Show ContentsMedwell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Medwell Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Early Origins and Etymology of Medwell

The surname Medwell was first found in Maidwell, a parish, in the union of Brixworth, hundred of Rothwell, N. division of the county of Northampton. 1 The parish dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was listed as Medewelle. 2 Literally the place name means "spring or stream of the maidens, (where they were gathered)" from the Old English words "maegden" + "wella." 3

Early rolls list the early entries of land holdings held by the family at that time. In Oxfordshire, the Feet of Fines included an entry for Henry de Maydewelle as holding lands there in 1262. A few years later in Northumberland, Simon de Maydewell was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275 and the same rolls included an entry for William de Maydewelle in Oxfordshire in 1279. 4

Maidwell Hall is a Grade II listed building in Maidwell, West Northamptonshire, England. Maidwell Hall dates to 1637 and was extensively remodeled in the 18th century and again in 1885 by J.A. Gotch. Maidwell Hall School was founded as a boys' preparatory school in 1911 and was moved to Maidwell Hall in 1933.

Early History of the Medwell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Medwell research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1476, 1510, 1547, 1600, 1687 and 1755 are included under the topic Early Medwell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Medwell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Maydwell, Maidwell, Maidell, Maydell, Maidenwell, Maydenwell, Maidenwall, Maydwall, Maydall, Maidall, Medwell, Madell, Medell, Meadwell and many more.

Early Notables of the Medwell family

More information is included under the topic Early Medwell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Medwell 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:

Medwell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Agnes Medwell, (b. 1843), aged 25, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Gainsborough" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1868 5

Medwell migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6
Medwell Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Medwell, aged 31, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Medwell (post 1700) +

  • Mr. Roger Terence Arthur Medwell M.B.E., British Chair for Culture Coventry, appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to the community in Coventry, West Midlands 8
  • Dr. Jane Medwell, Lecturer in Literacy Education at the University of Warwick, England
  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  8. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists

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