Womersley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Womersley family

The surname Womersley was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Wommersley, held by Sire Ilbert de Lacy, a Norman Baron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. This Baron was from Lassy in Normandy on the road from Vire to Auvray. His son inherited 96 Lordships one of which was Womersley.

Early History of the Womersley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Womersley research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1415, 1420, 1463, 1487, 1509, 1510, 1567 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Womersley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Womersley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Womersley, Womersley, Womerslea, Womsley, Womsley, Wamsley, Wamersley, Wormley, Wormlea and many more.

Early Notables of the Womersley family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

the Womersley family of the West Riding

Womersley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Womersley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joshua Womersley, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1812 2

Womersley migration to Australia +

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

Womersley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Womersley, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Womersley (post 1700) +

John Lewis Womersley (1910-1990), English architect and town planner best known for his work as City Architect for Sheffield
Lieutenant John Herbert Greenwood Womersley (1896-1962), English World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories
Hugh Bryan Spencer Womersley (b. 1922), English botanist
Ernest Womersley (b. 1932), English former professional football player from Hartshead, West Yorkshire
John R. Womersley (1907-1958), British mathematician and computer scientist who made important contributions to computer development, and hemodynamics, eponym of the Womersley number
Sir Walter Womersley (1878-1961), 1st Baronet, British Conservative Party politician, Minister of Pensions during the Second World War
Peter Womersley (1923-1993), British architect, best known for his work in the modernist style
Herbert Womersley (1889-1962), English-born, Australian entomologist and acarologist from Warrington, Cheshire
Gary Womersley, Scottish National Party politician
Chris Womersley (b. 1949), New Zealand alpine skier who competed for New Zealand at the 1972 Winter Olympics, brother of Cecilia Womersley
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Womersley family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. John Bassett Womersley, British Sub Lieutenant Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 4

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html