by John E. Bristol

In pre-Norman times the name that became Bristow was spelled in several ways, a la Brycgstow, etc., and was of Anglo-Saxon derivation. The name means "the place of the bridge, or the place where the ford in the river is located." From this was derived the name of the city first named Bristow and later spelled Bristol. The spelling of "bristol" did not occur until the mid-1500s and is a consequence of a movement by scribes to Latinize many English words. Hence it is called scribes' Latin.

Coats of Arms go back to when men first began to bear arms-swords, knives, spears and bow and arrows. At first they bore no images, but for some reason, artistic?, people later began to paint images on them perhaps to identify their own, or to scare their enemies, or even for religious reasons-either on a personal or clan basis, or both. Through the generations a formal way of representing arms was developed by the various "nations" which used them. In England they became a source of tax revenue for the King and over the years fell into great disuse.

There is the strongest tradition among the Bristol/Bristow people that our origin was not from this name-Bristow. Instead, it is believed, and with some substantial documentation, that our families began with one Stephen FitzHamon a descendant of the Hamon Dapifer, Sheriff of Kent, who was with William the Conqueror at Hastings, 1066. This sheriff was a cousin of William. His father, Hamon Dentatus, was killed in a large family feud at Val es Dunes, 1047, over William's right to the throne of the Normans.

Stephen, great-grandson of the Sheriff of Kent, received a grant of the Parish of Burstow, a township just south of London, and styled himself, Stephen FitzHamon de Burstowe. The documentation referred to above shows a direct line of descent all the way to the 1600s. The name was at first "de Burstowe", then "Burstow", and strangely in the 1500s it became "Bristowe" after the pattern of the large City of Bristol. In the 1600s it reverted again to Burstow and has remained so since then. Thus you will find in the records available since the 1500s all three spellings of the name.

The name "Burstow" does not mean the same thing as Bristol/Bristow. It means "the place of the moats." The bur- meaning, "moat", and the stow meaning "place." Burstow Parish has many manors protected by moats affirming this meaning to be the original one.

I have posted an album of graphic representations of most of the arms of the following descriptions. You may see them by going here:Arms
Since we don't know who Henry's parents were, we don't know yet which line of ancestors we belong to or if they descend from anyone who held any of these arms.

Naturally, the first arms would belong to Stephen. They are described as follows:

The earliest shield is

Burstowe-Gules three falcons close ar. This is a depiction of three falcons facing left colored silver on a red background.

A later shield for Burstowe is

Burstowe-Quarterly, or and az; in the 1st and 4th a rose, gu; in the 2nd and 3rd a fleur-de-lis of the 1st.

These two arms are described in: Burke's General Armory, Papworth, p. 327, Withie's addition to Glover's ordinaries in Harl. M.S. 1459

A later coat of arms for Bristowe has several occurrences. To my knowledge none of these are ancestral to any of the American Bristol/Bristow families.

Broxmore Park: (This is the one that the so-called arms peddlers tell us is our ancient family coat of arms.)

Shield: Erm, on a fesse, cottised, sa., three crescents or. (Wilts)

Crest: out of a crescent, or, a demi-eagle, displayed, az.

Motto: vigilantibus non-dormientibus-vigilant not sleeping

Beesthorpe Hall: Erm, a fesse, cottised, sa., three crescents or, Quartering (Nottingham)

(authorities: Elston, Warren, Cave, Orme, Ward, Savage, etc.)

Sacomb: (Herts)

Crest: Out of a crescent, a demi-eagle (see Broxmore Park)

Still another Bristow shield for which I have a depiction but no description, I will try to describe as follows with no colors:

Bristow of Great Lumley: (Durham)

It is divided horizontally into three parts. The top row has a cross on the left and on the right, each branch of which is a smaller cross, and in the middle of these is a crescent lying bottom up. The middle part has no image. The bottom has one of these crosses as the top part. I believe they are described as "cross, crosslet".

I know nothing about the origin of any of these except for that of Stephen FitzHamon de Burstowe.

The City of Bristol has its own Civil Coat of Arms. Two historical families have been granted "titles" as Earls of Bristol. The first was a family named Digby and the present one is a family named Harvey (i.e., Harvey's Bristol Creme).

None of these were ancestral to Americans named Bristol/Bristow.

On the Continent are records of arms for people whose names are similar to Bristol/Bristow:

Source: Illustrations to the Armorial General, 1967, by V. and V. H. Rollands, Heraldry Today, 10 Beauchamp Place, London, SW3

The book has depictions, I do not have descriptions.

Bristel: (Ponthieu V. S.)

Bristol: (Cte et Mis de)

Bristolani: (Venise)

Bristal: (ou Bristaut)

Someone else can do the remaining research on all this. Hopefully there are extant records available, or that may someday become available.

On this website are already several links to sites which may be helpful and to articles on heraldry.

I have put these here to keep our people focused on the realities and not the mythologies of Bristol/Bristow family history, heraldry and heritage.

John E. Bristol

May 2, 2002