Idinton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Idinton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived 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

Early Origins of the Idinton family

The surname Idinton 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

Early History of the Idinton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Idinton research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1296, 1341, 1344, 1346, 1356, 1366, 1479, 1594 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Idinton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Idinton Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Idinton has been recorded under many different variations, including Eddington, Edington, Edlington, Erdington, Eddingtone and many more.

Early Notables of the Idinton family

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 Idinton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Idinton family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Idinton or a variant listed above: Robert Eddington who settled in Virginia in 1685; John Edlington settled in Philadelphia in 1813; John Edington settled in Jamaica in 1684.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.