Stawnton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Stawnton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the county of Nottinghamshire in an area that was referred to as stanton, which means stony ground. 1

Stawnton is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. During the Middle Ages, as society became more complex, individuals needed a way to be distinguishable from others. Toponymic surnames were developed as a result of this need. Various features in the landscape or area were used to distinguish people from one another. In this case the original bearers of the surname Stawnton were named due to their close proximity to the stanton.

Early Origins of the Stawnton family

The surname Stawnton was first found in Nottinghamshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, as Lords of the manor of Staunton. The first Lord was Sir Brian Staunton who was Lord of Staunton during the time of Edward the Confessor in 1047. 2 The family of Staunton of Staunton, in the first-named shire, "can be regularly traced from the time of the Conqueror, and there is no doubt of their having been settled in Nottinghamshire. in the time of Edward the Confessor." 2 "An ancient house, traced to the Conquest" 3

Great East Standen Manor is a manor house on the Isle of Wight that dates to the Norman Conquest; and was once the residence of Princess Cicely (1469-1507). Nearby is Standen House, an English country house but this edifice is more recent and dates back to the 18th century.

Gloucestershire is home to another village named Staunton and this village is almost as old as the former with the first listing found in 972 as Stanton 1 and then later the Domesday Book, 4 mentions a castle there belonging to Roger de Stanton, the foundations of which were cleared away a few years before. 5

Stanton in Northumberland was home to another branch of the family which has fallen. "The ancient manor-house, the seat of the last-named family, has been converted into a house for the reception of the poor; and a chapel which stood a little to the north of it, has altogether disappeared." 5

Hervey de Staunton (died 1327), was an English judge, son of Sir William de Staunton of Staunton, Nottinghamshire. "He seems to have held the living of Soham, Norfolk, as early as 1289: afterwards he held the livings of Thurston and Werbeton, and about 1306, on being ordained priest, received the living of East Derham. In November 1300 there is mention of him as going to the court of Rome. He was a justice itinerant in Cornwall in 1302 and in Durham in 1303." 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Alice de Staunton, Lincolnshire; Nicholas de Staunton, Essex; and William de Staunton, Oxfordshire. 7

Early History of the Stawnton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stawnton research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1616, 1636, 1639, 1671, 1677, 1681, 1705, 1734, 1785 and 1859 are included under the topic Early Stawnton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stawnton Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Stawnton family name include Stanton, Staunton and others.

Early Notables of the Stawnton family

Distinguished members of the family include Edmund Staunton (Stanton) (1600-1671), an English clergyman, chosen by Parliament as President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; Thomas Stanton (1616?-1677), English-born, settler to America c. 1636, a trader and...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Stawnton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Stawnton family to Ireland

Some of the Stawnton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Stawnton family

For 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 Stawnton surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Christopher Stanton who settled in Virginia in 1638; John Stanton settled in Virginia in 1623; John Stanton settled in Maryland in 1684; Thomas Stanton settled in Virginia in 1634.

Citations +

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.
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)