Great and Little Durnford lie on the river Avon, where
it meanders between tree-lined banks in Wiltshire, England.
They are the closest villages to historic Stonehenge. The main
road to the north (the A303) is one of the seven great highways
that survived into the middle ages from Roman times.
Beyond
Stonehenge the road passes between North and South Cadbury.
South Cadbury is thought to be the likely site of Camel. The name
Durnford derives from the Anglo-Saxon word "'dierne ford"
for "hidden ford" because of the concealment of the
crossing place over the nearby river Avon (Avon is Celtic for
"river"). Early documents usually spelled the name Derneford.
Other variants were Darnford, Dornford and many Dunfords started
out as Durnfords.
There
have also been stories that the name came over with the Norman
invaders in 1066. Origin of the Durnford Famiy is said to
be in Normandy and the first member in England is to have been
with William the Conquerer in 1066. Lands that were obtained for
loyal service were in Cornwell (Southwest England) and included
the section called Ramshead, thus the Ramshwad in the families
coat of arms, also Mount Edgecombes and part ofStonehouse, Plymouth.
This land passed into the Edgecombe family during the time of
Henry VIII when daughter Jane, sole heir of Stephen Durnford married
Sir. Peter Edgecombe. During the English Revolution, the junior
branch espoused the Royal Cause and was at that time scattered
to various sections of England. Some branches were in Wiltshire,
Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
It
was the practice for the Norman overlords to suffix their possessions
to their own name with "de", in the usual fashion of
French aristocracy (although the Normans as Norse Vikings not
long settled in France were no doubt seen as barbarian imitators
by the Parisians of the day). Hence, there is no specific proof
that the name Durnford came from Normandy or it was the local
name adopted by the Norman conqueor. Also, the fact that the village
name is Anglo Saxon it is highly unlikely that the family roots
started in Normandy.
Liberniger
Scaccarig has the earliest reference of this, Roger de Derneford
who held the fifth part of a knight's fee in Wiltshire in 1165.
He was born in 1135, his father in 1090, and his grandfather in
1040 in Normandy. The names of the latter two are not given,
so we cannot tell when the family took on the property of Durnford.
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