Scarasbrake History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Scarasbrake is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived at the village of Scarisbrick, near Ormskirk in Lancashire. This place-name was originally derived from the Old Norwegian Brekka meaning hillside or slope and the Old Danish personal name Skar. Therefore the original meaning of the surname Scarasbrake would be Skar who lived by the hillside.

Early Origins of the Scarasbrake family

The surname Scarasbrake was first found in Lancashire at Scarisbrick, a village and civil parish that dates back to c. 1200 when it was listed as Scharisbrac and possibly meant "hill-side or slope by a hollow." 1

"In the reign of Edward II. the manor appears to have been in the possession of a family of the local name, with whom it continued until conveyed, about the commencement of the present century, by the heiress of the Scarisbricks, to the Ecclestons, who assumed the name of Scarisbrick. " 2

Scarisbrick Hall is a country house located south-east of the village and was the ancestral home of the Scarisbrick family and dates back to the time of King Stephen (1135-1154.) The family has held the property since the 13th century, but was sold in 1946 to become a training college. "Scarisbrick Hall is said to have been erected in the 11th century: it was inhabited by the family in 1567; and was improved, and re-cased in stone, in 1814." 2

Early History of the Scarasbrake family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scarasbrake research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1420, 1508, 1637, 1679, 1839, 1874, 1909, 1929, 1933 and 1970 are included under the topic Early Scarasbrake History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarasbrake Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Scarasbrake has been recorded under many different variations, including Scarisbrick, Scarasbrick, Scaresbrick and others.

Early Notables of the Scarasbrake family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henry de Scarisbrick (died 1420), fought at the Battle of Agincourt; and Thomas Scarysbrig, Doctor of Divinity registered at the University of Oxford in 1508. William Scarisbrick (1637-1679), also known as John Plessington and William Pleasington was an English Catholic priest who was executed by the English Crown for violating the ban on the presence of Catholic priests...
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Scarasbrake Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Scarasbrake family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Scarasbrake or a variant listed above: William Scarsbrick who settled in New England in 1625.

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.