Brickley Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Brickley Origin:

England

Origins of Brickley:

Brickley is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Brickley family when they moved to the region after the Norman Invasion in 1066. The Brickley family resided in the district of Gloucestershire, where the family held the important title of the Lords of Berkeley Castle. Norman surnames characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely because the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since old authors and parish officials noted names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the similar individual referred to with different spellings. The name has spelled Berkley, Berkeley, Berkely and much more.

Variations:

More common variations are: Brickeley, Bricklley, Brickloey, Brickle, Brickly, Brilkley, Bricley, Brckley, Brackley, Brockley.

England:

The surname Brickley first located in Gloucestershire where the family name dropped from Thomas de Berkeley, Lord of Berkeley Manor, who declined from Robert FitzHarding, a Viking of royal blood, and one of the associates at Arms of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Some of the first recordings of the name include as Robert de Berkeley, 3rd feudal Baron Berkeley (c.1165-1220), Thomas I de Berkeley, 4th feudal Baron Berkeley (c.1170-1243), and Maurice II de Berkeley, 5th feudal Baron Berkeley (1218-1281.) This line continued with like Thomas II de Berkeley, lst Baron Berkeley (1245-1321), Maurice III de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (1271-1326), Thomas III de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley (1293-1361), Maurice IV de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley (1330-1368), and Thomas IV de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (1352/53-1417.) Berkeley in Gloucestershire was the original family seat. “From the fertility of the soil, and its contiguity to the river Severn, it was always a place of considerable importance, and at a very early time, it gave a name to the great estate of Berkeley, which during the heptarch was held of the crown, at £500. 17. 2. per annum, by Roger de Berkeley, a near relative of Edward the Confessor, and king of Dursley, from whom the earliest authentic pedigree of the Berkeley family gathered. Berkeley, notwithstanding the residence of the oldest sections of the family in their castle at Dursley, was a market-town and had a nunnery organized with the large estate. A few years afterward, William the Champion, professing high regard for all the relatives of Edward the Confessor, given the estate of Berkeley to Roger Berkeley, of Dursley, by whose descendants it held till the reign of Henry II.” The church of Slimbridge in Gloucestershire was also an early home to the family. ” The church is bounded on the north by the Severn and contains by measurement 3392 acres, of which the greater part is the property of the Berkeley family. The Gloucester and Berkeley canal and the Gloucester and Bristol Railroad cross it.” Wooton Under Edge, again in Somerset was another old family seat. ” On the erection of the new town, a market and fair, with many municipal rights, given by Henry III to Maurice, Lord Berkeley, in 1254, which laid the foundation of its subsequent importance. During the civil war of the 17th century, a garrison maintained here in the interest of the king.”

Ireland:

Many of the people with surname Brickley had moved to Ireland during the 17th century.

Canada:

Individuals with the surname Brickley settled in Canada in the 18th century. Some of the people with the surname Brickley who came to Canada in the 18th century included Mr. James Brickley U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick near the year 1783.

Here is the population distribution of the last name Brickley: United States 2,551; England 344; Ireland 142; France 73; Australia 58; Wales 45; Scotland 26; Canada 25; New Zealand 17; Russia 12.

Notable People:

Andy Brickley (born 1961), was an American ice hockey player and grandson of George Brickley.

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) Ar. a chev. betw. three martlets sa. a chief engr. vert.
2) Ar. three wall stones in pale or.