Pauncefith is a name whose history on English soil dates back to the wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066. The Pauncefith family lived in Gloucestershire, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages.
The surname Pauncefith was first found in Gloucestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Hasfield. At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in the year 1086 A.D., a survey of England initiated by Duke William of Normandy after his conquest of England in 1066, the chief tenant of Hasfield was Westminster Abbey and holding the land from the Abbey was Thurstan FitzRolf. It is from this latter Norman noble that the Paunceforts are conjecturally descended. Pancevold was a tenant-in-chief at the survey, and Pancefolt was an under-tenant. They held this manor until 1598. The name is derived from the French Pancevolt. [1]
"The first of the name on record is Bernard Pancevolt, a Domesday tenant-in-chief in Hampshire. Geoffrey de Pauncevote was steward to the household of King John." [2]Samual Pancevot was listed in Hampshire, Henry, Edward I. [3]
In 1165 Humphrey Paunevolt held fiefs in Gloucester from Newmarch [4]. Humphrey Pancevolt witnessed the foundation of Shireburn Abbey, Hants. The name long continued in Gloucester and elsewhere. [1]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included Grimbald Pancefot, Hertfordshire; and Walter Pancevot, Somerset. [5] In Somerset, John Paucefot was registered there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) [6]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pauncefith research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1383 and 1437 are included under the topic Early Pauncefith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Pauncefoot, Pauncefort, Pauncefoote, Pauncefote and others.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pauncefith Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Pauncefith or a variant listed above: John Pauncefoot who landed in North America in 1750.