Braybrookes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Braybrookes is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the parish Braybrook, Northamptonshire.

Early Origins of the Braybrookes family

The surname Braybrookes was first found in Northamptonshire at Braybrook(e), a parish, in the union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Rothwell. 1 The place name derived its name from Saxon times and the term "Brada-broc" meaning "the broad brook", 2

By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name had evolved to Bradebroc, Braibroc in the Pipe Rolls of 1163, and as Brabroc in the Feet of Fines of 1197.

Robert de Braibroc was a Baron by tenure temp. King John. Also known as Robert of Braybrooke or Robert le May (1168-1210), he was a medieval landowner, justice and sheriff. He was born at Braybrooke, Northamptonshire, son of justiciar Ingebald de Braybrooke. His son Henry of Braybrooke (died 1234) was an undersheriff of Rutlandshire, Buckinghamshire, and Northamptonshire. 3

The family held Braybrook Castle, originally a manor home, but by the late 13th century, the estate has passed into the hands of the Latymer family.

Later, Sir Gerard Braybrooke I (c.1332-1403), of Colmworth, Bedfordshire and Horsenden, Buckinghamshire, was an English politician, Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire (1377-1390.) He had two sons: Sir Gerard Braybrooke (before 1354-1429), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire (1388-1399) and for Essex (1402-1417); and Sir Reynold Braybrooke (c.1356-1405), another English politician, Member of Parliament for Kent in 1404. He died from a battle wound on 20 September 1405.

Baron Braybrooke, of Braybrooke in the County of Northampton, is a title created in 1788 for John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden and has no relationship to this family.

Early History of the Braybrookes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Braybrookes research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1356, 1381, 1382, 1383, 1390, 1394, 1397, 1404 and 1405 are included under the topic Early Braybrookes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Braybrookes 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 Braybrookes family name include Braybrook, Braybrooke, Brailbroc and others.

Early Notables of the Braybrookes family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Robert Braybrooke (d. 1404), medieval Dean of Salisbury and Bishop of London, nominated (1381) and consecrated in 1382, named Lord Chancellor of England in 1382, out of the...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Braybrookes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Braybrookes family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Braybrookes surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Braybrook who settled in New England in 1630.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print