This surname ASHDOWN was a locational name 'of Ashdown', a parish in the diocese of Chichester or from a place in County Berkshire, which was until the 18th century, the name of the Berkshire Downs. Local surnames, by far the largest group, derived from a place name where the man held land or from the place from which he had come, or where he actually lived. These local surnames were originally preceded by a preposition such as 'de', 'atte', 'by' or 'in'. The names may derive from a manor held, from working in a religious dwelling or from literally living by a wood or marsh or by a stream. Early records of the name mention AESCENDEN (without surname) who was recorded in County Sussex in the year 1185. Edward Ashdown was recorded in Berkshire in the year 1273. William de Assedon of London was recorded in the year 1273 and Thomas Ashden of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, and Edward Asdon appears in County Lancashire in the year 1400. Later instances of the name include Bartholomew Ashdowne and Mary Cuddon who were married in London in 1640-41. John Ashdowne and Sarah Woodgate were married in Canterbury in 1663. George Ashdon and Hannah Cope were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1778. POGMORE was of the locational group of surnames meaning 'one who came from pogmore' some spot in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Early records of the name mention Willelmus de Poggemore, of Yorkshire, who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, and Thomas Pogemore appears in the same document. Adam Pogemore was recorded in County Somerset in the year 1400. 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.