This interesting surname is of English topographical origin. It is derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "sand" sand and "hyll" a hill; hence "dweller by the sand hill". One, William de Sandhull is recorded in the Assize Rolls of Somerset (1276). However, the second element may also be the Old English "hylde" a slope hence dweller by the sandy slope". One, William ater Sandhyld, is registered in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex (1296). The name could also be of Swedish origin, composed of the Swedish "sand", sand plus the ornamental suffix "el". The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 13th Century, (see below). On July 9th 1593, Joane Sandell married John Banckles, at St. Giles, Cripplegate; John son of Steven Sandell, christened on October 14th 1599, at St. John's, Hackney; Anne Sandell married Mathew Arcley, at St. James, Dukes Place, London; and Thomas, son of William and Alice Sandell, was christened on November 16th 1657, at St. Dunstans, Stepney. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander de la Sandhelde, Sussex, which was dated 1275, in the "Catalogue of Ancient Deeds", 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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