lankester History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

lankester is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The lankester family lived in the city of Lancaster, in Lancashire.

Early Origins of the lankester family

The surname lankester was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Constables of Lancaster Castle from very ancient times. One of the first records of the family was found in Litherland, one of the ancient manors of Aughton. "About the middle of the twelfth century it was granted to Warin de Lancaster, chief forester, by the serjeanty of keeping the lord's falcons." ^[1]

The chapelry of Milburn, Westmorland is also of significance to the family in early times. "The chapel, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, was founded by William de Lancaster, about 1355. Many vestiges of encampments are visible. Howgill Castle, formerly the seat of the knightly families of Lancaster and Sandford, and which, with Grange Hall and Lownthwaite, belongs to the Earl of Thanet, lord of the manor, occupies a commanding situation, half a mile east of the village; some of its walls are 10½ feet thick." ^[2]

Important Dates for the lankester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our lankester research. Another 218 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1068, 1066, 1070, 1114, 1150, 1334, 1618, 1650 and 1717 are included under the topic Early lankester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

lankester 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 Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancester, Lancoster, Lancastell and many more.

Early Notables of the lankester family (pre 1700)

Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early lankester Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the lankester family to Ireland

Some of the lankester family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

lankester migration to New Zealand

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

lankester Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

• Miss Elizabeth Lankester, South African settler travelling from Cape Town aboard the ship "Eveline" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 22nd January 1865 ^[3]

Contemporary Notables of the name lankester (post 1700)

• Sir Edwin Ray Lankester KCB, FRS (1847-1929), English zoologist and evolutionary biologist who held chairs at University College London and Oxford University, eponym of Cape Lankester, Antarctica
• Edwin Lankester MRCS FRS (1814-1874), English surgeon and naturalist who was instrumental in the control of cholera in London
• Sir Tim Lankester KCB (b. 1942), British academic, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, England

Citations

1. ^ 'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
2. ^ Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
3. ^ New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html