Show ContentsPycroft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Pycroft family

The surname Pycroft was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century.

Early History of the Pycroft family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pycroft research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Pycroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pycroft Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Pycroft, Pyburn, Pikeroft, Pieburn, Pybyrne, Piecroft and many more.

Early Notables of the Pycroft family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • the Pycroft family of Manchester


New Zealand Pycroft 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:

Pycroft Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Pycroft, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Trevelyan" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 28th March 1874 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Pycroft (post 1700) +

  • James Pycroft (1813-1895), English author of "The Cricket Field", one of the earliest books about cricket, second son of Thomas Pycroft of Pickwick, Wiltshire, brother of Sir Thomas Pycroft
  • Mr. John Pycroft, British sheriff, held the position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1911 to 1912
  • Sir Thomas Pycroft (1807-1892), British administrator and civil servant in Madras
  • Arthur Thomas Pycroft (1875-1971), New Zealand ornithologist
  • Andrew John Pycroft (b. 1956), former Zimbabwean cricketer


  1. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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