This name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "blocc" meaning "black" plus "halh", a nook or recess and was originally given to one dwelling in a dark nook. The surname is frist recorded in the early half of the 13th Century, (see below). One, Ralph de Blackhale appears in the 1332 "Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland". In the modern idiom the name has three spelling variations: Blackhall, Blackall and Blackale. The form Blackhall is widespread in Scotland where the name derives from the lands so named in Garioch (Aberdeenshire). One, William de Blackhall, who appeared on a jury of inquest in 1398, is the earliest recorded Scottish namebearer. Offspring Blackall or Blackhall (1654 - 1716), chaplin to William III and bishop of Exeter (1708) was a renowned preacher and controversalist. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Blakehall. which was dated 1221 - in the Assize Court Rolls of Worcestershire. during the reign of King Henry 111, known as the Frenchman, 1216 - 1272. 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.