Of Anglo Saxon origin the surname Burbidge derives from places called Burbage in the counties of  Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Wiltshire. Recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1085 as Burbetche  in  Wiltshire which is where my family name probably originated.  The Old English , pre 7th century  meaning is  “A fortified  place (burg) with a  brook or valley (baece or bece) of the burg”.  Surnames became necessary when governing people introduced personal taxation. Traced back to the village of East Knoyle in Wiltshire back in 1450, my ancestors who lived and  died in that area for five centuries were lured to the capital city in search of a more financial  reward for their work . Many of the men had worked on the land as farmers and labourers trying to  bring up large families and the industrial revolution gave them an opportunity to better their  lives.
 By 1910 there were no more Burbidge’s residing in East Knoyle, natural migration due to marriages,  employment search and conflicts (WW1) were the main reasons of this fact.  However there are distant relations still living around Wiltshire/Dorset/Hampshire area of England.

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