The Worthingtons are a historic English family from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, traceable to the beginning of the 13th century. The progenitor of the line was Worthington de Worthington (born 1236), and the family were Lords of the Manor of

Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...

, Standish,

from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The family seat was Worthington Hall, Standish, County Lancashire; partially demolished in the mid-20th century, the remaining Tudor doorway dated 1577 Edward de Worthington. Since the mid-16th century they have been maternal ancestors of the Brice family, who often take Worthington as a given name. Other Worthington descendants would later become the Worthington-Evans baronets and the

Craven baronets There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Craven, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Both creations are extinct. The Craven Baronetcy, of Spersholt in the County of Berksh ...

. They have connections through marriage to the

Earl of Aylesford Earl of Aylesford, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1714 for the lawyer and politician Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Guernsey. He had already been created Baron Guernsey in the Peerage of England in ...

, the Lawson Baronets, the

Baron Jeffreys Baron Jeffreys is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of England on 16 May 1685 when the lawyer and later Lord Chancellor, Si ...

, the

Baron Stafford Baron Stafford, referring to the town of Stafford, is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. In the 14th century, the barons of the first creation were made earls. Those of the fifth creation, in the 17th century ...

, and the

Baron Feversham Baron Feversham is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation, in the Peerage of Great Britain, came in 1747 when Anthony Duncombe, who had earlier ...

Coat of arms

Dating from the 15th century, the Worthington coat of arms is ''argent, three dung forks sable''. The arms can be considered a

rebus A rebus () is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+) ...

, “worthing” being an archaic slang term for dung. The crest is ''a goat statant argent, holding in the mouth an oak branch vert, fructed or''; the motto, "Virtute Dignus Avorum" ''(in virtue worthy of ones ancestors)''. The motto and coat of arms may be seen in Chorley Church, Winslow Parish,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England.Visitations of the County of Essex
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 30em English families Medieval English families English gentry families

Links

Worthington Family History Society