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Bakewell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Bakewell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Bakewell is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Bakewell family lived in Derbyshire, in the town of Bakewell.

Early Origins of the Bakewell family

The surname Bakewell was first found in Derbyshire, at Bakewell, today a small market town in the Peak District. The town dates back to at least Anglo Saxon times when it was listed as Balecanwell in 949. By the time of the Domesday Book, the place was listed as Badequella and was derived from an Old English personal name + wella meaning "spring or stream of a man called Badeca." 1

At that time, King Edward had 18 carucates of land to the geld and the land was large enough to hold 18 ploughs. There was one mill, one church and one lead mine with 80 acres of meadows. 2

Bakewell Castle in the town of Bakewell was a motte and bailey castle built in the 12th century that was razed to the ground during the English Civil War; now only ruins can be seen.

John de Bankwell, Bakwell, or Banquelle (d. 1308), was an early English judge, "appointed in 1297 to travel the forests in Essex, Huntingdon, Northampton, Rutland, Surrey, and Sussex, for the purpose of enforcing the observance of the forest laws of Henry III." 3

Roger de Bankwell (fl. 1340), the English judge, was "perhaps of the same family as John de Bankwell, and was one of three commissioners entrusted with the assessment of the tallage in the counties of Nottingham and Derby in 1333." 3

Early History of the Bakewell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bakewell research. Another 47 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1618, 1650, 1654, 1665, 1682, 1683, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1701, 1708 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Bakewell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bakewell Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Bakewell, Backwell, Bakwell, Balkwell, Balkwill, Backwall, Bakewill, Bagwell and many more.

Early Notables of the Bakewell family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir Robert Bakewell of the Old Hall
Robert Bakewell (1682-1752) was a skilled English ironsmith, examples of his work can still be seen today at Derby Cathedral and a number of other churches: Alvaston, Ashbourne, Borrowash, Duffield, E...

Migration of the Bakewell family to Ireland

Some of the Bakewell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 88 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bakewell migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Bakewell or a variant listed above:

Bakewell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Frances Bakewell, aged 30 who settled in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance"
Mr. Theodorics Bakewell, aged 21, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance" 4

Bakewell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Bakewell, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1809
William J Bakewell, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1839 5

Bakewell migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bakewell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Samuel Bakewell, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Superb" in 1839 6
W. Bakewell, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Alpha" in 1849 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Bakewell (post 1700) +

Danny Joseph Bakewell (b. 1946), American civil rights activist and entrepreneur
Claude Ignatius Bakewell (1912-1987), American lawyer and politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri (1947-1949)
William "Billy" Bakewell (1908-1993), American actor, most remembered for playing Albert in the All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
William Lincoln Bakewell, the only American aboard the Endurance during the 1914-1916 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton
Danny J. Bakewell Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2008 8
Charles Montague Bakewell (1867-1957), American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State Senate 8th District, 1921-24; U.S. Representative from Connecticut at-large, 1933-35; Defeated, 1934 8
Sarah Bakewell, English author
Benjamin Bakewell, English founder of Bakewell & Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1808 who developed Bakewell Glass
Enid Bakewell (b. 1940), née Enid Turton, English women's cricket team member in 12 Tests between 1968 and 1979
Alfred Harry "Fred" Bakewell (1908-1983), English opening batsman
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bakewell family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. John Bakewell, British Chief Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 9

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SUPERB 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Superb.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ALPHA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Alpha.gif
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html