This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a dialectal variant of the locational names Coleridge and Coldridge in Devonshire, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "col", meaning "(char)coal" plus "hrycg", meaning ridge, hence "ridge where charcoal was made". The surname dates back to the late 13th Century (see below). Further recordings include one Richard de Colrugge in 1273, the Hundred Rolls of Berkshire. Parish records show Elizabeth, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Colebridge, who was christened on March 13th 1687 at St. James', Clerkenwell, London, and Sarah Colbridge, who married William Pearce on April 21st 1799 at St. George's, London. During the Middle Ages, when it was increasingly common for people to migrate from their birthplace to seek work further afield the custom developed that they would adopt their place of origin as a means of identification. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Crispianus de Colrigge, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Devonshire", 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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