Knowsley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Knowsley begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the township of Knowsley in the parish of Huyton in the county of Lancashire. In 1086, at the time of the Domesday survey Knowsley was considered a part of Cheshire due to the fact that the county of Lancashire was not created until 1182. The parish of Huyton is also known as Huyton-with-Roby in Liverpool.

Early Origins of the Knowsley family

The surname Knowsley was first found in Lancashire at Knowsley, now a large village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside. More commonly known as Knowsley Village, the village dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Chenulueslei and literally meant "woodland clearing of a man called Cenwulf or Cynewulf," from the Old English personal name + "leah." 1 "This place was early held by a family of the local name. It became the property of the Lathom family by the marriage of Sir Robert de Lathom with Catherine, daughter and heiress of Thomas de Knowsley." 2 The oldest Thomas de Knowesley was born in the year 1200 and died in Picardie, France in 1259. His son Sir Thomas de Knowsley, born in 1245 and died in 1259 at the age of 14 had no issue.

Early History of the Knowsley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Knowsley research. Another 179 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1182, 1570, 1585, 1586 and 1689 are included under the topic Early Knowsley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Knowsley 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 Knowsley has undergone many spelling variations, including Knowsley, Knowesley, Knowsly, Knowslie, Nicely and many more.

Early Notables of the Knowsley family

Distinguished members of the family include

William Knowsley of Denbighshire, Wales, a prominent 16th century landholder

Migration of the Knowsley 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 Knowsley were among those contributors: Agnes Knowsley, aged 42, who arrived at New Zealand in 1920; Effa Allan Knowsley, aged 20, who arrived at Wellington, New Zealand in 1920; Florence Leonora Knowsley, aged 40, who arrived at Ellis Island from Ranwell, England in 1914.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.