Newbroe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Newbroe is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Newbroe family lived in Neufbourg, Normandy. "Henry de Newburgh (so named from the castle of Neufbourg, where he was born) was the younger son of Roger de Bellomont Earl of Mellent, and the brother of Robert, afterwards Earl of Leicester. He himself obtained the Earldom of Warwick towards the latter end of the Conqueror's reign, ' when,' says Dugdale, 'King William, having begirt Warwick with a mighty ditch, for the precinct of its walls, and erected the gates at his own charge, did promote this Henry to the earldom, and annexed thereto the royalty of the borough, which at that time belonged to the crown.' Here, 'upon the site of the tower illustrated by the traditions of Guy, the great opponent of the Danes,' he built his castle, which, enlarged and strengthened during the long succession of its powerful lords, became one of the most renowned of English fortresses, and remains 'the glory of the Midland shires. ' William Rufus further bestowed upon him all the lands that had belonged to his Saxon predecessor Thurkill, whose daughter and heir Margaret, Leland tells us, he had married. " 1

Newbrough in Northumberland, derives its name from the family and in turn, that is derived from the Old English words niwe, meaning "new," and burh, meaning "fortification." 2

Early Origins of the Newbroe family

The surname Newbroe was first found in Warwickshire. It is generally thought that the "founder of this family was Henry de Newburgh, so called from the castle of that name in Normandy, a younger son of Roger de Bellomonte, Earl of Mellent. He came in [to England] with the Conqueror, and was created Earl of Warwick. " 3

Berkely in Somerset was one of the original family seats. "This place appears to have formed part of the possessions of the Newborough family, who were relatives to, and came over to England with, William the Conqueror, and one of whose descendants, Thomas Newborough, was interred in the church in 1531." 4

From this early record , the family quickly scattered. Bindon Abbey, in the parish of East Stoke, Dorset was founded in 1172, by Robert de Newburgh and Maud his wife, who endowed it for monks of the Cistercian order; it was dedicated to St. Mary. 4

Winfrith-Newburgh, again in Dorset was a large holding of the family in ancient times. "This is a very extensive and ancient parish, giving name to the hundred. It formerly belonged to the family of Newburgh, who had a seat here, of which there are no traces." 4

A tone time East Lullworth in Dorset was "at a very early period, in the possession of the De Lolleworths, and subsequently of the Newburghs, who succeeded to the property in the reign of Edward I." 4 (the family inherited East Lullworth and gave it up during the reign of Edward I. In the 16th and 17th century this parish would pass to the Howards and then to the Weld family.)

"Wellesbourn [in Warwickshire] was given by the Conqueror to Henry de Newburg, and was afterwards granted, as is supposed, by one of the Norman earls of Warwick to Robert de Hasting." 4

Early History of the Newbroe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Newbroe research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1158, 1172, 1242, 1245, 1263, 1267, 1322, 1395, 1430, 1541, 1600 and 1889 are included under the topic Early Newbroe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Newbroe Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Newborough, Newburgh and others.

Early Notables of the Newbroe family

More information is included under the topic Early Newbroe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Newbroe family

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Newbroe or a variant listed above: E. P. Newbrough settled in San Francisco in 1850; Thomas NewBerry settled in New England in 1630; John Newberry settled in New York in 1775.

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.