Eddingtomb History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Eddingtomb is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in Eddington or Edington, places found in Berkshire, Northumberland, Somerset and Wiltshire. The place-name is derived from the old English personal name Eadwynn or Eatha, and tun, a suffix denoting enclosure, farm, settlement, or town. 1

Early Origins of the Eddingtomb family

The surname Eddingtomb was first found in Northumberland and later in Berwickshire where the old barony so named was located in the parish of Chirnside. 2 Edrington is a medieval estate which dates back to at least the 14th century located in the lower part of Mordington parish in Berwickshire.

One of the first records of the family was William Edington (died 1366), the English bishop and administrator. He served as Bishop of Winchester from 1346 until his death, Keeper of the Wardrobe (1341-1344), Treasurer (1344-1356), and lastly Chancellor from 1356 to 1363. He founded the Edington Priory in Wiltshire and starting the extensive rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral. 3

Sir Robert de Lawedre of Edrington (died 1425) was a Burgess of Edinburgh and a confidant of King Robert III and guardian of his son, the future James I of Scotland. Edington is a parish in the union of Westbury and Whorwelsdown, hundred of Whorwelsdown in Wiltshire. "The bishops of Salisbury had a palace here, which was plundered and destroyed during the rebellion of Jack Cade, in 1450, when Bishop Ayscough was dragged from the altar of his chapel, where he was officiating at mass, and stoned to death on a neighbouring hill." 4

Erdington in Warwickshire was another ancient family seat. "The manor originally belonged to the earls of Mercia, and was given at the time of the Conquest to William Fitz-Ausculf, from whose descendants it passed in the reign of John to Thomas de Erdington, that monarch's ambassador to the court of Spain, by whose family the ancient manor-house, now Erdington Hall, was built." 4

Early History of the Eddingtomb family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eddingtomb research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1296, 1341, 1344, 1346, 1356, 1366, 1479, 1594 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Eddingtomb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eddingtomb Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Eddingtomb are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Eddingtomb include: Eddington, Edington, Edlington, Erdington, Eddingtone and many more.

Early Notables of the Eddingtomb family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henri Erdington; and William Edington (died 1366), Bishop of Winchester from 1346 until his death, Keeper of the wardrobe from...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Eddingtomb Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Eddingtomb family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Eddingtomb or a variant listed above: Robert Eddington who settled in Virginia in 1685; John Edlington settled in Philadelphia in 1813; John Edington settled in Jamaica in 1684.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.