The History of the Dufton Name

There seems little doubt that the Dufton name stems from the village of Dufton in Westmorland (now Cumbria) and has no connection with Dufftown in Speyside, Scotland.

The 'living' of the parish of Dufton was in the 'keeping' of the Crown and there are records in the Rolls of Appointments to that 'living' in 1323. The earliest known record so far traced of persons with the name 'de Dufton' was in a Pipe Roll in 1176 and Assize Rolls for 1256 and 1279. (The 'Rolls' were rolls of parchment which recorded decrees and decisions made by the King in London before the time when Parliamentary government commenced.)

In the Lay Subsidy records of Cumberland for Edward III for 1332, Thomas de Dufton's name appeared as a 'taxpayer'. Then in a will of the Rector of Dufton, proved 6th November, 1366, the names Andrew and Adam de Dufton appear.

A Thomas de Dufton was listed among the Freeman of York in 1341 and a man of the same name, in holy orders, lived in the neighbourhood of Ripon from 1503 to 1513.

The general inference that can be drawn from the above is that the surname Dufton is drawn from the earlier inhabitants of the ancient parish of Dufton and that those of us who bear that surname now may not, however, have the same ancient parentage.

The above Coat of Arms (source unknown) is likely to be a modern creation

of dubious accuracy. Does anyone have any other Coat of Arms?

In 1390 King Robert III of Scotland refused an offered truce from Henry IV, House of Lancaster. Henry IV was also at war with the Welsh and entrusted the Scottish war to Hotspur, Earl of Northumberland, the head of the Percy family. Hotspur rebelled after defeating Robert III in 1406. Henry IV defeated and killed Hotspur at Bramham Moor, near Leeds, in 1408.

After the campaign against Hotspur, Henry IV gave Land and Arms (or Crest) to a Christopher Dufton.

The only other Dufton found in English History is a William Dufton who on 2nd February, 1461 died in the Battle of Mortimer's Cross while fighting with Henry IV, who later was defeated by the House of York (The War of the Roses).

- - - - - - - - - -

Despite these early references, there is no evidence, so far, of the 'family' name continuing in Yorkshire until 1584 when it is recorded in Leeds with a baptism of a child to Alise Dufton, then two marriages in 1589 of a George Dufton and a Peter Dufton. At Calverley, the first reference is to the baptism of a son, John, to a John Dufton in 1627.

The first reference to a Dufton at Adel parish church is the baptism of a Robert to a George Dufton in 1609 and several names appear thereafter with isolated entries in parishes east of Leeds, such as Kippax and Barwick In Elmet.

From the time that the keeping of church records became obligatory in 1538 there were only two main 'pockets' of Duftons in the country, i.e. the Cumberland and Westmorland region, the first entry being in 1554 at Lowther and in Yorkshire, i.e. Leeds and Calverley, with an ultimate overspill in the early 19th Century into the areas of Bradford, adjoining the Pudsey/Calverley boundary.

An excerpt from 'The Yorkshire Family Historian: February 1990' in an article written by BERNARD DUFTON.

To return to Home Page: Just click on this link: Home Page