What's in a Name ?
CHAPPELL
This is a copy of an article published in
The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper, on 26th August 1996,
reproduced by kind permission of its author, Desmond Holden.
The "What's in a Name" series is a regular feature in the Advertiser.
Articles are confined to the origins and meanings of surnames and Desmond regrets
he is unable to undertake research into the genealogy, descent or family history of individuals.
Editor's Note: Articles are provided for general interest and background only. They are
not intended to provide an exhaustive treatise for any individual family history - investigations
of which may yield quite different results.
WHAT'S IN A NAME …
Are you called CHAPPELL?
Surnames based on buildings form a recognisable category. They
include Castle, Fort, Towers, Hall, House and College. Every one
of these is to be found in the Local Directories. Since a
religious establishment of some sort or other was to be expected
in most communities, it follows that names such as Church, Kirk,
Temple, Abbey, Chanty and even Cathedral are equally as prolific.
(In the case of "Cathedral" though it is now believed to be a
corruption of quite another name - "Gatherall".)
One name belonging to this last group appears more frequently
than most of the others. It is "Chapel", although its spelling is
more often "Chappell." In total, only "Kirk" would appear to be
ahead.
Nowadays we tend to associate "Chapels" with the smaller
buildings belonging to the Non-Conformist congregations.
Otherwise a chapel ought correctly to be understood as any place
used for Services in private houses, garrisons, monasteries,
hospitals, schools and colleges.
The origin of the word "Chapel" is interesting. The Latin term
for one's head was "caput" and, by obvious application, a sort of
hood, protecting the head and shoulders was known to the Romans
as a "cappa". Gradually the meaning extended to the garment which
today we would designate as a "cape" or a "cloak". Smaller
versions of the garment were called by the name of "cappella."
Moving to one side, as it were, we must now deal with an item of
history. It involves what one might deem the second best known
cloak in English Tradition - namely that of St. Martin. (The
first and better known, it is submitted, is that belonging to Sir
Walter Raleigh!).
The story of St. Martin is, briefly, that he was a Roman Soldier
and the most famous incident attributed to him is that he cut his
military cloak in two and gave half to a poor shivering beggar.
According to the old historians, this cloak came into the
possession of the early Kings of France and was highly prized as
a precious relic. It was carried in battle and upon the chest in
which it was placed, oaths were taken and treaties signed. The
place wherever it was housed became identified with the relic
itself and took on the name "cappella" and those who were
entrusted with its care and protection became known as,
"cappella" (hence "chaplains").
As time went by, the name gradually began to be applied to other
sanctuaries which were usually subordinate to the main purposes
of a church or a cathedral.
The numbers of "chapels" increased and no doubt many people were
engaged in the work of looking after them. From this it can be
seen that as a surname, "Chapel" or any of its many variations,
would then have been conferred upon people as a sort of
occupational name, or, in other cases, because they lived in the
vicinity of a chapel.
Some of the very early structures answering to the name of
"chapels" were little more than two main facing walls which
sloped and met at their apex. Each end was then filled in. The
appearance was rather like an inverted letter "V". From a
distance they took on the fanciful resemblance to somebody
wearing a cloak, and if there was also a small belfry on top, the
appearance of a hooded figure was even more pronounced.
It is from this piece of sheer coincidence that a mistaken notion
has been fostered as to the origin of the word "chapel." It is
one of those explanations of which it can be said that if it were
not true, then it was so convincing, it ought to have been.
Rather like the idea that the expression "News" is made up from
the initials of "North, East, West and South" implying that it
referred to information gathered from all points of the compass!
At this point it ought to be mentioned that there is also some
very slender evidence that in a few cases the name "Chapel" could
have been an occupational name based on the French word "chapeau"
meaning a "hat" and would have been applicable to a maker of
head-gear.
There certainly was a proliferation of chapel buildings, not only
in these Islands but also on the Continent. Native versions of
the name include "Chappell", "Chapple", "Chapel" "Capel" and,
curiously, in the West Midlands particularly, "Capewell."
Immigrants from the Mediterranean brought versions with them such
as "Cappello' and "Cappilla" and from Northern Europe, such as
"Kappell." When William of Orange came over from the Netherlands
in 1689 to become William III of England, he was accompanied by a
follower called "Keppel" and with whom many people of that same
name may very well be associated.
© Desmond Holden
From "The Peak Advertiser", 26th August 1996.
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[Created 23 Mar 2006. Last updated 24 Oct 2008 - 11:29 by Rosemary Lockie]
