Bilverstone

Recorded as Belverstone, Bilverstone and Bulverstone, this very unusual name has several curious aspects. Its earliest recording appears to be Victorian, which points to two probabilities. The first is that it is a variant spelling of an existing English locational name such as Belstone in Devon, (the bell shaped rock) or Belvoir in Nottingham, originally recorded as 'Bello - Videre', the beautiful view. The second possibility is that it is an 'anglicization' of a near sounding, continental name such as 'Belzan' of Germany or 'Belvezeix' of France, as this was a common practice upto the First World War. It is also possible that a place such as Belverstone or similar did once exist as some three thousand medieval places are now known to be 'lost', but if so we have been unable to find any recordings, other than the ones shown below. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Belverstone, which was dated November 19th 1872, married Henry Lambourn at All Souls, St. Marylebone, London, during the reign of Queen Victoria, 'The Great White Queen', 1837 - 1901. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.