| ![Show Contents]() Bishope History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The history of the name Bishope goes back those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain. Such a name was given to a person who portrayed a bishop in a medieval play, a person with an ecclesiastical bearing, or one who had been elected as a boy-bishop for the festival of St. Nicholas' Day. 1 2 Early Origins of the Bishope familyThe surname Bishope was first found in an area "confined south of a line drawn from the Wash to the Dee. It is at present most numerous in the western half of this area, the county of Dorset containing the greatest number." 3 Biscop was listed in Northumberland in the Domesday Book and later, Bissop was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1195. 2 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed a wide variety of early spellings found throughout this area: John le Bissup, Oxfordshire; William Bisscop, Norfolk; Henry Biscop, Lincolnshire; Elvena, relicta Peter Bissop, Cambridgeshire; and Alice Bissop, Oxfordshire. 1 Later, Bissop atte Combe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset in 1327 and the Pipe Rolls listed Lefwinus Bissop in Northumberland in 1166. 2 Further to the north in Scotland, the first record of the family was in 1291 when "a receipt was granted to William called 'Bissope' on behalf of Sir Dovenald, Earl of Mar." 4 The Biscoe variant was principally found in Yorkshire where William Birscowe and Robert Biscowe were listed in 1463. 2 Early History of the Bishope familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bishope research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1426, 1551, 1554, 1601, 1610, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1624, 1625, 1627, 1628, 1632, 1634, 1660, 1661, 1665, 1672, 1675, 1676, 1679, 1681, 1682, 1683, 1684, 1687, 1691, 1692, 1737, 1748, 1785, 1786, 1793, 1804, 1806, 1809, 1810, 1811, 1836, 1839, 1845, 1847, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1861 and 1880 are included under the topic Early Bishope History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bishope Spelling VariationsSound 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 Bishope family name include Bishop, Bisshop, Bisshope, Bishope, Bishoppe, Bischoppe and many more. Early Notables of the Bishope familyNotables of the family at this time include William Bishop (1554-1624), Bishop of Chalcedon, the son of John Bishop, who died in 1601 at the age of ninety-two; he was born of a 'genteel family' at Brailes in Warwickshire in or about 1554. 5Humphrey Bishop (c. 1612-1675), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661; and Henry Bishopp (Bishop, Bisshopp), (1611-1691), was Postmaster General of England from Henfield, Sussex. John Bishop (1665-1737), was an English musical composer, and educated under Daniel Roseingrave, but, as the latter was organist of Winchester Cathedral from June 1682...
Another 112 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bishope Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Bishope family to Ireland
Some of the Bishope 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 Bishope familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Bishope or a variant listed above: Daniel Bishop who settled in Virginia in 1663; Henry Bishop settled in Maryland in 1633; Joseph Bishop in Virginia in 1644; Thomas Bishop settled in Barbados with his wife and servants in 1680.
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Pro Deo et ecclesia
Motto Translation: For God and the Church.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
|
England
Ireland
Scotland
