Newbro History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Newbro

What does the name Newbro mean?

The name Newbro was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Newbro family lived in Neufbourg, Normandy. "Henry de Newburgh (so named from the castle of Neufbourg, where he was born) was the younger son of Roger de Bellomont Earl of Mellent, and the brother of Robert, afterwards Earl of Leicester. He himself obtained the Earldom of Warwick towards the latter end of the Conqueror's reign, ' when,' says Dugdale, 'King William, having begirt Warwick with a mighty ditch, for the precinct of its walls, and erected the gates at his own charge, did promote this Henry to the earldom, and annexed thereto the royalty of the borough, which at that time belonged to the crown.' Here, 'upon the site of the tower illustrated by the traditions of Guy, the great opponent of the Danes,' he built his castle, which, enlarged and strengthened during the long succession of its powerful lords, became one of the most renowned of English fortresses, and remains 'the glory of the Midland shires. ' William Rufus further bestowed upon him all the lands that had belonged to his Saxon predecessor Thurkill, whose daughter and heir Margaret, Leland tells us, he had married. " 1

Newbrough in Northumberland, derives its name from the family and in turn, that is derived from the Old English words niwe, meaning "new," and burh, meaning "fortification." 2

Early Origins of the Newbro family

The surname Newbro was first found in Warwickshire. It is generally thought that the "founder of this family was Henry de Newburgh, so called from the castle of that name in Normandy, a younger son of Roger de Bellomonte, Earl of Mellent. He came in [to England] with the Conqueror, and was created Earl of Warwick. " 3

Berkely in Somerset was one of the original family seats. "This place appears to have formed part of the possessions of the Newborough family, who were relatives to, and came over to England with, William the Conqueror, and one of whose descendants, Thomas Newborough, was interred in the church in 1531." 4

From this early record , the family quickly scattered. Bindon Abbey, in the parish of East Stoke, Dorset was founded in 1172, by Robert de Newburgh and Maud his wife, who endowed it for monks of the Cistercian order; it was dedicated to St. Mary. 4

Winfrith-Newburgh, again in Dorset was a large holding of the family in ancient times. "This is a very extensive and ancient parish, giving name to the hundred. It formerly belonged to the family of Newburgh, who had a seat here, of which there are no traces." 4

A tone time East Lullworth in Dorset was "at a very early period, in the possession of the De Lolleworths, and subsequently of the Newburghs, who succeeded to the property in the reign of Edward I." 4 (the family inherited East Lullworth and gave it up during the reign of Edward I. In the 16th and 17th century this parish would pass to the Howards and then to the Weld family.)

"Wellesbourn [in Warwickshire] was given by the Conqueror to Henry de Newburg, and was afterwards granted, as is supposed, by one of the Norman earls of Warwick to Robert de Hasting." 4

Early History of the Newbro family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Newbro research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1158, 1172, 1242, 1245, 1263, 1267, 1322, 1395, 1430, 1541, 1600 and 1889 are included under the topic Early Newbro History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Newbro Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Newbro are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Newbro include Newborough, Newburgh and others.

Early Notables of the Newbro family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Newbrough of Warwick

Migration of the Newbro family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Newbro, or a variant listed above: E. P. Newbrough settled in San Francisco in 1850; Thomas NewBerry settled in New England in 1630; John Newberry settled in New York in 1775.

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.