Show ContentsWinchcombe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Winchcombe Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Winchcombe

What does the name Winchcombe mean?

The ancient last name Winchcombe claims Winchcombe in Gloucestershire as their ancient homeland. This place name literally means "valley with a bend in it" from the Old English wincel + cumb. 1 Arthur claims the name was from "wincel, a corner, and comb, a valley - a valley encompassed on each side with hills." 2

Early Origins of the Winchcombe family

The surname Winchcombe was first found in Gloucestershire at Winchcombe, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the Lower division of the hundred of Kiftsgate. "This place was formerly called Wincelcumb (from the Saxon Wincel, a corner, and comb, a valley), of which its modern name is obviously a contraction. During the heptarchy, if not the metropolis of the kingdom of Mercia, it was at least the residence of some of the Mercian kings, of whom Offa founded a nunnery here in 787. Cenulph, who succeeded to the throne of that kingdom, after the death of Egferth, Offa's son, who survived his father only a few months, had a palace here, and in 798 laid the foundation of a stately abbey for 300 monks of the Benedictine order." 3

Winchcombe was held, at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book survey in 1086, by the chief tenant, Gloucester Abbey. It consisted of three mills within a small village, and was once an Anglo-Saxon walled city. The town pre-dates the Conquest by over two centuries as the first listing was in 810 when it was known as Wincelcumbe. 4

However, we must look to Oxfordshire to find the first record of the family in ancient rolls. It was here that Vincent de Winchecumbe was recorded in 1207. Later, Richard de Wynchecoumbe and John Wynchecombe were recorded in the Assize Rolls for London in 1351 and 1382, respectively. 5

Early History of the Winchcombe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winchcombe research. Another 165 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1395, 1401, 1465, 1489, 1519, 1520, 1557, 1574, 1631, 1659, 1660, 1667 and 1703 are included under the topic Early Winchcombe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winchcombe Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Winchcomb, Winchcombe, Wincecombe, Wincomb, Wincombe, Winchecomb, Winchecombe, Wincams and many more.

Early Notables of the Winchcombe family

  • John Winchcombe (d. 1520), alias Smalwoode, an English clothier, "popularly known as Jack of Newbury, describes himself in his will as 'John Smalewoode the elder, alias John Wynchcombe, of the parishe...
  • John Winchcombe (died 1557), son of the aforementioned Jack O'Newbury, was Member of Parliament for Cricklade and Great Bedwyn and his son, John Winchcombe (died 1574), was Member of Parliament for Re...
  • Sir Henry Winchcombe, 1st Baronet (c. 1631-1667), of Bucklebury in the County of Berkshire was an English peer; and his son, Sir Henry Winchcombe, 2nd Baronet (1659-1703), was Member of Parliament for...
  • The Winchcombe estates passed to his eldest daughter, Frances Winchcombe, wife of Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke

Winchcombe migration to the United States +



Winchcombe Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Winchcombe, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1752

Winchcombe migration to Australia +

Winchcombe Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • George Winchcombe, aged 32, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Brankenmoor" 6
  • John Winchcombe, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sarepta" in 1849

Winchcombe 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:

Winchcombe Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Elizabeth Winchcombe, aged 14, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celestial Queen" in 1872

Contemporary Notables of the name Winchcombe (post 1700) +

  • Frederick Earle Winchcombe (1855-1917), Australian businessman and politician
  • Winchcombe Howard Packer (1702-1746), of Donnington and Shellingford, Berkshire, a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1731 to 1746
  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The BRANKEN MOOR 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849BrankenMoor.htm

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