Suddery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Suddery is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Suddery family lived in Lincolnshire, in the parish of Sotebi, (Sotby) in the union of Horncastle, E. division of the wapentake of Wraggoe, parts of Lindsey. 1 Traditionally a very small parish, in the late 1800's the population was 156 but today about 100 people live there.

Interestingly, the parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Sotebi at that time. Literally, the place name means "farmstead or village of a man called Soti," from the Viking personal name + "by." 2

Early Origins of the Suddery family

The surname Suddery was first found in Lincolnshire where shortly after the Conquest, Ralph of Sotby held the village and church of Sotebi from the Bishop of Bayeux. 3

This village church is still famous for its Norman chancel arch. Dedicated to Saint Peter, the church dates from the 12th century, and was restored in 1857 by Michael Drury, an English architect.

While this origin is the preferred, we would be remiss if we did not include another possible origin, at Southrey, another village in the civil parish of Bardney in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire. This village dates back to the Domesday Book as well. In this case, the village was known as Sutreie at that time. And in this case, the village literally meant "southerly island. " 2

Simon Southrey or Sotherey (fl. 1396), a Benedictine monk, may have taken his name from Southrey. "A monk of St. Albans and a doctor of divinity of Oxford, he had become by 1389 prior of the Benedictine hostelry in that university. In 1389 Southrey successfully resisted Archbishop Courtenay's proposed visitation of the Oxford house. " 4

Early History of the Suddery family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Suddery research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1450, 1500, 1594, 1623, 1654, 1656, 1659, 1683 and 1704 are included under the topic Early Suddery History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Suddery 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 Sotheby, Sothaby, Sotherby, Southerby, Southby, Southey and many more.

Early Notables of the Suddery family

Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Suddery Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Suddery migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Suddery Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

James Suddery, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
Mr. George Suddery, (b. 1820), aged 25, English farm labourer who was convicted in Somerset, England for 15 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "David Malcolm" on 13th May 1845, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and Norfolk Island 6

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-malcolm