Muncaster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Muncaster family

The surname Muncaster was first found in Cumberland where they trace their lineage back to the place name Muncaster, home of Muncaster Castle, a privately owned castle overlooking the Esk river, near the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria which dates back at least 800 years. Baron Muncaster was a title in Ireland and the United Kingdom held by the Pennington family, traditional owners of Muncaster Castle. The placename "Muncaster" contains the Latin word castra, meaning "encampment", or "fort." [1] "This place, formerly called Meol-Castre, derives its name from a castle. The principal tower of the castle is retained in the mansion built by the late Lord Muncaster." [2]

Walter de Mulcastr was listed in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. [3]

The Writs of Parliament had the first two entries for the family, both in Cumberland: Robert de Molecastre, 1270; and Walter de Mulecastre, 1287. [4]

An early branch of the family was found at Bewaldeth in Cumberland. "[The township] was granted by Alice de Romely to John de Utterfield; after which, the family of Mulcaster had the manor for several descents. In or about the year 1400, Robert de Mulcastre or Mulcaster conveyed it to Robert de Highmore." [2]

Today, Muncaster Castle is a privately owned castle overlooking the River Esk, about a mile east of the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria

Early History of the Muncaster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Muncaster research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1530, 1531, 1534, 1543, 1548, 1555 and 1611 are included under the topic Early Muncaster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Muncaster Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Muncaster, Moncaster, Molcaster, Mulcaster and others.

Early Notables of the Muncaster family

Notables of the family at this time include Richard Mulcaster (c.1531-1611), English school headmaster, and early British education theorist. He "is commonly said to have been a native of Carlisle. But his most recent biographer, R. H. Quick, on evidence supplied by one of his descendants, considers his birthplace to have been ‘the old border tower of Brackenhill Castle, on the river Line.’ His father, William Mulcaster, was of an old border family, who traced back their history to the time of William Rufus, and had been...
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Muncaster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Muncaster 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:

Muncaster Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Muncaster, aged 27, a farm labourer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hannibal" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Muncaster (post 1700) +

Dean Muncaster (1933-2012), Canadian President and CEO of Canadian Tire Corporation (1965 to 1984)

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.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)