Pt. 1: Normandy, Hastings, Bury St. Edmunds and Thurston

~Please be patient while graphics load!~

Drury arms in porch entrance to Hawstead Church

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The history of the Drury family provides a window into the political, social, and religious history of England from the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Drurys were once one of the most prominent and powerful families in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. The history of this notable family parallels that of England itself, as well as the settlement of the original colonies of America and subsequent migrations to the west. Drurys played a role in several key events that helped shaped British history.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ The Drury Name ~

Drury is a Norman name, possibly derived from the former village of Rouvray, near Rouen, Normandy. The name "de Rouvray" may have been shortened to Drury over time. Another explanation that has been published is that Drury meant "lover" in Old French or "Pearl" in Saxon. Although romantic possibilities, they are probably inaccurate. A third, and more likely, origin is that the name of Drieu of Normandy (and later of St. Edmunds), our earliest Drury ancestor, was extended to Drury when surnames were adopted in the thirteenth century.

Drury Pedigree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some copies of the Roll of Battle Abbey list Drieu of Normandy (also called Drogo) as a soldier who fought as a "man of Robert Malet", one of the top commanders under William the Conqueror. However, portions of the original Roll have been destroyed and reproductions were not always accurate, so we cannot be sure if Drieu fought at Hastings or came to England shortly after the Conquest. However, in light of the substantial amount of lands awarded to Drieu as a "knight's fee" after the battle, it is reasonable to assume that he did fight at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Above: Hastings Castle ruins, overlooking the English Channel and the landing site of William the Conqueror's army. Below: Ruins of Battle Abbey, built by William the Conqueror to honor the battlefield site of his victory over King Harold of England and to atone for the bloodshed of the Battle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Domesday Book of 1085 lists Drogo, also called Drieu of St. Edmunds, as holding lands in Norfolk and Suffolk under control of the Abbey of St. Edmunds. Lands were taken from the defeated English knights and awarded to the victors. The Abbey was the powerful county seat of Suffolk, and administered land dealings and the law in addition to the monastery. The meticulous records kept by the Abbey survive today and provide much of the genealogical trail of the early Drury family. The Drurys not only held extensive lands, but served as witnesses and attorneys in numerous court cases before the Abbot. In Robert S. Gottfried's book, "Bury St. Edmunds and the Urban Crisis: 1290 - 1539", he states that, "The two outstanding families in the devlopment of late medieval Bury St. Edmunds were the Barets and the Drurys. They intermarried at least twice, and, at a time when only about one quarter of all burghal families survived through three generations, both had direct descendants through-out the entire later middle ages. The Drurys eclipsed even the Barets in wealth and influence."

Right: An ancient stairway leads upwards through the ruins of the Abbey of St. Edmunds. Once one of the greatest abbeys of East Anglia, it dates to 633 when King Sigebert, the first Christian king of the East Angles, founded a religious community there and then joined its ranks. It takes its name from the martyrdom of King Edmund at the hands of the Danes in 870, whose remains were enshrined at the Abbey in 903, and are said to be the source of several miracles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Drurys continued to prosper on lands held in Norfolk and Suffolk. Legal records and a detailed history of the early Drury generations have been reconstructed in the 1937 book, "The History of the Family of Drury In the Counties of Suffolk and Norfolk From the Conquest", by Arthur Campling, former president of Britain's Society of Genealogists. Much of the genealogy information on these pages is derived from this work. The main branch of the Drury family was seated at Thurston in Suffolk, land acquired through the marriage of Robert (who died about 1203)to his wife Matilda of Thurston. Their son John was actually the first to use the surname Drury.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click here to open a pedigree chart of Drurys of Thurston

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also at about this time the Drury coat of arms was developed as two pierced stars (mullets) on a green field above a silver background ("Argent, on a chief vert two pierced mullets or", argent being a silver/white field, chief meaning the top of the shield, vert being green, and or being gold). The pierced star probably came from the arms of the de Veres, Earls of Oxford, to whom the Drurys were subtenants. It is thought to represent the rowel of a spur.

Below: Two versions of the Drury arms in medieval stained glass in St. Peter's Church at Thurston. The Tau Cross ("T" shaped cross in the arms on the right) was added to the Drury arms by Nicholas Drury (c. 1365 -1454) purportedly in honor of his accompanying John of Gaunt on a crusade. That has not been established as fact, however, and it is also possible that the Tau was added when the Drurys came into possession of Talmages Manor, the Tau having been in the arms of the original owners. According to "The History and Antiquities of Hawstead" by the Rev. Sir John Cullum, 1784, the Drurys acquired Talmages Manor from the Brokenhams, and it was combined with their Hawstead Place.

Many of the Thurston's original statues and windows were destroyed first in the mid 1500's during the Reformation, and more thoroughly by the Puritans in 1643 to rid the churches of "superstitious images". The church tower also collapsed in 1860. The Drury shields were salvaged and placed into new windows when the church was rebuilt. Right: Drury arms with the Tau cross in St. Peter's, mounted facing down from cross beams in the arched ceiling 34 feet above the floor. St. Peter's Church at Thurston was built in the 1300's and changed through the centuries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below: In 1610, Thomas Drury of Rougham documented 11 generations of the family pedigree, the first page appearing below. The names appear in this website's Gedcom file, starting with Drieu of Normandy. **Click on the photo for a larger copy**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click here to continue the Drury journey to Rougham

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~