The Anglo-Saxon name Erdington comes from the family having resided in Eddington or Edington, places found in Berkshire, Northumberland, Somerset and Wiltshire. The place-name is derived from the old English personal name Eadwynn or Eatha, and tun, a suffix denoting enclosure, farm, settlement, or town. [1]
The surname Erdington was first found in Northumberland and later in Berwickshire where the old barony so named was located in the parish of Chirnside. [2] Edrington is a medieval estate which dates back to at least the 14th century located in the lower part of Mordington parish in Berwickshire.
One of the first records of the family was William Edington (died 1366), the English bishop and administrator. He served as Bishop of Winchester from 1346 until his death, Keeper of the Wardrobe (1341-1344), Treasurer (1344-1356), and lastly Chancellor from 1356 to 1363. He founded the Edington Priory in Wiltshire and starting the extensive rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral. [3]
Sir Robert de Lawedre of Edrington (died 1425) was a Burgess of Edinburgh and a confidant of King Robert III and guardian of his son, the future James I of Scotland. Edington is a parish in the union of Westbury and Whorwelsdown, hundred of Whorwelsdown in Wiltshire. "The bishops of Salisbury had a palace here, which was plundered and destroyed during the rebellion of Jack Cade, in 1450, when Bishop Ayscough was dragged from the altar of his chapel, where he was officiating at mass, and stoned to death on a neighbouring hill." [4]
Erdington in Warwickshire was another ancient family seat. "The manor originally belonged to the earls of Mercia, and was given at the time of the Conquest to William Fitz-Ausculf, from whose descendants it passed in the reign of John to Thomas de Erdington, that monarch's ambassador to the court of Spain, by whose family the ancient manor-house, now Erdington Hall, was built." [4]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Erdington research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1296, 1346, 1479, 1594, 1850, 1366, 1346, 1341, 1344, 1344, 1356 and 1356 are included under the topic Early Erdington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Erdington has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Eddington, Edington, Edlington, Erdington, Eddingtone and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henri Erdington; and William Edington (died 1366), Bishop of Winchester from 1346 until his death, Keeper of the wardrobe from...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Erdington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.