Show ContentsWadesleigh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Wadesleigh family

The surname Wadesleigh was first found in Yorkshire at Wadlsey, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Ecclesfield, union of Wortley, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill. "This was the baronial seat of the Wadsley family, of whose Hall there are still some remains. " 1 The Anglo-Saxon estate of Wadesleah is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 in its genitive form of Wadesleia. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Wadsley, held by Roger de Bully, a Norman noble, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. Wadsley and Wadsley Bridge are now a part of Sheffield.

Early History of the Wadesleigh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wadesleigh research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1195, 1310 and 1394 are included under the topic Early Wadesleigh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wadesleigh Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Wadsley, Wadslie, Wadesley, Waidsly, Waddsley, Wadesleigh, Wadeslea, Wadslea, Wadisley and many more.

Early Notables of the Wadesleigh family

More information is included under the topic Early Wadesleigh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wadesleigh family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Wadesleigh or a variant listed above were: settlers were recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Florida, and to the islands..



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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