Watingtomb History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Watingtomb is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Watingtomb family lived in Yorkshire, at Wadding. This was a local name, derived from the place-name Wadding. In general, local names were adopted by families when they moved to another area. This distinguished them from other people that had the same name. As people began moving closer together, it became more important to be able to identify people from one another.

Early Origins of the Watingtomb family

The surname Watingtomb was first found in Yorkshire where they were Lords of the manor of Waddington, a village and parish near Clitheroe. "It is natural to find the name crossing the border into Lancashire. This surname has ramified very strongly in the Northern counties." 1 Indeed another source claims the family did in fact originate in Lancashire: "The Waddingtons, who are also established in Lancashire, have their principal home in the West Riding, where occur a village and a seat of the name." 2

One of the first records of the family was Nicholas de Waddington, rector of the church of St. Elphin, Warrington, Lancashire in 1351. 3 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 lists: Laurencius de Wadyngton; and Johannes de Wadyngton. 1

Early History of the Watingtomb family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Watingtomb research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1670, 1671, 1687, 1724 and 1731 are included under the topic Early Watingtomb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Watingtomb 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 Waddington, Waddleton, Waddingworth and others.

Early Notables of the Watingtomb family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Edward Waddington (1670?-1731), English divine, Bishop of Chichester, born in London in 1670 or 1671. "He was educated at Eton College, and was admitted a scholar of King's College, Cambridge, on 30 June 1687. On 11 Oct. 1724 he was...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Watingtomb Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Watingtomb family to Ireland

Some of the Watingtomb family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Watingtomb 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 Watingtomb or a variant listed above: Hannah Waddington who settled in Virginia in 1635; John Waddleton settled in St. John's Newfoundland in 1789; Ralph Waddington settled in Virginia in 1653.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].