Halcroft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Halcroft begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the area of Holcroft in Lancashire. 1 2

Early Origins of the Halcroft family

The surname Halcroft was first found in Lancashire where one of the first record of the name was Robert de Holecroft, who was listed in the Assize Rolls in 1246. A few years later, John Holecroft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. 3

"Lytham [a parish in Lancashire] is mentioned in the Domesday Survey from 1086 under the name of Lidun. It early belonged, by gift of Richard Fitz-Roger, to the monks of Durham, and after the Reformation was granted to Sir Thomas Holcroft, whose descendant, Sir John, is said to have sold the property in 1606 to Sir Cuthbert Clifton, ancestor of the present lord of the manor." 4

Early History of the Halcroft family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Halcroft research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1425, 1629, 1640, 1644, 1648, 1650, 1656, 1662, 1692, 1693, 1745 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Halcroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Halcroft Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Halcroft has undergone many spelling variations, including Holcroft, Holcrofte, Howcroft, Hocroft and others.

Early Notables of the Halcroft family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henry Holcroft, from West Ham in Essex and his son, Francis Holcroft (c.1629-1693), an English Puritan divine. "He is said to have been born at West Ham in Essex. Tillotson, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, was his 'chamber-fellow' at Clare Hall, Cambridge, about 1650. Holcroft eventually formed a church on congregational principles, and, after being ejected in 1662 from Bassingbourne, became a bitter opponent of Episcopalianism." 5 John Holcroft (died 1656), was an English politician, sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1648, fought in the Parliamentary army in...
Another 123 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Halcroft Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Halcroft family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Halcroft were among those contributors: Thomas Hocroft, who sailed to Virginia in 1684; William Holcroft, who settled in Philadelphia in 1828; Thomas Holcroft, who settled in Philadelphia in 1835.

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print