Kemp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

When the ancestors of the Kemp family arrived in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, they brought their name with them. It is a name for a champion at jousting or wrestling. In medieval England, the joust was used to train feudal knights for battle. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Middle English word kempe, which is a derivative of the Old English word cempa, which means warrior or champion. 1

Early Origins of the Kemp family

The surname Kemp was first found in Wiltshire, where one of the first records of the name was Eadulf Cempa in 902. Years later, Edmund Kempe was listed in Norfolk c. 1100 and Ralph le Kemp was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1296 in Sussex. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Alan Kempe in Suffolk and William Kempe in Oxfordshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Ricardus Kempe and Johannes Kempe. 2

The parish of Slindon in Sussex was of great significance to the family. “Slindon House, the seat of the Countess Dowager of Newburgh, was originally built by one of the archbishops of Canterbury, and was for some time the residence of the celebrated Archbishop Langton, who died here in the reign of Henry III.; the present mansion, erected by Sir George Kemp in the reign of Elizabeth, is a handsome structure, on a bold eminence.” 3

The parish of Wye in Kent was another ancient family seat. “The church was rebuilt by John Kemp, a native of the parish, who was first preferred to the bishopric of Rochester, and, having successively presided over several other sees, was lastly translated to the archbishopric of Canterbury and made cardinal. In 1447, he founded a college here for a master, or provost, and Secular canons, dedicated to St. Gregory and St. Martin. Olantigh, in the parish, was formerly the seat of the family of Kemp, and is supposed to have been the birthplace of Archbishop Kemp, and also of his nephew, Thomas Kemp, Bishop of London.” 3

In the far south in the parish of St. Ewe in Cornwall, another branch of the family was found. “What now remains of Trevithick is turned into a farm house, and is the property of Arthur Kempe, Esq. admiral of the blue.” 4