We have had an interesting request through this website from Julie Brutnell, who writes:

Hi everyone

I was trawling through the parish records of Thornton Steward and came across something quite interesting. It seems that from about 1540 - 90 there were what appear to be German / Polish names, such as the surnames Mellin, Winne [also spelt as Wynd], Ziggfritz, Zindorsky and Tiggskirft.

I have searched and searched for a reason why there would Germans / Polish in Thornton Steward and can come up with a few possibilities. One is Martin Luther was about and his preachings were causing havoc in Europe and these people may have moved to England for that reason or possibly sheep / wool; I’m sure I read somewhere that Germans were moving to England to show how to get the best out of rearing sheep and producing the best quality wool.

There is documentation of a German monk in Jervaulx Abbey, complaining that the other monks talked too much and the vows of silence not adhered to.

So what I really would like to ask everyone ... has anyone got any idea how Germans / Polish ended up in Thornton Steward in the 1560's?

Many thanks

Julie Brutnell
heavensguide@hotmail.com