The name Gamadge reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Gamadge family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gamadge family lived in Gamaches, in Normandy.
"The castle and vill of Gamaches were situated in the Norman Vexin, and gave name to a Deanery in the Archdiocese of Rouen. Godfrey de Gamaches, who doubtless derived his name from this vill, inherited two knight's fees of old feoffment in the Honour of Lacy. The English interests of his family were therefore established before the reign of Henry I. This Godfrey received from Henry III. a grant of Stottesden in Shropshire, where his posterity remained seated till about 1254. He also obtained Marshall, in the same county, by grant of Richard I., and died before 1176. His second son, William, inherited Mansel-Gamage, Herefordshire, Gamage Hall in Dimock, and other lands in Gloucestershire, and was Constable of Ludlow." [1]
"The Lords of Gamaches in the French Vexin were said to be descended from Protadius, Mayor of the Palace to Theodoric, King of Orleans, 604." [2]
The surname Gamadge was first found in Shropshire at Stottesden, a parish, in the union of Cleobury-Mortimer, hundred of Stottesden. [3]
Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time.
Godfrey Gamages was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Hertfordshire in 1158; Philip de Camiges in the Hundredorum Rolls for Wiltshire in 1275; Alicia Gamage in the Hundredorum Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1279; and William Camage was listed a a Freeman of York in 1583. [4]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gamadge research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1159, 1285, 1306, 1411, 1563, 1621, 1735, 1803, 1756, 1803, 1758, 1844, 1799, 1842, 1790, 1850, 1842, 1859, 1828, 1913, 1853 and 1939 are included under the topic Early Gamadge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-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 Gamadge, Gamage, Gammage, Gamages, Gamaches and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Barbara Gamage (1563-1621), a Welsh heiress, who inherited the Coity estate on the death of her father John Gamage, and later married Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester; as well as Anthony Gamage, who was an Alderman of London. The Camidge...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gamadge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.