Show ContentsSutch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Sutch family

The surname Sutch was first found in Lancashire at Ormskirk. The first record of the family was Thomas Such, who complained early in the reign of Elizabeth that certain of the inhabitants of Ormskirk had taken their corn to other mills. The entry continues: apparently there were complaints against the miller that the corn was not so well ground by him and that he took, or lost, an excessive proportion of the flour. In the end, Thomas Such built a new mill at the Knoll to help solve the issue. 1

However, another source has a different point of origin for the family. This source claims the name was a Norman name appearing in the Roll of Battel Abbey. "All authorities are agreed in deriving this great house from the Sovereign Earls of Brittany ; but they differ materially as to the affinity it bore to the parent stock." 2

"Alan La Zouche, the undoubted founder of the family, who in his charter to Lilleshall Priory styles himself ' son of Geoffrey le Vicomte,' lived in the time of Henry II., and acquired a great estate through his wife Alice, the heiress of the elder male line of De Belmeis. She brought him Ashby, since, as Ashby-de-la-Zouche, the head of his barony, in Leicestershire, Tong and other manors in Shropshire, and lands in Sussex and Devonshire. Their eldest son William commonly went by his mother's name; but when he died in 1199, he was succeeded by his brother Roger, who had always called himself La Zouche." 2

North Molton, Devon was the site of another of the family. "The manor was part of the portion of Eadgytha, wife of the Confessor, and was given by John to Roger le Zouch. From the Zouches it passed to the St. Maurs. The church was given by Alan le Zouch, circa 1313, to the monastery of Lilleshull, in Shropshire." 3

"The manor [of Harringworth, Northamptonshire] belonged to the barons De la Zouche, who, till within the last three centuries, resided here; and remains of their mansion are perceptible in the present manor-house." 4

Early History of the Sutch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sutch research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1415, 1420, 1510, 1569, 1600, 1607, 1634 and 1703 are included under the topic Early Sutch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sutch Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Zouch, Zouche, Souch, Souche and others.

Early Notables of the Sutch family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was

  • William Sutch, who in 1703 had given two closes called Long Hey and Little Hey in Aughton, Lancashire for the benefit of the poor. 1


United States Sutch migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sutch Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Georg Sutch, who landed in Virginia in 1653 5
Sutch Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • L Sutch, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
  • C Sutch, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Sutch (post 1700) +

  • Richard Charles Sutch (1942-2019), American professor of economics at the University of California Riverside
  • Ronald Huntley Sutch (1890-1975), English Archdeacon of Cheltenham from 1951 to 1965
  • David Sutch (b. 1947), English prelate, Archdeacon of Gibraltar from 2008 until 2013
  • William Ball "Bill" Sutch (1907-1975), English-born, New Zealand economist, historian, writer, public servant, public intellectual and possibly a Soviet spy although he was acquitted
  • David Edward Sutch (1940-1999), also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", and "Screaming Lord Sutch", English musician and founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party
  • Daryl Sutch (b. 1971), English former professional footballer from Lowestoft


  1. 'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
  2. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
  3. Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
  4. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  5. 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)


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