History
July 22, 2008
The Archer Arms is named after the prominent Archer family who owned much property in Lewannick and were resident at Trelaske, a local manor house mentioned in the Domesday book, for (possibly?) several hundred years.
Early records show of the name Archer to be Norman in origin. The name appears in England from about 1066 A. D., and its history is interwoven within Britain’s rich historic tapestry.
Professional researchers have combed ancient manuscripts such as the Domesday Book (complied in 1086 by William the Conqueror ), the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, The Honour Roll of the Battel Abbey, The Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Roll, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, and local parish and church records to establish that the first record of the name Archer was found in Wiltshire where they were granted lands after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The name is seen spelt variously as Archer, Archar, Arsher, Arshire, Archere, Archire, and many others.
Standardised spelling of surnames is relatively recent. Scribes recorded and spelled names as they sounded. It quite possible for a person to be born with one spelling, married with another, and buried with a headstone which showed another spelling.
The Normans who gave their name to Normandy, were commonly believed to be of French origin but, more accurately, they were of Viking origin. The Vikings landed in the Orkneys and Northern Scotland about the year 870 A. D. , under their King, Stirgud the Stout. Later, under their Jarl, Thorfinn Rollo, they invaded France around 940 A. D. The French King, Charles the Simple, after Rollo laid siege to Paris, finally conceded defeat and granted northern France to Rollo. Duke William who invaded and defeated England in 1066, was descended from the first Duke Rollo of Normandy.
The surname Archer emerged as a notable family name in the county of Wiltshire. The name derives from the old Norman French L’Archer, or professional “bowman”. The name was first recorded in 1166 in Wiltshire, England, as Edward and William L’Archier, and the name is to be found on the Battel Abbey Rolls. The name later appeared in the Rotundi Oblitus et Finibus, a census of England taken by King John about the year 1210, to determine which of his nobles he could rely on for support. He later signed the Magna Carta in 1214. Richard and Nicholas Archer appeared on this census.
The family moved westward, and by the end of the 13th century Odo Archer was registered in Devon, but in 1273 they had moved further west again to Cornwall, where perhaps the most famous of the Archer family name developed. It was from this latter group that the senior scion of the family, Baron Archer of Umberslade was derived, although in Parliament as far back as the time of Henry VI. Much has been written about this branch of the Archers in Cornwall.
Can you tell us more about the Archer family?
Posted in History
