This interesting surname is of English locational origin from a place thus called in Northamptonshire. The placename was recorded as "Bricstoc" in the Domesday Book of 1086 and as "Bricstoka" in the 1168 Pipe Rolls of the County and derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "brycg" meaning bridge plus "stoc" a monastery, cell or place; hence "cell by the bridge". The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 13th Century (see below). In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Brigstocke, Brickstock, Bridgstock, etc.. Recordings of the surname from the London church registers include; on December 12th 1619, Sara, daughter of Thomas and Jom Brigstock, was christened at St. Ann Blackfriars; the christening of Antony, son of Thomas and Joane Brigstock, took place on October 9th 1625, at the same place; and John, son of Robert and Katherine Brigstock was christened at St. Bride Fleet Street, on December 24th 1637. One, Richard Brigstock, is recorded as holding land in the parish of Christ Church in the Barbados, on December 22nd 1679. He was one of the earliest namebearers in the New World. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Brigestok, which was dated 1275, in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire, 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.