Show ContentsClotwork History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Clotwork is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in Clatworthy, a parish, in the union of Williton, hundred of Williton and Freemanners in Somerset. 1

Early Origins of the Clotwork family

The surname Clotwork was first found in Somerset, at Clatworthy, a village and civil parish in the West Somerset District which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Clateurde. 2

By 1243, the place name had evolved to Clatewurthy and the place name literally means "enclosure where burdock grows." 3 Clatworthy Camp is an Iron Age hill fort 3 miles (4.8 km) North West of Wiveliscombe in Somerset.

Early History of the Clotwork family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clotwork research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1617, 1626, 1630, 1634, 1640, 1646, 1665, 1680 and 1683 are included under the topic Early Clotwork History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clotwork Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Clotwork family name include Clatworthy, Cloteworthy, Clotworthy, Clatworth and others.

Early Notables of the Clotwork family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Cloteworthy, a prominent 14th century landholder in Somerset; Sir Hugh Clotworthy (died 1630), High Sheriff of Antrim; and his son, John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene (died 1665), an Anglo-Irish politician. They were descended from the Devonshire family of that name. Sir John was one of the largest landowners in the county of Antrim (Aphorismical Discovery, i. 335), and appears as the representative of those who held under the charter of...
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Clotwork Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Clotwork family to Ireland

Some of the Clotwork family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 43 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 Clotwork family

For 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. Early immigrants bearing the Clotwork surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Matthew Clatworthy, who sailed to Virginia in 1635 and Roger Clatworth sailed to Virginia in 1654.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)


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