This interesting name is of English locational origin from some unidentified spot, probably lost as a result of enforced "clearing" and dispersal of former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century. The Black Death of 1348 may also have contributed to this phenomenon. The placename itself, was composed of the old English per 7th Century words "brom", broom, gorse plus "well(a)", spring, stream. The surname itself is distributed fairly evenly throughout England. The surname first appears in the 12th Century (see below). Homfrey Bramwell was christened at Mobberly, Cheshire in August 1582, while Elizabeth Bramwell married Humphrey Hales at Nantwich Cheshire on February 2nd 1616. Richard , son of Robert and Abigaell Bremwell was christened at St. Dunstan, Stepney, London on November 3rd 1670. George William Wilshere Bramwell or Baron Bramwell (1808 - 1892) was a judge, who studied under Fitzroy Kelly; he was called to the bar 1838; appointed Lord Justice 1876 - 1881 and raised to the peerage in 1882. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mathew de Bromele, which was dated 1150, The Pipe Rolls of Cheshire, during the reign of King Stephen, known as "Count of Blois", 1135 - 1154. 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.