Cashmore is a locational surname from the village of the same spelling near Blandford in Dorset. The origination is Olde English pre 10th century, and the derivation is from "caerse" which literally translates as "water cress" plus "mor" - a wetland or area of pools. This type of surname originated usually when the original village was "cleared" by the landlords to enable more efficient farming to take place. The legal entrapment for this action was the various Enclosure Acts of the 15th to 17th century which allowed the common grazing lands to be fenced. The "commoners" were then forced to take to the roads to seek other employment, many dying of starvation. Curiously, and perhaps in hope of better days, they took as their surname, that of their former village. Spelling being at best problematical, lead in many cases to a wide variety of variants. In this case these include Caismore, Cashmere, Casemere etc. Examples of the name recordings include Robert Cashmoor, Christened at the famous church of St Giles Cripplegate, London on July 11th 1671, whilst on February 12th 1794, William Cashmore, the son of William Lane Cashmore, was christened at St Pancras Old Church, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mrs Catherine Cashmore, which was dated October 20th 1545, when she married Mr George Walton in London by special licence, during the reign of King Edward V1, known as "The boy king" 1547 - 1554. 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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