This name ACOTT was a locational name 'of Glascote' a township in the parish of Tamworth, County Warwickshire. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. In the middle ages it was customary for a man to be named after the village where he lived. This name would identify his whole family and followed them wherever they moved. Early records of the name mention GLASSCOTE (without surname) who was recorded in 1198, County Warwick. Walter de Glascote, 1332, County Surrey and Willelmus Glascote appears in London in 1300. Edward Glascote of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Samuel Pepy's mentions the name in his diary in the year 1659, 'To my fathers, where Charles Glascocke was overjoyed to see how things are now' he wrote. Edward Glassoce of Yorkshire, was listed in the Wills at Chester in the year 1660. The name was taken to Ireland by settlers and the Irish family of Glasscock claim extraction from the Glasscocks of High Estre, a place in County Essex. The name was numerous in County Kildare. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. Since the dawn of civilisation the need to communicate has been a prime drive of all higher mankind. The more organised the social structure became, the more urgent the need to name places, objects and situations essential to the survival and existence of the social unit. From this common stem arose the requirements to identify families, tribes and individual members evolving into a pattern in evidence today. In the formation of this history, common usage of customs, trades, locations, patronymic and generic terms were often adopted as surnames. The demands of bureaucracy formally introduced by feudal lords in the 11th century, to define the boundaries and families within their fiefdoms, crystallized the need for personal identification and accountability, and surnames became in general use from this time onwards.