The name Heppingham arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Heppingham family lived in Norfolk. The name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Herpingham, Normandy.
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Early Origins of the Heppingham family
The surname Heppingham was first found in Norfolk where they were conjecturally descended from Roger Bigod, one of the most distinguished of all Norman nobles, who was granted the lands by King William, Duke of Normandy after the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D, and was a junior branch of the Bigots. The village of Erpingham or anciently Herpincham consisted largely of a church and cottages, and was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. "The church, which is in the decorated and later English styles, with a lofty embattled tower, was repaired in 1841; in the south aisle is a brass effigy of a knight in armour, to the memory of Sir John de Erpingham, a great contributor towards the erection of the church." 1
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Early History of the Heppingham family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heppingham research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heppingham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Heppingham Spelling Variations
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 Erpingham, Erpincham, Herpingham, Herpincham, Empringham and many more.
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Early Notables of the Heppingham family
More information is included under the topic Early Heppingham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Heppingham family
Because 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 Heppingham name or one of its variants: Thomas Erpingham settled in Barbados in 1685.
England
