Horpe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Horpe family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the area referred to as the thorp which is the Old English word for village, farmstead or hamlet. 1 The surname Horpe is a habitation name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The surname originated as a means of identifying individuals from a particular area. In the Middle Ages people often assumed the name of the place that they originally lived as their surname during the course of travel. In this case the place-name Thorpe was found in various locations in England.

Early Origins of the Horpe family

The surname Horpe was first found in Yorkshire, Surrey, Essex, Lincolnshire, Durham and other locations throughout Britain. The Domesday Book of 1086 lists six locations in Britain all having the spelling Torp. 2 "The Thorps of Ryton, county Durham, as said to be descended from Robert Thorpe, of Thorpe, near Wellwyke, in Holderness, who flourished in the reign of King John. " 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1237 lists: Adam de la Throppe in Wiltshire; Augustinus de Thorpe in Suffolk; and Warin de Thorpe in Cambridgeshire. 4

The Pipe Rolls of Northumberland list William de Torp in 1158 and the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1287 list Robert be Thorp. The Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland (Cumbria) list Jak de Thorp in 1332. 5 Another branch of the family was found at Thorpe in Surrey in later years.

"The manor appears to have been held under the abbots of Chertsey in the 15th century, by a family named Thorpe: after the Dissolution, Queen Elizabeth granted the lands to Sir John Wolley, her Latin secretary." 6

One of the first on record was Robert de Thorpe (fl. 1290), an English judge, who "appears to have been head of an ancient family residing at Thorpe Thewles, near Stockton, Durham, and to have descended from Geoffrey de Torp, who in 1166 held that estate of the bishopric of Durham as half a knight's fee." 7

John de Thorpe (d. 1324), Baron Thorpe, was an English judge, apparently son of Robert de Thorpe of North Creak and Ashwell-Thorpe, Norfolk. "By his wife Maud, [he] came of a family of wealth and importance in Norfolk and Suffolk. His son, Robert de Thorpe or Thorp (1294?-1330), Baron de Thorpe, was also a judge and was thirty years old at his father's death. " 7

Early History of the Horpe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Horpe research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1346, 1350, 1361, 1407, 1565, 1569, 1595, 1655 and 1665 are included under the topic Early Horpe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Horpe Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Horpe include Thorp, Thorpe, Thropp, Thrupp and others.

Early Notables of the Horpe family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir William de Thorpe (died 1361), an English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 26 November 1346 to 26 October 1350; John Thorpe (1565-1655), English architect; William Thorpe, putati...
Francis Thorpe (1595-1665), was an English judge, the eldest son of Roger Thorpe of Birdsall in Yorkshire

Migration of the Horpe family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Horpe were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: John Thorpe was a settler at St. John's Newfoundland in 1814; Elizabeth Thorp settled with her daughter Elizabeth in Rhode Island in 1635; William Thorp settled in Boston in 1637.

The Horpe Motto +

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: Super antiquas vias
Motto Translation: Upon the ancient tracks.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print