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![Show Contents]() Fellstead History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Early Origins of the Fellstead familyThe surname Fellstead was first found in Essex where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. 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, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Felstead, (spelt Felesteda, Felstede and Phensteda) in the Hundred of Hinckford, held by Gilbert FitzSolomon from Holy Trinity Abbey in Caen, Normandy. This large village held two mills and a large Norman church. Early History of the Fellstead familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fellstead research. Another 56 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1130 and 1203 are included under the topic Early Fellstead History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Fellstead Spelling VariationsAnglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Felstead, Felsted, Fallstead, Fallsted, Fellsted, Fellstead, qaFellsted and many more. Early Notables of the Fellstead familyMore information is included under the topic Early Fellstead Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Fellstead familyBecause of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Fellstead name or one of its variants: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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