Show ContentsHawardon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The vast movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066 brought the Hawardon family name to the British Isles. They lived in Flintshire, Wales at Hawarden. 1

Early Origins of the Hawardon family

The surname Hawardon was first found in Flintshire, Wales at Hawarden, a small village near the border of Cheshire and Wales. Legend has it that in the Church a statue of the Virgin Mary fell in 946, killing the wife of the Governor of the Castle. The statue was put on trial and condemned to death by drowning. The statue floated up the River Dee and washed up at Chester.

Hawarden Castle, built much later, after the Hawardens had left, was occupied during the 19th century by William Gladstone, Prime Minister of England.

Early History of the Hawardon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hawardon research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1206, 1574, 1662, 1686 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Hawardon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hawardon Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Hawarden, Hawardens, Hawerden, Harweden, Harveden, Harvedon and many more.

Early Notables of the Hawardon family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Edward Hawarden (1662-1735), an English Roman Catholic theologian and controversialist from Lancashire. He was the son of Thomas Hawarden...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hawardon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hawardon family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Hawardon or a variant listed above were: Robert Harveden who landed in North America in 1705.



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.


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