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The Origin and Distribution of the Gloucestershire Dangerfield's: Part 1 Posted 11 March 2008 By Howard Mathieson
There can be little doubt the Dangerfield surname is Norman in origin. However the time of its arrival in England is not precisely known. P.H. Reaney in The Dictionary of British Surnames alerts us to William de Angeruill, found in the 1205 Pipe Rolls of Dorset. However the surname does not appear to have taken root in Dorset. A land charter dated 1217, held by the Cartulary of St Augustine's Abbey Bristol, references Walter de Angervillis as a witness. The charter concerns Hugh of Bradley who sold land in Wotton Under Edge to Juliana de Pontdelarch, wife of Robert de Berkeley, for 7 marks and a horse worth half a mark. The Cartulary reference alerts us to the fact that the de Angervil's were active in the region surrounding Berkeley Gloucestershire where a remarkable archive has been maintained. Unfortunately direct access to the Berkeley muniment room is not possible. None the less, over the centuries significant numbers of documents were removed in a variety of political squabbles, lootings and family intrigues. Many of these records found there way into private collections. They were eventually recovered, and now reside in public record offices and archives. The Access to Archives project (A2A), has indexed large volumes of these materials. Additionally John Smyth, appointed in 1596 as family archivist and historian, contributed valuable material gleaned from his access to the muniment room. Notably is a Berkeley history, Lives of the Berkeleys, and on the instruction of the Berkeley's he compiled a military survey entitled Gloucestershire men of Armour. Collectively with the aid of these and other sources we are able to construct brief glimpses of the early distribution of the Dangerfield family. Beginning in the late 13th century a Ralph, Thomas, Hugh and William de Angervil(le) were involved in land transactions either as witnesses to Berkeley family charters, or as grantors of property to others. A series of transactions involving the Gold family enable us to determine Hugh and William de Angerville were brothers. Similarly a grant by Thomas, link Thomas William and Ralph:
A Military Survey compiled in 1522 confirms the shift away from "Dangervil Wicke". Nearby in North Nibly the survey lists a Thomas Daungerfeld. Bear in mind that part of the 1314 grant to Nicholas Daungervil(le) was found in Nibley. Much more significant was the presence of a second Thomas Daungerfeld in Stonehouse some 12 miles to the northeast.  From this time forward the family would no longer be focused in the region surrounding Berkeley Castle but it would ramify and become concentrated in the Stroudwater valley. This new reality would continue well into the 19th century and in fact Dangerfield's are found in the area to this day.  It is possible to narrow the time frame during which the relocation took place. We are fortunate that manorial court records for the Stonehouse Ham exist for the period 1490 to 1535. Within the rich pages of these documents are scattered references to the Daungerfeld surname. For example a Thomas Daungerfeld appeared both as a juror and plaintiff on numerous occasions. In 1495 he was brought before the Manor court with View of Frankpledge and a charge was made "that the ditch between himself and John Andreux have become worse by their neglect, to whom the order is made to scour them well and sufficiently before the next court under a penalty of forfeit…". In 1491 a charge was made that Thomas Daungerfeld and others "entered the closed fields with their animals before the accustomed time". As the 1522 military survey transcribed the name as "Daungerfeld" in both regions, it is likely that the Daungerfeld form of the surname had evolved prior to its relocation. Therefore the evolution of the surname's spelling might be used to identify the time after which the Daungerfelds relocated. During the 13th century the surname was always preceded by the preposition "de". Charters in the early 14th century fused the preposition and the prefix became "Daunger". However the suffix was variously spelled vil or ville and not "feld"or "field". Consequently it should be noted that the family surname was expressed as Daungervil(le) during the 14th century. A late 14th century example can be cited. In 1384 Maude of Coombe sold property in Wortley (near Wotton Under Edge) and Adam Dangerville, a Chaplin, is a party to the transaction. This is likely the same Adam Daungervil who served a rector in nearby St Mary's Cricklade in Wiltshire from 1402 to 1407. Based on this evidence we can speculate that the "Daungerfeld" surname likely transferred to the Stroudwater Valley after the beginning of the 1400's, but clearly before the onset of the 1490's. It is worth noting the fifteenth century was in fact a period of heightened personal mobility. The plague years continued to impact the economy. Labour shortages had resulted in rising wages and the open field system of customary labour was gradually being replaced with a wage based system. In order to maximize returns in a period of labour shortage, manorial authorities or their agents turned increasingly to grazing and this was particularly the case in Gloucestershire where sheep gazing was a well established practice. Part two of the article examines the more complex issue of why the Daungerfelds moved from Berkeley to the Stroudwater valley. Part One > Part Two Browse the resources at GlobalGenealogy.com:
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