Gretton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Gretton was first found in Gourdon, an arrondissement of France before the Norman Conquest. 2

"The Seigneurie of Gourdon near Cahors, on the borders of Perigord, was the patrimony of this Norman adventurer. His descendant, Sir Adam de Gurdon, Knt., living temp. Henry III., was in that monarch's reign Bailiff of Alton: but joining the Mountford faction, he suffered outlawry, which was not removed until the following reign, when Sir Adam received the custody of the forest of Wolmer. From this celebrated knight, whose lands at Selborne, Hants, known still as Gurdon manor, belong to Magdalen College, Oxford, sprang the Gurdons of Assington co. Suffolk, and the Gurdons of Letton, co. Norfolk. " 3

William de Gourdon founded Gourdon Abbey in 1240. After the Conquest, "Aimeric de Gourdon, 13th century was a benefactor to the church, and had grants from King John in England. In 1231 Henry III. granted to Ralph Mareschal part of the estate of Sir Adam de Gourdon (d. 1305.) " 2

While we could find no villages named Gourdon in Britain, one may presume that Girton in Cambridgeshire and Nottinghamshire would be the likely related villages. Girton Cambridgeshire dates back to c. 1060 when it was listed as Grittone and a few years later is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Gretone. 4

Girton, Nottinghamshire similarly dates back to the Domesday Book with the same spelling. Both literally mean "farmstead or village on gravelly ground," from the Old English words "greot" + "tun." 5

Girton College of the University of Cambridge derives its name from the nearby village. One branch of the family held a family seat at Assington in Suffolk since early times.

Sir Adam de Gurdon or Gordon (d. 1305), was an early English warrior, "son of Adam de Gurdon, one of the bailiffs of Alton in Hampshire. He sided with de Montfort in the barons' war; but on 28 July 1265 repulsed the Welsh who were plundering in Somerset, at Dunster. He was one of the disinherited in 1266, and with others of his party formed a band which ravaged Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hampshire. Edward marched against them in person, and meeting them in Alton wood (or perhaps at Halton in Buckinghamshire) defeated Gurdon in single combat. Gurdon's prowess won the admiration of his conqueror, who restored him to his estates and made him one of his most trusted supporters. Gurdon was a justice of the forest in 1280. His estate of Gurdon still bears his name and is now the property of Magdalen College, Oxford." 6

"Assington Hall was purchased by Robert Gurdon, in the reign of Henry VIII., from Sir Piers Corbet, and has ever since been the residence of that family." 7

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Bartholomew Gurdon in Norfolk; Thomas Gurdon in Oxfordshire; and Roger Gurdon in Cambridgeshire. 8