Contents [hide]

Bunbury History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Bunbury History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Bunbury is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Bunbury family lived in Cheshire, where they were located since the early Middle Ages. The family name is derived from the area Bunbury, near Nantwich in this shire. The name Bunbury derives from the Old English personal name Buna, and the burh, which means "fortress."

Early Origins of the Bunbury family

The surname Bunbury was first found in Cheshire at Bunbury, a village and civil parish now in the unitary authority of Cheshire East. The village dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was first listed as Boleberie 1 and literally meant "stronghold of a man called Buna," from the Old English personal name + "burh." 2

The family of "great antiquity, descended from Henry de Boneberi, in the time of Stephen, a younger brother of the House of St. Pierre in Normandy. William de Boneberi, son of Henry, was Lord of Beneberi in the reign of Richard I." 3 As a cadet of the Norman house of St. Pierre who accompanied Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, at the Conquest, they obtained from him the manor of Bunbury. The family has held estates in the area for many centuries. By example, the extra-parochial liberty Great Stanney in Cheshire was held by the family since ancient times. " The ancient mansion here of the family of Bunbury, called Rake Hall, has been repaired by its present owner, Sir Henry Bunbury, Bart.; several farm-buildings have been erected, and the roads much improved." 4

Nearby, Little Stanney was also property of Sir Henry Bunbury. A most benevolent family, Sir Thomas Bunbury, founded a free school with £5 per annum.

Early History of the Bunbury family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bunbury research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1657, 1673, 1674, 1676, 1682, 1687, 1733, 1781, 1787, 1797, 1802, 1822 and 1851 are included under the topic Early Bunbury History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bunbury Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Bunbury, Baunbury, Bunby, Bunbry, Bunberry and others.

Early Notables of the Bunbury family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir Thomas Bunbury, 1st Baronet of Stanney Hall (d. 1682), Sheriff of Cheshire from 1673 to 1674
Sir Henry Bunbury, 2nd Baronet of Stanney Hall (c. 1657-1687)

Migration of the Bunbury family to Ireland

Some of the Bunbury family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bunbury migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Bunbury or a variant listed above were:

Bunbury Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Tho Bunbury, who landed in Virginia in 1664 5

Bunbury Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

T. Bunbury who arrived in Baltimore in 1820

Bunbury migration to Australia +

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

Bunbury Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Christopher Bunbury, Irish convict who was convicted in Carlow, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6

Bunbury migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bunbury Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Major. Bunbury, Australian settler travelling from Sydney in April 1840 aboard the ship "H.M.S. Buffalo " arriving in Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand in 1840 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Bunbury (post 1700) +

Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury (1809-1886), 8th Baronet of Stanney Hall, Chester, English naturalist, Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851
Henry William St Pierre Bunbury (1812-1875), English soldier and explorer who served for three years in the Australian colonies, eponym of Bunbury, Australia, now the third largest city in Western Australia
Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), English caricaturist and political satirist, perhaps best known for his Country Club (1788), Barber's Shop (1803) and A Long Story (1782)
Charles Hamilton de St. Pierre Bunbury (1877-1956), Irish Lieutenant-Colonel, he was Colonel of the Green Howards Regiment, he was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal, King's South Africa Medal, Victory Medal and Defence Medal
Sir Michael William Bunbury (b. 1946), 13th Baronet of Stanney Hall, Chester, British businessman, Chairman of JP Morgan Fleming Claverhouse Investment Trust Plc, High Sheriff of Suffolk in 2006
Kylie Bunbury (b. 1989), Canadian actress, known for her roles in The Sitter (2011), Twisted (2013) and Prom (2011)
Sir "John" William Napier Bunbury (1915-1985), 12th Baronet of Stanney Hall, Chester, British peer
Sir Charles Henry Napier Bunbury (1886-1963), 11th Baronet of Stanney Hall, Chester, British peer
Sir Henry Charles John Bunbury (1855-1930), 10th Baronet of Stanney Hall, Chester, British peer
Sir Edward Herbert Bunbury (1811-1895), 9th Baronet of Stanney Hall, Chester, British Liberal Party politician
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Bunbury Motto +

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: Firmum in vita nihil
Motto Translation: Nothing in life is permanent.

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html