Tresham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Tresham

What does the name Tresham mean?

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought much change to the island nation, including many immigrants with new names. Among these immigrants were the ancestors of the Tresham family, who lived in Northamptonshire at Rushton. Today Tresham is a chapelry, in the parish of Hawkesbury, union of Chipping-Sodbury, Upper division of the hundred of Grumbald's-Ash in Gloucestershire.

Early Origins of the Tresham family

The surname Tresham was first found in Northamptonshire at Rushton. Conjecturally, the family are descended from one of the holders of the lands of Rushton at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 A.D. The holders of the land, which consisted of a village and 2 mills were Hugh, who held it from Robert de Tosny, William who held it from Robert de Bucy and Eustace from the Countess Judith. All three shared in this rich hundred of Northampton in 1086.

"The Hall [of Rushton] is a fine old building erected by the Treshams, a family of consideration in the time of Elizabeth: at one extremity of the park is a curious triangular lodge, which is almost unique." 1

The church of Geddington, Northamptonshire has a memorial of the family. "The church is an ancient structure, consisting of a nave, two aisles and a chancel. The tower and spire are of the perpendicular style, and are extremely graceful and well proportioned; the spire is octagonal, with three stages of lights, the lower ones being double. Three sedilia, with a piscina, are in tolerable preservation; and in the chancel are memorials of the Tresham family, some members of which were engaged in the Gunpowder plot." 1

Early History of the Tresham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tresham research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1404, 1415, 1450, 1468, 1470, 1471, 1495, 1524, 1532, 1539, 1543, 1547, 1548, 1550, 1551, 1555, 1556, 1558, 1559, 1567, 1569, 1605, 1611, 1640, 1847 and 1872 are included under the topic Early Tresham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tresham Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Tresham, Treysham, Trasham, Traisham, Treasham and many more.

Early Notables of the Tresham family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir William Tresham JP (1404-1450), an English lawyer and Speaker of the House of Commons; and his son, Sir Thomas Tresham (died 6 May 1471), a British politician, soldier and administrator, he was im...
William Tresham (1495-1569) was an English academic and priest. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1532-1547), (1550-1551), 1556 and (1558-1559.)
Sir Thomas Tresham (died 1559) was a leading Catholic politician, Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1524, 1539, 1548 and 1555. Sir Thomas Tresham (1543-1605), was a prominent recusant Catholic landowner...

Tresham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Tresham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

E. H. Tresham, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864

Tresham migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 2

Tresham Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Richard Tresham, who arrived in Jamaica in 1717-1718 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Tresham (post 1700) +

Henry Tresham RA (1751-1814), Irish-born historical painter active in London, England
Francis Tresham, British board game designer, active in the 1970s, he founded Hartland Trefoil in 1971, known for his Civilization board game, one of the first inductees in the UK Games Expo Hall of Fame

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)