England
IrelandThe vast movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought the Ledgard family name to the British Isles. Ledgard comes from St. Leger. "The St. Legers came from Caen in Normandy (Chron. of Battel Abbey, p. 59), and a family tradition asserts that the patriarch, Robert, was not only present at William's invasion in 1066, but actually supported him with his hand as he quitted the ship! There are six places bearing this name mentioned in the Itin. de la Normandie. Its Latinization is De Sancto." [1]
Another source notes that it was a "name of a warlike king of the Saxons in the Nibelungen Lied, which occurs in some local names in Anglo-Saxon charters, as Ludegarsttin and Lutegáreshale, which latter Kemble thinks may be Ludgershall, in Wiltshire." [2]
Saint Leodegar (or Leger), known as Leodegar of Poitiers (Latin: Leodegarius; French: Léger; c. 615-679) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun.
The surname Ledgard was first found in Kent where Robert St. Leger was granted estates at Ulcombe and became Lord of the Manor of Ulcombe. "Ulcombe Place and manor belonged to the family of St. Leger, of whom Sir Robert, of an ancient house in Normandy, is said to have supported the Conqueror with his hand when landing on the Sussex coast. The present edifice, [(church)] which is in the later English style, contains some very old monuments to the St. Legers." [3] He also held estates at Bexhill in Sussex.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ledgard research. Another 220 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1767, 1540, 1440, 1483, 1441, 1483, 1596, 1475, 1536, 1544, 1560, 1555, 1558, 1559, 1563, 1563, 1571, 1571, 1583, 1584, 1585, 1631, 1678, 1476, 1526, 1535, 1613, 1496, 1559, 1589, 1571, 1572, 1600, 1618, 1619, 1627, 1600, 1665, 1621, 1650 and 1665 are included under the topic Early Ledgard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled St.Leger, Leger, Legere, Sallinger, Sellinger, St. Ledger and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Thomas St Leger KB (c. 1440-1483) second son of Sir John St Leger (d.1441) of Ulcombe, Kent, and his wife, Margery Donnet. He was executed on 13 November 1483, at Exeter Castle, despite the offer of large sums of money on his behalf.
Sir John St Leger (died 1596), of Annery in the parish of Monkleigh, Devon, was an English landowner who served in local and national government. He was the son of Sir George St Leger (c.1475-1536), of Annery, by his wife, Anne Knyvett, daughter of Sir Edmund Knyvett of Buckenham. He...
Another 182 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ledgard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Ledgard family to IrelandSome of the Ledgard family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 249 words (18 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Ledgard migration to New Zealand +
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