The Wakefield family Origins
In English medieval history, few famlies retained thier originial lands and peerage after the early 12th century - compliments of the Normans and William the Conqueror.
|
|
The Wakefield family Origins
In English medieval history, few famlies retained thier originial lands and peerage after the early 12th century - compliments of the Normans and William the Conqueror.
| |
|
|
The Wakefield's were first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, according to numerous sources. Spelling variations include: Wakefield, Wakefeild and others. A town by the name of Wakefield can be found in West Yorkshire and in Northamtonshire is a town called Wakerley. The English surname of Wakefield is of English( Anglo-Saxon) origin, being one of those surnames derived from the place where the original famliy once lived or held lands. The name Wakefield was mentioned in the Domesday book as a family in the military service of Edmund Ironside Edmund, was a noble in the Kent area of England who opposed the conquest of William the Conqueror (circa l066 AD). Ironside later swore allegiance to William, as did his servants/ tenants. Tradition claims that for this reasoning the Wakefield family were subsequently granted title to lands in the north of England, as reward for their service, and a coat of arms, which is three golden fleur de lys in an ermine background. This is still the coat of arms for the city of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire. Both of these cities are in Northern England. | |
|
Roman Times and the Origin of the Name Wachfeld which is a varaition of the name has been regarded by some as a Roman "gard" station. The field's were worked to supply the needs of the gaurd. As you may recall, it was in the norhtern area of England that bordered with Scotland the Romans buit the great wall... The name Wachfeld is from Saxion org.. The Saxion name Wach, means the Gard's. The last half is feld, means field. In low German the WACK, is the gaurd. As I understand it. Low German has it's org. from Saxion usages... In recent times one would hold a wake; to pray for and remember the dead. At the time of the Norman Conquest The Anglian, Wacca's Feld later Wachefeld sometimes referred to as "Merry Wakefield" was the site of rural festivals or "Wakes". The Manor of Wakefield is the chief place of the Lordship of Wakefield which belonged to the English King, "Edward The Confessor" and were therefore "terra regis". King Edward's wife also held great swathes in Northumberland. The original Manor of Wakefield comprised of great lands.... There were nine subordinate manors or Berewicks in the Wakefield Manor, these were: SANDALA (Sandal Magna near Wakefield) SOREBI/TORBE (Sowerby near Halifax) WERLA/WERLA FESLEI (Warley/Werloweley/Warleyfeslei) FESLEI/FISBE (Halifax) MICLEI/MIELEI (Midgley near Halifax) WADSWURDE/WADESWIDE (Wadsworth nr. Halifax) CRUMBTON/CRUMBETONSITON (Crompton) LANDFELD/LANGFELD (Langfield) STANSFELT/STAINSFELT (Stansfield near Heptonstall) The Manor of Wakefield was one of the largest in the country and comprised 118 towns, villages and hamlets with Halifax, Wakefield and Dewsbury being the chief towns. In 1068 two earls, Edwin and Morcar led a revolt against the Normans in Yorkshire. The revolt did not succeed. In 1069 William, as a prelude to the 'harrying of the north' and in retaliation for the uprising led by the two earls, sent Ilbert de Laci to break the inhabitants. Much of the region was destroyed. The whole Manor of Wakefield stretched over 30 English miles East-West. William I granted to Ilbert De Laci (from Lassy, Calvados, Normandy) the nearby Lordship of Pontefract (Pomfret) castle along with 150 manors in the county of York as well as Clitheroe castle for his services. The account of Williams Harrying of the North '…. Nowhere else had William shown so much cruelty. Shamefully he succumbed to this vice, for he made no effort to restrain his fury and punished the innocent with the guilty. In his anger he commanded that all crops and herds, chattels and food of every kind should be brought together and burned to ashes with consuming fire, so that the whole region north of the Humber might be stripped of all means of sustenance. In consequence so serious a scarcity was felt in England, and so terrible a famine fell upon the humble and defenceless populace, that more than 100,000 Christian folk of both sexes, young and old alike, perished of hunger.'- Orderic Vitalis in1069 "....slaughtered the people it was horrible to observe in houses, streets and roads human corpses rotting for no one survived to cover them with earth, all having perished by the sword and starvation, or left the land of their fathers because of hunger between York and Durham no village was inhabited.'- Symeon of Durham in1070 In 1070 Thomas, the Treasurer of Bayeaux became the Archbishop of York. On his arrival in this ruined city he found everything deserted and waste. Another famous person associated with the Wakefields - Hereward the Wake, also named "The Outlaw" In the year 1070, Northern or Saxon England lay under Norman domination and severe oppression. One of the very last centers of resistance remained in the Isle of Ely in the Fenlands of East Anglia. It was here that, Hereward Leofricson, son of Earl Leofric and Lady Godiva, emerged as a warrior leader. Sometimes fighting alone and struggling against unbelievable odds, he openly declared his defiance against the Normans. He was a hero.... William subdued the south of England without too much trouble, but in the north rose in rebellion. The two earls Edwin and Morcar led a revolt against the Normans in York. (Yorkshire) William's answer to this disturbance was the "Harrying of the North" (1069-70), which devastated nearly all the lands from York to Durham. The burning and destruction left much of the area depopulated for centuries. Hereward the Wake, stirred up resistance to the Norman conquerors in East Anglia from a base at Ely, deep in the fenland. The numerous accounts of his ferocity and bravery were made into songs and ballads. It is not clear what happened to Hereward. Some historians believe he was subdued; others argue that he won the favor and respect of King William and was bought off and given great lands and wealth.... There has been much debate about Hereward. There are some excellent sites on the web if you are interested in finding out more about this famous English Warrior. One of the best that I have found to date is a page written by and edited by Stephen Knight and Thomas H. Ohlgren - Originally Published in "Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales" Kalamazoo, Michigan: Western Michigan University for TEAMS, 1997. This page gives account of Hereward's life - his origins, his family and a brief history of his achievements. more about Hereward the Wake | |
