In order to present (it is hoped) a more direct link to individuals their ancestors will be added above the last personally known family member. It is hoped this will not confuse issues. It should also be noted that the Tidridge clan enjoys(?) many and varied spellings of their names.

Letter from Neil Alexander Titheridge addressed to John Tidridge, dated June 15, 1989, with a cc to Eric V. Titheridge For information on Eric click here

Dear John

I greet you well & your salutations I heartily reciprocate.

It was actually quite a thrill to receive yours of 24 May once I worked out who in Canada was writing to me & the reason. However, I disclaim any suggestion that I am an expert on the Titheridge names.

Neil inscribed on the back of the photo," Much has changed since this of me was taken c.a. 1974. No longer smoke & have full beard (grey)

I've done a little on family tree(s) both in the written form and photographically. My retirement hobby has been to get a good lens plus SLR camera & copy, enlarge, reduce as necessary to produce a montage covering all ancestors that either I, or my wife Margaret, had actually known plus our three children and three grandchildren.

I digress. It is obvious to me that you or your Smiths of Hobby Ave. have been in contact with my cousin John (only Titheridge in Auckland) and/or an Eric Titheridge of Winnipeg and/or Roy E. Daysh of Fareham, Hampshire, England. The latter being the 'R.E.D.' who wrote your family tree & one for Eric (of which I have a copy also).

Roy was also helpful to me before we went to the UK last year whilst our elder son, another Roy, was on a one year teacher exchange to Malvern, Worcestershire, from Blenheim, NZ. About 17 miles from here. Our Roy & and his wife Jan gave us a good base from which to work. We & Roy Daysh exchanged contract addresses etc but didn't quite manage to make contact. He steered me in the right direction of the Meon Valley which was very helpful

We stayed overnight in West Meon & were taken around the churchyard by a real country yokel complete with gaped teeth, straw in mouth & heavy accent & called Dusty or Brusher. Eric T has two ancestors called 'Dustman'. A double headstone at West Meon shows 'Charles died Aug '36 and his son Charles (Dusty) died 13 February 1968'. No others.

(Unable, at this time to find any records on these two Titheridges)

We went to East Moen, which is much older & being retained as a 'Doomsday Village'! The county seat of Winchester was a having a 'Doomsday' year but we passed through on the weekend. Anyway, East Meon not only has an older church but we met the local historian in it, bought his book, searched the telephone book & electoral rolls. No Titheridges. An old widow called 'Tiddy' was remembered but that was all. Great War plaque & memorial showed an Arthur & George Titheridge killed in action. I see you had an uncle Ernie but that would be Tidridge about which of course at that time I knew nothing.

John Tidridge has written to a local cleric hoping to solve the Memorial plaque names as they do not jive entirely with his. Click here

July 8, 2009, no response to his letter so John Tidridge 'googled' and found the following on the East Meon War Memorial click here As it happens both Titheridge names are showing. The Roll of Honour and its likes are now updated.

Actually, my interest is in the origin of of our names. Not ancestors as such. I shall enclose a family tree I have done for interest. You may note that both Eric (CA) & I have an ancestor James born/baptized 1840 but apparently not one and the same. Mine came from Frogmore a hamlet of East Meon ( six or so house & a bridge) a stones throw away.

However his baptismal certificate shows Frogmore, South Hampton. Today that is Southampton. Handwritten records?? Is that how you got Tidridge? A 'Moses' ancestor of mine born Denby,North Wales, is now Denbigh?? Almost anything is/was possible before good education was the norm. My grandfather Edward could read but not write well.

To get back on track. I strongly believe that we should pronounce our name Tithe-ridge, almost as two words & thus we would not get or have all the various wrong spellings; the most common perhaps being 'Tethridge' 'Titterbridge' 'Titridge' 'Tidridge' yes; you got it. Nicknames,not always polite, have been 'Tiddy' 'Titty' 'Tin-ribs' ( I was rather thinner in those days)

The 'Tithe' part is, I believe, the key & your family lost that c 1851 which we now know was the big census. Once again, what mistakes were made in the written v spoken word? Roy Daysh believes our name means " A dweller on the Tithe ridge" and supports this with the fact there are a lot of ridges in topography around Southampton. He may be right.

My late uncle Leslie, father of John, Auckland was quite an academic & did some research many years back. He believed, as I do even more strongly since being to Southern England, that it originates from the 'ridge' (bund in Asia) marking the boundaries for tax purposes, 'Tithes':- was our ancestor a surveyor, tax collector, tax reorder or, even a tax dodger?? That; is what I should like to know.

I will now refer to 'Tithe' referenced in the book 'History of East Meon' by F.G. Stanfield, mentioned earlier.

• Tithe or Tenth c ad 300-200 Tithing Map (Riplings)1636


• Tithe Terrier (Census) 1851 or Tithe award (many names changed) Tidridge??


