Introduction :
In the course of researching the name BAGUST I have come across a number of theories concerning its origin. These range from refugees fleeing religious persecution in Europe, to a corruption of "Bathurst". The Bathursts were a wealthy, aristocratic family and the Bagusts supposedly being a branch of the family that had fallen on hard times, and lost their inheritance!
Romantic stories - but I have yet to find any evidence in support of them.
My researches have not uncovered any direct evidence concerning the origin of our name, but there is an increasing body of circumstantial evidence in support the postman's theory (see 'The Story So Far'). This is that BAGUST is a corruption of BAUGHURST - a small village to the north of Basingstoke in Hampshire, southern England. The name evidently is derived from Old English meaning 'Wood of the Badger'.
The Hugenot Theory :
A frequently occurring theory is that BAGUST is a corruption of a French name, brought over to England by Hugenot refugees from mainland Europe.
The Hugenots were French Protestants who fled religious persecution and massacres in Catholic France in the 16th and 17th Centuries.
The Hugenot Society has an extensive records of Hugenot refugees arriving in this country, but in response to an enquiry from Adrian Bagust, was unable to locate any evidence of Bagusts arriving from France in this manner.
The BAUGHURST Theory:
The distribution of the early Bagusts - The table shows the distribution of the records of Bagusts in my database arranged by county. It is noticeable that all the early records of Bagusts are from the southern counties of England, particularly Hampshire and Berkshire. It must be remembered that the early records are very patchy, but this distribution strongly suggests that the Bagusts originated in this area. From 1800 onwards records become increasingly reliable, (registration of Births, deaths and marriages was introduced in 1837), and it can be seen from that time Bagusts spread out across the country, with the largest concentrations being in London and the surrounding counties.
| County / Years | 1500 -1599 | 1600 - 1699 | 1700 - 1799 | 1800 - 1899 | 1900 - 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Berkshire | 0 | 4 | 21 | 3 | 0 |
| Sussex | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Oxfordshire | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Kent | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 31 |
| London | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 86 |
| Surrey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 30 |
| Bristol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| Wiltshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| Middlesex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Hertfordshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Berkshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Warwickshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 25 |
| Gloucestershire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Buckinghamshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Derbyshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Monmouthshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dorset | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Staffordshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Norfolk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Devon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Cardiganshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Durham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nottinghamshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Cheshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Worcestershire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Yorkshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Lancashire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Suffolk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Essex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 1 | 5 | 33 | 176 | 276 |
MAP 1 shows the area in Southern England around the village of Baughurst where all the early (1500 - 1700) records of Bagust are found. The red line shows the proximity of Baughurst to the main London to Bristol road (the A4) which appears to have been the chief route of migration of Bagusts away from the Baughurst area. In the 19th century families of Bagusts are to be found along this road - to the east in London, and to the west in Hungerford (Chilton Foliat), Marlborough and Bristol.
MAP 2 shows detail of the triangle formed by the roads between Reading, Newbury and Basingstoke, with Baughurst at the centre. The villages marked in green are where Bagusts have been located in the early records (1500 - 1700), and the circle shows that all except Chilton Foliat are located within a 10 mile radius of the village of Baughurst - less than a days walking distance.
This area is on the border of three counties - Basingstoke and Tadley are towards the northern edge of HAMPSHIRE; Reading, Newbury and Hungerford are in BERKSHIRE; and Marlborough Chilton Foliat are in WILTSHIRE.
Name Changes
It must be remembered that prior to the second half of the 19th Century few people could read or write. These skills were mainly confined to the well off, educated classes. There is little evidence that any of the Bagusts belonged to such circles. The parish records were maintained by the local clerics, or in later years by the Registrars in the nearest large town, and they would have written down there own interpretation of the names reported to them. The father or mother would not be able to check the spelling of the name, and it is easy to understand that Baughurst - given in a thick country dialect, may have been translated to Bagust.
A search of the Hampshire Genealogical Society's BURIAL INDEX for Bagust and related names produced the following records between the years 1542 - 1837 when Civil Registration started -
The majority of these burials are recorded in parishes towards the north of the county, close to Baughurst. From the list it is relatively easy to see how they could have arisen as misspellings of Baughurst.
I found an illustration of this when searching PHILIMORES Marriage Index for Hampshire which lists marriages from the Parish Registers of Hampshire. In Volume VI, page 93, a marriage is recorded in TADLEY on 1st March 1753 between Robert Green of BAGUST and Dorothy Appleton. There is no village or town of Bagust, and I assume that BAGUST here is a misspelling of BAUGHURST. This was supported by finding another entry recording the birth of a Robert Green, about 1728, in Baughurst.
Another example of this process is to be found in the records for my own great-grandfather - George William Bagust. George was born in 1842, but on his Birth Certificate he was registered as George BURGEST. His mother, Eliza (formerly Cooper), did not sign the certificate, but gave her mark (a cross), indicating that she was probably illiterate. The confusion continued later in George's life. In 1871 he married Elizabeth Baugh (my great grandmother), but the marriage certificate records the surname as BAQUEST. It is only on the occasion of his second marriage to Margaret Richards in 1896, and on his death in 1907 that the certificates show his surname as BAGUST.
Although circumstantial, I feel that this evidence strongly points to the name of BAGUST originating as a misspelling or variant of the name of the village of BAUGHURST, in northern Hampshire.