Wirksly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Wirksly was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Workesley, about seven miles from Manchester, from early times. Sir Elias Workesley was the first Lord of the manor. He was a Norman knight who was a youth at the time of the Norman Conquest. He later accompanied Robert Curthose, Duke Robert II of Normandy, the eldest son of William the Conqueror on the First Crusade and was buried at Rhodes. 1

"One of the earliest crusaders, Elias or Elizeus, founder of the family of Worsley, is said to have held the manor of Workesley soon after the Conquest. It remained in this family until the reign of Edward III., when Alice, sister and sole heiress of Sir Geoffrey Worsley, conveyed it by marriage to Sir John Massey, of Tatton." 2

Early records of the family were also found in the parish of Godshill, again in Lancashire. The family seat "is an elegant structure of freestone, with four fronts of the Corinthian order, containing many superb apartments, begun by Sir Robert Worsley, and completed by his descendant, Sir Richard; in the hall are some beautiful Ionic columns of porphyry, and a good collection of ancient sculptures and paintings. The hill at the entrance to the park is richly clothed with wood, and embellished with an artificial ruin called Cook's Castle; and on the summit of the principal eminence within the grounds is an obelisk of Cornish granite, nearly 70 feet high, to the memory of Sir Robert Worsley." 2

In Southampton in the parish of Gatcomb another early branch of the family was found. "Gatcomb Park, the seat of a branch of the ancient family of Worsley, of Appuldurcombe, originally of Worsley, in the county of Lancaster, is a handsome residence." 2

"The Worsleys of Worsley, a distinguished family, carry their pedigree back to the times of the Crusades, when they possessed the manor of Worsley. In the reign of Henry VIII. there was a branch of the family at Worsley Meyne, Wigan, and another branch at Manchester, from which are descended the Worsleys of Withington: Sir Robert Worseley was deputy - lieutenant of the county in the reign of Elizabeth." 3

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: John de Wereslle, Huntingdonshire; Alan de Weresle, Cambridgeshire; and Robert de Weresl, Suffolk. 4 Geoffrey de Wyrkesle was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1246; Robert de Worvesle in the Subsidy Rolls of 1275 for Worcestershire; and Richard Worseley was found in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1396. 5