Show ContentsBaguley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The lineage of the name Baguley begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Cheshire, where they were held estates at Baggiley. The family name was originally derived from the name of this manorial seat. The word baggiley in ancient Saxon means high ground. These place names are generally thought to derive from an Old English personal name Bacga and the Old English word leah, meaning a clearing in the woods.

Early Origins of the Baguley family

The surname Baguley was first found in Shropshire at Bagley, a small rural village in the parish of Hordley. The earliest record of the place name was found in c.1090 when it was listed as Bageleia. 1

Bagley-Wood is a hamlet in the hundred of Hormer, in Berkshire. "A monastery was founded here by Cissa, viceroy of Centwine, ninth king of Wessex; which was removed to Abingdon in 680, that town and its appendages having been assigned to it by Ceadwalla. " 2

While the surname probably originated in Shropshire, we must look to Cheshire to find the earliest records. The family was Lords of the Manor of Baggiley and held a family seat there from ancient times. Baguley Hall near Manchester was built in the 14th century by Sir William de Baguley, or possibly by one of his sons. It may have replaced an 11th or 12th century structure. "[Baguley in Cheshire] was at an early period the property of the Baguleys, whose heiress brought it to the Leghs; the latter sold it." 2

Early History of the Baguley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baguley research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1260, 1327, 1379, 1382, 1654 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Baguley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baguley Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Baguley has undergone many spelling variations, including Bagley, Baggeley, Baggiley, Baggaley, Bageley, Baggelay, Bagly and many more.

Early Notables of the Baguley family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Alexander Baguley, B.A., rector of the church of St. Michael, Aughton, Lancashire in 1674, but was "very soon deprived for simony [(buying or selling of something spiritual)]." 3

Migration of the Baguley family to Ireland

Some of the Baguley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 38 words (3 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 Baguley family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Baguley were among those contributors: James Bagley who settled in Virginia in 1639; Thomas Bagly settled in Virginia in 1641; Elizabeth Bagley settled in Virginia in 1638; and Philip Bagley settled in Virginia in 1635. John Bagley settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1750 and founded one of America's most distinguished families..


Contemporary Notables of the name Baguley (post 1700) +

  • Norman Adam Baguley, American politician, Circuit Judge in Michigan 40th Circuit, 1969-74
  • John Baguley (1856-1886), English lawyer and Conservative politician
  • Mr. Henry Baguley, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1611 to 1612
  • Mr. Nicholas Baguley, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1590 to 1591
  • John R. Baguley (b. 1940), Australian former long jumper who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics
  • Bryan Baguley (b. 1971), South African cricketer who played in sixteen first-class and eight List A matches for Boland and Western Province from 1991 to 1998
  • Mark Baguley (b. 1987), former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club (2012-2019)
  • Ernest E. Baguley (1863-1948), British engineer, founder of Baguley Cars Ltd (later Baguley (Engineers) Ltd and E. E. Baguley Ltd, a British engineering company, specialising in railway locomotives and later automobiles
  • John Baguley Brooks (1856-1886), English lawyer and Conservative politician


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. '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].


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