The surname of Clegg makes an impressive claim to being one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon surnames on record. The history of the name is closely woven into the intricate tapestry of the ancient chronicles of England.

Professional researchers have carefully scrutinized such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book (1086), the Ragman Rolls (1291-1296), the Curia Regis Rolls, The Pipe rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismal, tax records and other ancient documents and found the first record of the name Clegg in Lancashire where they were seated from the very ancient times.

Many different spellings include: Clegg, Clegge, Cleg, Claig, Claigg, Claige, Cleig, Cleigg, Clegges, Cleggs, Cllege, Cleagg, Cleagge, Cleag, and these variations in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. Scribes and church officials, often traveling great distances, even from other countries, frequently spelt the names they were recording as they heard it. As a result the same person could find different spellings of the name recorded on birth, baptismal, marriage and death certificates as well as the other numerous records such as tax and census records.

The Saxon race gave birth to many English surnames, not the least of which was the surname Clegg. The Saxons were invited into England by the ancient Britons in the 5th Century. They were a race of fair skinned people living along the Rhine valley as far north east as Denmark. They were led by General/Commanders Hengist and Horsa. The Saxons settled in the county of Kent, on the southeast coast of England. Gradually, they probed north and westward, and during the next four hundred years forced the Ancient Britons back into Wales and Cornwall in the west, Cumberland to the north. The Anglos, on the other hand, occupied the eastern coast, the south folk in Suffolk, north folk in Norfolk. Under Saxon rule England prospered under a series of High Kings, the last of which was Harold. In 1066, the Norman invasion from France occurred and their victory at the Battle of Hastings. Subsequently, many of the vanquished Saxon land owners forfeited their land to Duke William and his invading Norman nobles.

Generally, the Saxons who remained in the south were not treated well under Norman rule, and many moved to the midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire away from the Norman oppression.

Clegg, emerged as an influential name in the county of Lancashire. The Cleggs flourished in Lancashire for the next two or three centuries starting from their original family seat at Clegg Hall just outside what is now Rochdale, Lancashire. Barnulf Clegg was one of the first to settle at this location. They also had estates in the parishes of Middlestone and Fieldhouse near Rochdale. within the next two centuries they had also acquired estates at Allerton just outside Liverpool, now a suburb of that city, and at Little Clegg, in the same area. As well as Clegg Hall you can still see areas like Little Clegg and Clegg Moor marked on Ordnance Survey Map's today. Nicholas Clegg was recorded as holding estates in the county. Notable amongst the family at this time was Barnulf Clegg of Lancashire.

During the middle ages the surname Clegg flourished and played an important role in local affairs and in the political development of England. During the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries England was ravaged by the plagues of religious conflict. Puritanism, the newly found political fervour of Cromwellianism, and the remnants of the Roman Church rejected all non believers, each promoting their own cause. The conflict between church groups, the Crown and political groups all claimed their followers, and their impositions, tithes, and demands on rich and poor alike broke the spirit of men and many turned away from religion. Many families were freely "encouraged" to migrate to Ireland, or to the "colonies". Some were rewarded with grants of lands, others were banished.

Some families were forced to migrate to Ireland where they became known as the "Adventurers for land in Ireland". Protestant settlers "undertook" to keep their faith, being granted lands previously owned by the Catholic Irish. They were known as "Undertakers". In Ireland the Clegg family was directed towards Ulster and from about the 18th century acquired many estates. Branches of the family name also moved southwards to the area of Dublin.

The New World offered better opportunities and some migrated voluntarily, some were banished, mostly for religious reasons. Some left from Ireland disillusioned, but many left directly from England, their home territories. Some also moved to the European Continent.

Members of the Clegg family sailed aboard the huge armada of three masted sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships, such as the Hector, the Dove and the Rambler, were pestilence ridden, sometimes 30%-40% of the passenger list never reaching their destination, their numbers reduced by dysentery, cholera, small pox and typhoid.

In North America, included amongst the first immigrants which could be considered a kinsman of the surname Clegg, or a variable spelling of that family name was John Clegg who sailed to Northampton, VA in 1685. Several of his descendants headed south and west. Another John Clegg, settled at Pennaquid, Maine in the year 1687, and Thomas Clegg, his son, was later recorded. Alfred, David, Edward, Francis, George, Henry, Isaac, James, Joseph, Nathaniel, Robert, Samuel, and Thomas Clegg, all arrived in Philadelphia PA between 1820 and 1869; Benjamin and George Clegg settled in Baltimore, MD in 1804; Sarah and Thomas Clegg settled in New York in 1849.

From the port of entry many settlers made their way west, joining the wagon trains to the prairies or to the west coast. During the War for Independence, many loyalist made their way north to Canada about 1790, and becae known as the United Empire Loyalists.

During the course of our research we also determined the many Coat of Arms granted to differend branches of the family name.

The most ancient grant of a Coat of Arms found was:
    Black background with a cross between four acorns.

The Clegg CREST is:
   A Griffin's head.

Click on the image to see a bigger picture

Thanks to Kim Clegg for making the color version of the Coat of Arms.

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The ancient Clegg Family Motto is:
   "Qui potest capere capiat"
       (Which means:)
   "Let him take what he is able to take".
MY NOTE: It sounds almost like a dare