This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, may be a locational name from a place called Audsley, which is believed to be a "lost" village in Yorkshire, where the surname is widespread, or from Audley in Staffordshire; both deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Ealdgyp", composed of the elements "eald" meaning "old", plus "gyp", battle, plus "leah", a wood or clearing. The surname dates back to the late 13th Century (see below). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Audesley, Audeley, and Andelye; Richard, son of William Awdsley, was christened at Dewsbury, Yorkshire, on March 22nd 1542. Richard Audsley married Beatrice Wurmal at Dewsbury, Yorkshire, on December 1st 1562; Isabell Audsley married Tom Godson at St. Katherine by the Tower, London; and on April 4th 1644, Sarah, daughter of David and Elizabeth Audsley, was christened at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London, on August 16th 1724. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas de Audeley, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Shropshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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