basic morphology hasn't changed - the river still runs through the valley - but a lot of engineering has taken place. There have been major pipe-line works associated with the Stocks Reservoir project (opened in 1932) and a significant later coniferous implantation along the sides of the gorge has changed its appearance. We walked through the flat land bordering the east bank, north of the aqueduct at the top of the photograph, examined briefly the woodland around this area, and criss-crossed the large field to the east of Ing Wood. The bank and ditch of the medieval park can be seen in parts, and there are signs of later activity (a very pretty lime kiln for instance). But no joy for us.

The 1893 re-surveyed OS map of the area shows, at the north end of the flat land, a building named as Lilyholme Barn. This structure no longer exists, although evidence of it is still obvious on the ground. It was possibly demolished when the main pipeline was constructed. The building appears to have been of undressed quarry rock, of dry stone construction. Its age cannot be guessed at.

A return visit took place on Easter Sunday (12th April 2009) in glorious sunshine and mostly peace and quiet - ie - early before the Sunday drivers appeared. The photographs are on this page. There is a caption to each picture. Following this visit, we arranged for a representative from the Lancashire County Council's Archaeology Dept (responsible for the County's Historic Environment Record [HER] - formerly the Sites and Monuments Record [SMR]) to examine the mound of stones on photograph no 19. This site has now been added to the HER, as a potential burial cairn.