Norman Origins ?
There are several different ways of spelling the name Bayley - Bailey, Baillie, Baily, Baly, are just a few and many believe the origins of the name lie in the word 'Bailiff', which is based on the French word 'Baylife' brought to England by the Normans. 'Baylife' was a generic term for judicial officers and others employed in the administration of justice, and the governance of officers or estate, and is thought to be derived from the Latin word 'Balivus'. In the statute of Magna Carta (1215) it states that "Nullus balivus de eaetero ponat aliqnem ad legem manifestam nec ad juramentum simplici loquela sua sine testibus fidelibus ad hoc inductis" - "No bailiff from henceforth shall put any one to his open law, nor to an oath upon his own simple accusation or complaint without faithful witness brought in for the same".
One of the earliest examples of the gradual transition from the word 'bailiff' to 'bailey' was in the use of the Norman 'motte and bailey' castle where the 'motte', or mound, was where the keep was built, and the 'bailey' was the inner courtyard where the lord's soldiers were stationed under the authority of the 'bailey', or 'bailiff'.
As Norman dominance spread across the country, it is likely that 'bailiffs' or 'baileys' became widely appointed.
The Scottish connection
Many Scottish clans have their roots in Normandy. This area of northern France was colonised by the Vikings in the 10th century (Normandy means 'Home of the Northmen') and in the year 911, Rollo the Viking signed a treaty with the French king, Charles the Simple, which gave the Norsemen a permanent home on French soil with Rollo's descendents adopting the title Dukes of Normandy. The most famous of these was Duke William of Normandy who was Rollo's grandson and led the successful invasion of England in 1066. From the descendants of the three Knights who sailed with Duke William - William's cousins, de Brus; de Bailliol, and a noble by the name of Broton were to come the Scottish kings of Bruce; Bailliol (John Bailliol, born in 1249, reigned from 1292 to 1296, and his son, Edward Bailliol, who was monarch from 1332 to 1333), and the ill-fated Stuart dynasty.
King John Bailliol of Scotland's brother, Sir William Balliol, had a son, William, who is said to have married the illegitimate daughter of William Wallace and a woman by the name of Marion Braidfute - the 18 year old heiress of Hugh Braidfute of Lamington (in Lanarkshire). Historians cannot find any evidence that William Wallace and Marion Braidfute were ever married, and it is fairly well document that Marion was murdered shortly after the birth of their daughter. Sir William is thought to have changed his name from Balliol to Baillie in order to avoid his being captured by the English following the defeat of King John Balliol's army in 1296, with which he was associated. Sir William's son, William, is believed to be the Sir William Baillie of Hoprig who in 1311, was present as a juror at an inquest in Lothian. He was knighted in 1357 and 'received a royal charter to the Barony of Lamington' in Lanarkshire. Lamington is known locally as the 'Home of the Baillies', and the 800 years old church supposedly contains the graves of many generations of Baillies. As for the fortunes of the Scottish Balliol's, the family's fortunes declined after their lands were seized by the English as punishment for their support of Mary Queen of Scots at the Battle of Langside in 1568.
Celtic Origins ?
The Celtic word for 'village' is 'baillie', or in Ireland, 'bally'. There is no evidence to suggest there's any link between the Norman 'bailiff' and his occupation related role in the evolution of the Bayley surname, and people of Celtic origin who are most likely descended from individuals who took the name of their particular village as an additional means of identification. Apparently, old Parish records contain the names of many Baillies whose illiterate ancestors allowed parish clerks to misspell their name as Bellie, or Belly. An interesting twist is the story of a young man with the name of Bailey from Staffordshire who, during the reign of King Edward the First (1239-1307), killed his Lord in a duel. After the killing, he is said to have escaped justice by crossing the border into Scotland and took the name Baillie.
The Darlaston Bayleys
Related to Scots Kings, or people in high office ? There is probably a much simpler and less romantic explanation as to how this name came into use in the Darlaston area.
It is thought that the place name Darlaston is derived from 'Deorlafston', meaning Deorlaf's Tun, or settlement. Deorlaf is believed to be the leader of an 8th century group of Anglo-Saxons called the Anglian Mercens who migrated into the area as the tribe grew. Initially they followed the Trent Valley, and began spreading along the valleys of the River Tame and its tributaries. They were known as the Tomsaetan ('dwellers by the Tame'), and would have been the first people to settle in the Darlaston area. It had a couple of essential features which made it extremely suitable for a settlement. It had a good water supply from the local brooks, and a slightly elevated position making the site easily defendable. Evidence of their occupation survives to this day in several place names in the area, such as 'The Leys', which is a variation of the old Anglo-Saxon term, leah, meaning 'an open forest glade where animals grazed'. It is also the origin of the Bentley estate's name (which is an area to the north of the town), and that of Moxley to the south west of the town centre. With the words 'by' and 'the' also of Anglo-Saxon origin and meaning, could the Darlaston version of the surname be derived simply from an someone who was known as living 'By-the-Leys' at a time when the population growth meant that adequate identification of an individual was no longer possible with just a forename? An interesting thought and not beyond the realms of possibility !
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