Cartridge Family History & Genealogy

History

Cartridge is pre Roman, certainly pre Saxon and could even be from the original pre Roman inhabitants or from Jutes in 450. It has nothing to do with ammunition, cylinders of paper, gun culture or anything French.

Name Origin

55 years of research into my surname Cartridge has revealed that it originates in a very clearly defined tract of land in Kent England to the South of Sissinghurst castle very near Cranbrook, County of Kent. In the year 843 King Aethelwulf granted 10 sulungs of land to his Earl Aethelmod at Cadaca Hrygc near Cranbrook. The name Cadaca Hrygc means "Ridge of Jackdaws" noisy birds which flock together. This was valuable mixed woodland and was used for pannage the autumnal feeding of pigs. The land was known as a "den". There were many.
In AD1312 King Edward III established a cloth making industry there because of plentiful water, wood and fullers earth. One of the cloth fulling mills was called then "Karkeregge". In about 1445 a John Karkeregge was the leaseholder of the Karkeregge mill. Stephen Karkeregge died in 1500 and was one of the wealthy cloth makers of Kent. His Will leaves substantial holdings to his sons. However subsequent documents in line with the changes in record keeping, writing and spelling show irregular changes between 1500 to 1600 from Karkeregge, to Carkeregge, to Cartriche, Cartryche, Cartreadge, Cartridge . By 1550 the cloth industry at Cranbrook was quite finished. The cloth fullers returned to yeomanry and those who had sold their farms sought other employment. The family of Cartriche had earlier migrated to Lewes, Sussex and other south coast towns. Some became wool merchants supplying the Italian Wool buyers in Southampton. James Cartriche was employed by Leonardo Fryscombald a highly regarded victualler to Henry VIII, However he became bankrupt in 1518. James Cartriche / Cartreadge relocated to the port of Poole Dorset and continued in the wool trade. His son or grandson John Cartridge born Poole about 1580 leased the Town Wool cellars for 21 years at a rental of 10 shillings a year. By this time the spelling of the name had basically standardised to Cartridge.
When the Kent wool fulling mills closed, many workers dispersed. Some Karkeregges went to London and some likely went to the Midlands around Grendan Bishop near Bromyard, Herefordshire and established a dynasty there. This is not confirmed.
So the name Cartridge comes from "Cadaca Hrygc", the pre Saxon, maybe even the pre Roman tribal word for "The Ridge of Jackdaws" It is not Roman because a Jackdaw in Latin is "graccus"

Spellings & Pronunciations

Karkeregge, Carkeregge, Carkreadge, Cartriche, Cartryche, Cartreadge, Carteredge, Cartridge.

Nationality & Ethnicity

England. Kent. Cranbrook. A location called Cadaca Hrygc devolved and pronounced 1450 "Karkeregge"

Famous People named Cartridge

The southern English Cartridges were fisherfolk, labourers, and working class. A few were merchants, mariners and served on fighting ships, or in battle, some died latterly in aircraft.

Early Cartridges

These are the earliest records we have of the Cartridge family.