Portway History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Portway was first found in Yorkshire in the West Riding. where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Headingly. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Headingly, which William de Poitevin acquired through marriage to the daughter of Ilbert de Lacy who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. They were originally from Poitou in Normandy.