Remilley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Remilley is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Remilley family lived in Cambridgeshire. Their name, however, is a reference to Romily, near Eure, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. 1

Early Origins of the Remilley family

The surname Remilley was first found in Cambridgeshire where they were anciently Lords of the Manor. The family emerged from Normandy where they held a knights fee at Eure, in the arrondisement of Les Andelys, in the canton of Fleury-sur-Andelle. At what time Richard de Romilly arrived to have an interest in the villages of Girton and Barton in the county of Cambridge is unknown. There was conflict between two Norman nobles, Roger de Tosny and Richard de Romilly between 1190 and 1200. Overriding this dispute was another Norman Lord, Gilbert de Miners, who eventually lost these lands, and other unnamed lands in Buckinghamshire.

The Pipe Rolls for Oxfordshire show entries for Alexander de Romeilli in 1190 and Alexander Rumeilli in 1193 (these may be the same person). Early Cumberland records list Alice de Romeilli in 1197 and Alice de Rumelly in Yorkshire in 1230. Alan de Romely who is listed in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire "may have come from Romiley, Cheshire." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1237 included entries for Robert de Romeley, Cambridgeshire; Baldwin de Romeli, Cambridgeshire; and Lucia de Romely, Cambridgeshire. 3

"William de Romillé was the first Baron of Skipton, Yorkshire." 4 "The great grandfather of the late Sir Samuel Romilly 'had a pretty good landed estate at Montpellier in the south of France.' His son, in the year 1701, being a Protestant, visited Geneva, for the sole purpose of receiving the sacrament, and, by the advice of the celebrated theologian, Saurin, instead of returning to Montpellier, set out for London, and thus at length established the family in England. Memoirs of Sir S. Romilly, vol. i., p. 2. The name may have been borrowed from the town of Romilly, in Savoy, near Geneva. " 5

Early History of the Remilley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Remilley research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1757, 1791, 1802, 1818, 1856, 1864, 1874, 1879, 1891 and 1892 are included under the topic Early Remilley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Remilley 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 Remely, Remelly, Remilly, Remmilly, Remilley, Remiley, Romilly, Rommilly, Romiley and many more.

Early Notables of the Remilley family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818), law reformer, youngest son of Peter Romilly, jeweller, of Frith Street, Soho, by Margaret, daughter of Aimé Garnault, was born in Westminster on 1 March 1757. His father was a younger son of Etienne Romilly, a Huguenot of good family and estate, who fled from Montpellier to England on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, by Judith, second daughter of François de Montsallier, merchant, of Shoreditch. 6Joseph Romilly (1791-1864), Registrary of the University of Cambridge, born in 1791, was son of Thomas Peter Romilly of London, by his...
Another 162 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Remilley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Remilley family

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 Remilley or a variant listed above: Ambrose Remely who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749.

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print