Weston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Weston is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Weston family lived in Staffordshire, at Weston-under-Lizard. The name literally means “dweller at the west farm,” or “one who lived to the west of the village.” 1

“The English gazetteers give about fifty parishes and hamlets of this name, which signifies simply ‘ the western enclosure,’ and corresponds with Easton, Norton, and Sutton. From divers of these, some of the families of Weston have sprung; but the widely-spread Westons of Surrey and Sussex are descended from the house of De Wistoneston, or Wiston, of Wiston, co. Sussex.” 2

Early Origins of the Weston family

The surname Weston was first found in Staffordshire where they held a family seat at Weston-under-Lizard, having been granted lands as a tenant in chief by William the Conqueror. Reginald Bailleul was from Bailleul-En-Gouffern at Orne, arrondisement of Argentan, in the canton of Trun, in Normandy. 3

The parish of Kelvedon in Essex was once a family seat. “Felix Hall, the seat of Lord Western, a handsome modern mansion with an elegant portico, is situated on an eminence surrounded by a park.” 4

The Domesday Book of 1086 had two early entries for the family: Godwinus de Westuna in Huntingdonshire; and Adestan de Westuna in Cambridgeshire. 5

Early rolls revealed the various spellings used throughout ancient Britain: Elyas de Westone in Lincolnshire c. 1160; Payn de Weston in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1268; William Weston in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296; and Alan ate Weston in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 1

In Scotland, “there are places named Weston and Westoun in Lanarkshire, and a Weston near Dolphinston, Peeblesshire. William de Westone of Wyggetone rendered homage in 1296. John of Westone was juror on an inquisition at Peebles, 1304, and John de Westone held a ten-pound land in the tenement of Mertone near Edinburgh before 1315. William of Westone was in the king of England’s service in France, 1369.” 6