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![Show Contents]() Freshfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Early Origins of the Freshfield familyThe surname Freshfield was first found in Sussex where the family name was first referenced in the year 1296 when John de Freshfield held estates in the county. The parish of Staveley in Derbyshire was an ancient family seat. "This place was for many generations the seat of the Frecheville family, of whom Sir John, an active royalist in the reign of Charles I., strongly fortified his mansion, and, having raised a battery of twelve pieces of cannon, held it against the parliamentarian forces for a considerable time, but in August 1644 was obliged to surrender by capitulation." 1 Early History of the Freshfield familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Freshfield research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1327, 1544, 1603 and 1632 are included under the topic Early Freshfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Freshfield Spelling VariationsSound 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 Freshfield family name include Freshfield, Frechville, Frechfield, Freshton, Froshfield, Freshwell, Fretchwell, Frecheville and many more. Early Notables of the Freshfield familyAnother 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Freshfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Freshfield familyFor 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 Freshfield surname or a spelling variation of the name include: settlers, who arrived along the eastern seaboard, from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Freshfield (post 1700) | + |
- Douglas William Freshfield (1845-1934), English explorer and mountaineer
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Nobilitatis virtus non stemma character
Motto Translation: Virtue, not lineage, is the mark of nobility.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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