• Tithing = Area of land or District c 824 Tithing boundary 1636


• Feudal Village i.e. Meon Church, Manor and Tithing


• 'Pipe' Rolls & Tithe Records 13^th, 14^th & 15^th centuries


• Tithing Pence 1461. Tithe Corn (Measurer of) 1400/1500


• Tithing man 1598. Enough? to establish 'Tithe'??

A direct quote from page 34 perhaps leading to 'ridge'.

'Memorial courts continued to function, & in 1556-57 at the Turn of St. Martin (1 October) John Style of Oxenbourne was presented because he allegedly 'made assault & attack upon Robert Sugget & extracted blood against the peace'. And at Riplington George French subverted his ploughland upon one boundary...between his land & land of Joan Heather and encroached himself on the land of the said Joan (by) an eighth part of an acre...' The Court tersely ruled "He to amend". Unsurprisingly, cultivation of long, narrow strips in the great open fields, without dividing hedges or fences, constantly involved disagreements'. Unquote. The need of a 'ridge' to define boundary??

Page 61 tells of Frogmore being 200 yards upstream & having buildings that span at least four centuries.

Page 87 covers in some detail the Tithe Award of 1851 being the first really informative national population census. The registrar of births and deaths, with four enumerators (all named) had a daunting task to visit 314 houses & elicit highly personal information from many who were incapable of understanding still less completing, the necessary forms. Again, I believe this is where your name first changed.

Until I learn otherwise I am prepared to accept that our name came from the need to have a 'ridge' to demark boundaries for the 'Tithe' purposes.

I doubt that I can tell anymore. In New Zealand, our Titheridges were mainly in the South Canterbury to Christchurch area. Many farmers, as was my father & his father. Also a number academic in that they were teachers. My mother's father was a teacher as are our daughter, son-in-law & elder son. A smaller number, including myself, were in motor or general engineering. There is another, unrelated, Titheridge family in similar fields whom I have met with no sons in that group will die out.

Neil inscribed the following on the reverse of the photo:A rather poor copy of a perished photo of my late father. Many say I am like him & he is rather typical of a "Titheridge".

After war service with our air force (flight mechanic) I made a career of our Regular Army in Electrical & Mechanical Engineers & retired in 1975 as Major. Met my wife Margaret serving in the Army after she had had NZWRAC service in NZ during & after war & also Japan occupation forces. Her late father was a long serving Regular Officer & Director of Ordnance during WW II.

I trust the above may be of some value. If you ever come 'down under' please make contact & perhaps stay with us.

Yours sincerely

Neil Titheridge

Second letter dated January 7, 1990

Dear Cousins/Namesakes,

I believe you all know of each other even if most have not met.

I proffer a little on the name TITHERIDGE which has just come to hand. Postmarked 'EIRE' so the origin may be suspect, Joke? I have no Irish connection that I know.

A sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Betty) BOWN of Geneva and now New Zealand again having bought a retirement home, is a member of The National Trust, UK I think, and from their publications got an address that offered to provide the origin of English Family names. She sent off for news of Titheridge and later of Bown. As a result she has presented me with a sort of parchment or scroll which I have photocopied for your interest. (for information on this 'historic' scroll click here)

Is it to be believed? Cheshire is some distance north of Hampshire and the Meon valley which has been of interest to me, especially the hamlet of Frogmore at East Meon. We can all show a Titheridge before 16 Aug 1857 when the scroll says Annie, Sophia was christened at Padding ton and later that the first spelling recorded was 'Tedderidge 'in 1677 at Westminster. Both London I presume which gets even further away geographically in days when travel from one's place of birth was not very common in England.

Personally, I lean strongly to the various connotations of 'TITHE' which goes away back to 200 - 300 AD and quite a bit before the Norman Conquest which has been suggested as an early time when surnames were needed. Roy Daysh suggests we come from a 'dweller on the 'Tithe Ridge' . Just as likely I think as 'Tidhere's ridge'. However, I have little knowledge of Old English writing. Could Tidhere have become Tithere? We know that poor spelling/writing in the past has given Tidridge. Anyway, make of it as you will.

To strengthen the clan 'down under' we have two more grandchildren in the year just past. Liam Stanley born to our younger son's wife in Melbourne on 9 March '89 ( a cute wee ANZAC) and Kendra Leah born here in Blenheim to our elder son Roy's wife Jan in October. They were quite late starters. We are all pretty healthy, employed or retired and no great problems. We hope you all are the same.

Picton is not hard to find once you get to New Zealand. Just find the top of the South Island. The Interislander ferry Docks here.

Kind regards to you & yours,

Neil A. Titheridge

For information on Neil's father click here

For information on Neil's son Roy click here

For information on Neil's son, Bruce click here