ORIGIN OF THE SURNAME 'BLATCHFORD'

The family name ‘BLATCHFORD’ is of English origin, originally found in Devon and the south west of England

It is a habitation name, which means that it is named after a place-name or a town or village. Blatchford is derived from a place so-called in Sourton in Devon and the surname can be traced back in the Devon Tax Records to 1332.

It can also be thought of as a topographic name, meaning that is derived from natural features of the landscape. Blatchford is thought to be made up of the elements ‘Bloecca’, an Old English personal name meaning dark skinned or dark haired, and ‘ford’, the Old English word for a water crossing over a stream or river. Interestingly, the name has been associated with the surname ‘Blackford’, another West Country surname, which also has very similar derivations, namely from ‘bloec’ meaning black or dark, and ‘ford’.

It seems likely therefore that the early bearers of the name Blatchford would have been so called because they lived near a dark river crossing, and the towns and villages called Blatchford would also have been named for this reason, as a ford was the obvious place for settlements to arise. Such a place Blachford existed before The Norman Conquest of England near Cornwood also in Devon. Before surnames became the norm, people would be given a Christian name and then be further identified by either a personal feature, an association with another person, their occupation, or by where they lived. Over time, these very descriptions became what we now know as surnames.

Another, though far more unlikely, derivation for the name Blatchford proposes that it may have been an occupational name for someone who removed the lanolin from the raw sheep’s wool. In this case it is thought to be Norman-French in origin, from Brittany in particular, and associated with the word ‘blanch’, to whiten. The name, as often happened in olden days, would then have been ‘corrupted’, due to time, travel, dialect and illiteracy, into other spellings.

Possibly the earliest mention of the surnames Blatchford and Blachford was in the Domesday Book of 1087 wherein a Knight named Rogers of Blachford was listed as was Iudail or Eudes or Odo a relation to William The Conqueror who was granted lands in Devon that included the place known as Blachford.

Another, early mention of the name Blatchford was at the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Exeter in 1383 at the Post Mortem Inquisition into the death in Gloucester of the predecessor of King Edward 3rd.

An early recorded bearer of the surname was John Blachford who resided in Blatchford in Sourton, Devon in 1642. Others include Agnes Blatchford, born 1571 and Henry Blatcheford, born 1621.

Blachford is a variation in spelling of the name and has a Coat of Arms (registered in Surrey) which is slightly different to those of the name Blatchford, but, interestingly, very similar to those of Blackford.

Over time the name spread across the south coast of England, and the Coat of Arms for Blatchford is registered in Osborne on the Isle of Wight.


The Coat of Arms for the surname BLATCHFORD is described thus –

ARMS (Shield) : Azure, two Bars Wavy Or(Gold); on a Chief of the Last, three Pheons of the First
CREST : A Swan’s head and neck erased Sable between two Wings Argent
MOTTO : No motto has been recorded

Explanation of the Charges of the Arms :

The BAR, a diminutive of the Fess which is the military belt or girdle of honour borne across the centre of the shield, is a bearing for one “who sets the bar of conscience, religion and honour against angry passions and evil temptations”.
WAVY: The Wavy line represents the sea or water.
The CHIEF, signifying Dominion and Authority, was granted as a reward for prudence and wisdom, or for successful command in war.
The PHEON, or spear-head, betokens a dexterity and nimbleness of wit to penetrate and understand matters of highest consequence. It symbolises readiness for military service.
The SWAN is the ensign of the poets, and the hieroglyphic of a musical person because of its anciently supposed habit of singing in the hour of its death. It signifies a lover of poetry and harmony, and a learned person.
WINGS are a hieroglyphic of celerity, divine protection, spiritual nature, freedom and coverture.