Scarisbrick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Scarisbrick family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living 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 Scarisbrick would be Skar who lived by the hillside.

Early Origins of the Scarisbrick family

The surname Scarisbrick 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 Scarisbrick family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scarisbrick 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 Scarisbrick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarisbrick Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Scarisbrick include Scarisbrick, Scarasbrick, Scaresbrick and others.

Early Notables of the Scarisbrick 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 Ca...

Scarisbrick migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Scarisbrick Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Scarisbrick, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 13th March 1828, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Scarisbrick (post 1700) +

Professor John Joseph "J.J." Scarisbrick (b. 1928), English Tudor historian and the founder of the Life Organisation
Neil Scarisbrick, British bobsledder who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Andy Scarisbrick, British musician, former in-concert guitarist of British music group The Overlanders
Sir Thomas Talbot Leyland Scarisbrick (1874-1933), 1st Baronet, a British Liberal Party politician, Mayor of Southport (1902-1903), Member of Parliament for South Dorset (1906-1910)

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.
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant