Bosly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Bosly was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Bosley. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book the small village of Bosley was held by Hugh FitzNorman, Lord of Lea (Leigh,) otherwise known as Hugh de la Mare, held Bosley as an undertenant from Earl Hugh Lupus the great Earl of Chester. Conjecturally, the Bosleys are descended from this Hugh FitzNorman who adopted the name Baron Hugh of Bosley. Bosley is now the site of a reservoir. Since he is recorded in a Breton charter in 1070, Hugh may have been a Breton Baron by marriage, but his main stem family came from Lamare at St.Opportune, in Normandy where the family castle was built on piles by the side of the lake.