|
Wakefield Tower was named after William de Wakefield. William of Wakefield, was the King's Clerk in 1344. Wakefield Tower is the second largest tower in the fortress, the White Tower being the largest. Wakefield has much thicker walls than the other Towers because it was built by Henry II in 1222-40 to contain his private apartments and to protect the inmost ward as well as guarding the 'Bloody Tower' watergate and the private postern gate on either side of it. The construction of the outer ward and St Thomas's Tower forty years later reduced its strategic importance however, it did continue to form part of the palace complex. Henry VI was imprisoned here by Edward IV and murdered on 21 May 1471 while at prayer in the oratory. The Ceremony of the Lilies and Roses commemorates the event every year. State record had been kept at the Tower of London since the reign of Edward I, initially in the Wakefield Tower, but the quantity increased to such an extent, especially during the 16th century that for a period it was known as the Record Tower. After a while the White Tower was also used for this purpose. After the construction of the Public Records Office in the 1850s, the removal of the record took place and the tower was adapted to house the Crown Jewels. Due to the massive increase in tourism to the Tower of London since World War Two, the creation of a new Jewel House in the Waterloo Block took place during 1967. The Wakefield Tower was then restored to its original early-thirteenth-century appearance. Wakefields in England Today Alnwick, Northumberland, supposedly the home of Britain's most haunted castle Chillingham... It was already there in 1255 when King Henry III stayed there. In 1344 Sir Thomas Grey was granted the Royal Licence to fortify the castle with stone. It is now the home of Sir Humphrey Wakefield BT., who is presently restoring it. Chillingham at first was a 12th Century stronghold, it became a fully fortified castle in the 14th Century. The family of the Earls Grey and their relations have continuously owned and inhabited the castle since the 1200s. The current owners of Chillingham are Sir Humphrey Wakefield Bt and his wife - they both have lived in the area for over 400 years. Humphery's wife is a direct descendent of the Earls Grey. If you would like to read more about Sir Humphrery and Chillinghams' history there is a very excellent site web that you go visit. Tell me more about it Wakefield Family in America Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Thomas Wakefield settled in Virginia in 1635; Anne Wakefield settled in Massachusetts with her husband in 1638... One of the most famous Wakefield's at this time was Edward Gibbon Wakefield In late 1830's the British Government was negotiating a Treaty with the Maori. In 1839, the treaty was very close to being complete - It giving Britain rights over land sales in New Zealand. The New Zealand Company hastily sent it's ship "Tory" towards the Cook Strait area, with surveyors on board. Their mission, to be one of the first to buy and then survey land for eager settlers. Captain William Wakefield was in charge, sent by his brother Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796-1862) was a English colonial statesman. Colonel Edward Wakefield, formed the "New Zealand Company" - and began to purchase land in New Zealand before the fromal Treaty of Waitangi had been signed. This caused some trouble for them and was somewhat of an embarassment for Britain. Edward Gibbon Wakefield had gained much notoriety in Great Britain by abducting a schoolgirl heiress, aided by his brother Colonel William Wakefield. The trial of Wakefield brothers, was in 1827. The brothers were accused of Conspiracy and abduction. The 15 year old heiress, was taken from a private school, where she was attening. The intentions of the brothers, turned out in actuality to be a plot of marriage - to Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The young woman was first taken to Scotland, then to Paris. The Marriage did take place but the father of the bride objected - he demanded criminal conspiracy. The case was tried; The Verdict - no conspiracy. It is believed that Edward formed his famous theroy "systematic colonisation", while serving time in prison during this trial. His theory was that land should be sold at a "reasonable price" so that labourers not accede to that statute of proprietor too too quickly. And that the proceeds of the sales be used to finance the voyage of what he defined as "suitable colonists". By 1843, the treaty was still not agreed on. Edward Wakefield and sent another brother, Captain Arthur Wakefield, to conduct more surveys on the land. Many people were buying land from the Company, in spite of warnings from the British Government that it could not guarantee legal recognition until the treaty had been formally complete. Fighting broke out, and nine of Wakefield's surveying party and seven Maori were killed. Eventually, a settlement was made, and people began to emmigrtae there... A Book written about he Wakefield famliy and thier contribution to British settlement throught the world The book -"A Sort of Conscience: The Wakefields" written by Philip Temple, is a entertaining and informational work. A must have for your library - if you are a Wakefield!  Philip Temple won a 1996 National Library research fellowship to work on a biographical study of the Wakefield family. In this book you will find out in deatil about the lives of many of the Wakefield family, that help Britain to colonize many countries. It tells of their role they provided in British overseas settlement in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the 19th century, in which the Wakefields played a major part. The book is written with novelistic form. It uses personal letters and journals to help give a more complete picture of these talented, dedicated and distinguished family. Wakefield District and Family History(UK) Burkes Peerage - (Wakefield) Wakefiled sites misc chillingham - sir humphry wakefield bt My CinnamonToast® Genealogy WAKEFIELD in All Regions Hereward the WAKE ancestral findings genealogy.com Wakefield at - rootsweb site burkes peerage scotland ancestry.com | |
Dee Elliott-Wakefield. Posted November 17th, 2003 |