The Burchatt Family

Background

The surname Burchatt is of Anglo-Saxon origin, possibly originating from the Old English personal name of 'Burgheard'. The name is from a 'burh or burg' meaning a fort, and 'heard' meaning someone who was hardy or brave and strong. The name was reintroduced by the Normans in the forms of' Bou(r)chart and Bocard; this resulted in many variants of the surname including Burkart, Borkett, Burchett, Burkett, Burchatt, Burchard, and Butchard. Burchatt is often transcribed and misspelt as the more common Burchett.

Branches of interest

The original association of the Reffell and Burchatt familes came about when Ann Burchatt married John Reffell during 1776 at Cobham. Later her grand niece, Rebecca Burchatt married Henry Hatch Reffell during 1835 at the church of St Marylebone. This branch of the Burchatt family seemed to have a similar Surrey geographical background to this branch of the Reffell family, and lived in Shere before moving to Godalming.

There are a number of specific examples of this closeness between the two families that can be found; such as in 1861 James Thomas Houghton (son of Matilda Burchatt) is a stationer's assistant living around the corner from Henry Hatch's bookshop and thus possibly working for him. Also, in 1901 Henry Hatch's daughter Susan Matilda was living in Caterham with Alfred Burchatt, her second cousin.

Notable people

Charles Burchatt - Baker and Pork Butcher of Godalming
Ovid Topham - Engineer