Show ContentsHanbury History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Hanbury is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the parish of Hanbury in Staffordshire, Herefordshire or Worcestershire; or in Handborough, a parish in Oxfordshire. Hanbury literally means "high or chief fortified place," from the Old English words "heah" + "burh." The Staffordshire parish dates back to c.1185 when it was first listed as Hambury. The Herefordshire and Worcestershire parishes date back to Saxon times as Heanburh c. 765 and later were listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 1 as Hambyrie. Handbourgh literally means "hill of a man called Hagena of Hana," from the Old English personal name + "beorg." In this case, it was listed in the Domesday Book as Haneberge. 2

Early Origins of the Hanbury family

The surname Hanbury was first found in Oxfordshire where in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, we found Walter de Haneber, or Haneberowe; and Robert de Haneberge listed at that time. The Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum Roll that was taken during the reigns of Henry III-Edward I., Richard de Hanburgh was listed in Northamptonshire; Alex, de Haneburgo was in Staffordshire; and John de Haneber was listed in Oxfordshire. 3

Kirby's Quest listed Thomas de Haneberwe and John de Haneberwe in Somerset in the first year of Edward III reign. 4 Years later, Phillip de Handbury was listed as rector of Wells, Norfolk in 1327. 5

Later the Hanbury family held estates in Church Langton, Leicestershire where "the church is an ancient and stately structure in the decorated English style, of remarkably light and elegant design. The Rev. William Hanbury, for many years incumbent of the parish, and remarkable for his benevolence, and his taste for the cultivation of trees, of which he had extensive plantations, in 1767 bequeathed the profits arising from his nurseries at different periods, to trustees, for the erection of a splendid church in the parish, and for the endowment of colleges, schools, hospitals, and literary and charitable institutions of every description." 6 By 1837, these funds had realized over £6,421 since 1773 and is a trust that is still earning funds today.

Early History of the Hanbury family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hanbury research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1538, 1574, 1592, 1628, 1629, 1658, 1664, 1715 and 1734 are included under the topic Early Hanbury History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hanbury Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hanbury family name include Hanbury, Hanby, Hinsbury, Hanbrogh, Hanbery and many more.

Early Notables of the Hanbury family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • John Hanbury (1574-1658), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Gloucester (1628-1629), supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War
  • John Hanbury (1664-1734), English industrialist who patented the tinplate rolling process


United States Hanbury migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hanbury surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Hanbury Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Hanbury, who settled in Boston in 1631
  • Daniell Hanbury, aged 29, who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Planter" 7
  • Peter Hanbury moved to Virginia in 1639
  • Peter Hanbury, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 7
Hanbury Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Hanbury, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 7
  • John Hanbury, who immigrated to Boston in 1766
Hanbury Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Catherine Hanbury, aged 36, who arrived in New York, NY in 1849 7
  • R. G. Hanbury, who landed in New York in 1878
  • Henry Hanbury, who arrived in thwa in 1884 7

Australia Hanbury migration to Australia +

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

Hanbury Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Jospeph Hanbury, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for life, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Mr. Edward Hanbury, British convict who was convicted in Clerkenwell, London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Cornwall" on 28th February 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9

West Indies Hanbury migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10
Hanbury Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Nicholas Hanbury, who arrived in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Hanbury (post 1700) +

  • Harry Alfred Hanbury (1863-1940), American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Senate, 1895; U.S. Representative from New York 4th District, 1901-03; Defeated, 1902 11
  • George W. Hanbury (d. 1933), American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Newington, 1927-33 11
  • William Hanbury (1725-1778), English Rector of Church Langton, Leicestershire, born at Bedworth, Warwickshire, son of William Hanbury of that place who afterwards removed to Foleshill 12
  • Daniel Hanbury (1825-1875), English pharmacist, born in London on 11 Sept. 1825 where his parents, Daniel Bell and Rachel Hanbury, were well-known members of the Society of Friends
  • Benjamin Hanbury (1778-1864), English nonconformist historian, born at Wolverhampton on 13 May 1778, great-grandson of Joseph Williams of Kidderminster
  • Robert Hanbury (1798-1884), English senior partner in Truman Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co., son of Sampson Hanbury, and owner of Hanbury Manor
  • Sampson Hanbury (1769-1835), English owner of Poles, a manor house in Ware, Hertfordshire which was renamed Hanbury Manor
  • Sir Thomas Hanbury (1832-1907), English businessman, gardener and philanthropist, responsible for building Giardini Botanici Hanbury
  • Harold Hanbury, Professor of English Law
  • Sir James Hanbury (1782-1863), British lieutenant-general, second son of William Hanbury of Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire
  • ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  4. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  7. 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)
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cornwall
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  11. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  12. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020


Houseofnames.com on Facebook