Jack Priestley’s Family History
This site is a work-in-progress. There is a massive amount to cover. I have included both male and female lines. Keep coming back for more.
I have numbered the generations working backwards from Jack’s as (1)
EARLY WADDINGTONS (21)
In the Craven Herald the Rev. S. T. Taylor-Taswell, M.A., writes:
“The Waddingtons are a very ancient family, and trace their ancestry to a period prior to the Norman Conquest, to even Saxon times. The name itself is territorial, and signifies the town (ton) of the children (ing) of Wada, and may be traced in such places as Wad-how, Wadsworth, Paddington, and, strange as it may seem, in Padiham, the abode of Wada, since Pada and Wada were only variations of the same word.
“Their possessions extended over a large part of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
“The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, sub anno 798, records a great fight at Whalley during Lent, in which, according to Simeon of Durham, Wada Dux was put to flight by King Eardulfus.” [1]
Symeon of Durham writes; “In the year 798 a conspiracy was made by the men who had slain King Ethelred, in which conspiracy Duke Wada joined, and the conspirators fought a battle with King Eardulf in a place called by the Angles Billingahoth, by Walalege. A very great number were killed on both sides, Duke Wada and his side were put to flight, and Eardulf the King obtained a victory in kingly fashion over his enemies.”[2]
The surname Waddington was first found in Yorkshire where they were Lords of the manor of Waddington, a village and parish near Clitheroe. Boundary changes have meant that the village is now in Lancashire. The earliest parts of Waddington Hall date back to the 11th century.
The rebuilt Waddington Hall [3]
Recorded as Wadington, Waddington, Wodington, Wadiham and Waddingham, this is an English locational surname. It originates from any or all of the villages called Waddington in Surrey, Lincolnshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, or Waddiham in Lincoln. An early example is Walter de Wadington, in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1276. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax.
Another early record of this surname is Nicholas de Waddington, rector of the St Elphin, Warrington, Lancashire, in 1351. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Laurencius de Wadyngton and Johnanes de Wadyngton. One of these could be the father of Peter de Wadyngton, the first known ancestor we have been able to trace.
The manor of Waddington passed to the Tempest family through the marriage of Roger Tempest to Alice, the heiress of Walter de Waddington in the early 14th century. Some of our Waddington ancestors continued to live in Waddington after that, though no longer in possession of Waddington Hall.
The most famous episode concerning Waddington Hall occurred during the Wars of the Roses, well after our family records begin. After losing the Battle of Hexham in 1464, the Lancastrian King Henry VI, failing in mind, was on the run from the Yorkist contender, later Edward IV. He took shelter in Waddington Hall – which lies back from the river on the Yorkshire side of the Ribble. He was the guest of Richard Tempest, a descendant of Alice Waddington.
“Quietly seated one day at dinner, in company with Dr. Manning, Dean of Windsor, the King’s enemies came upon him by surprise, but he escaped by a secret staircase and fled towards Brungerley, crossing into Lancashire by the stepping stones, where Brungerley Bridge now stands. Here he was arrested almost immediately, and on horseback, with his feet tied to the stirrups, was thus disgracefully conveyed to the Tower of London.”
Over the centuries, the hall fell into disrepair.
“John Waddington, Esq.,[High Sheriff of Sussex 1909], who claims descent from Wada, the Saxon leader, purchased the old fabric and. restored it to its pristine beauty Not many words are needed to describe the change that has taken place, but several of the renowned spots have been preserved. For instance, there remaineth yet the King’s room and the King’s stairs, and the rough axe-hewn beams of oak forming the roof of the many apartments testify to the strong desire of the owner to preserve the general old-time appearance of this historic relic. No expense has been accounted too great to accomplish the desires of the owner.”
[1] http://www.ormerod.uk.net/History/Waddington/history_waddington.htm
[2] Arnold, Thomas, ed. and tr.,Vol II, Symeon of Durham (AD 1083). 1882
[3] https://i2-prod.lancs.live
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