Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 Broadway Coat of Arms / Broadway Family CrestThis English surname of BROADWAY was a locational name meaning 'one who came from Broadway' (the broad road) the name of places in Somerset and Worcestershire. The name was originally rendered in the Old English form BRADEWEI, and the earliest of the name on record appears to be BRADEWEI (without surname) who was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. BRADANUUEGE (without surname) was recorded in Worcestershire, England in the year 1225. Hereditary surnames were originally imported from France into England during the Norman Conquest of 1066. In the two centuries or so after the Conquest surnames were acquired by most families of major landholders, and many landed families of lesser importance. There appears to have been a constant trickle of migration into Britain between about the years 1200 and 150O, mostly from France and the Low Countries, with a small number of migrants from Scandinavia, Germany, Italy and the Iberian peninsular, and occasional individuals from further afield. During this period groups of aliens settled in this country as for example, the Germans who from the late 15th century onwards settled in Cumbria to work the metal mines. Immigration during this time had only a small effect on the body of surnames used in Britain. In many cases, the surnames of immigrants were thoroughly Anglicised. The late sixteenth century saw the arrival, mostly in London and the south-coast ports of large numbers of people fleeing from the war regions of France. Later instances of the name include John de BROADWAYS of Yorkshire, who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, and Ernald de BRADEWAY appears in the same document. John BRADEWYE of County Somerset, was buried at St. Michael, Cornhill, London in 1579, and Thomas BRADWAY was the sheriff of Bristol in 1691. This is the name of a major street in New York City along and near which are sited most of the leading commercial theatres. The word is also used to refer to commercial theatre in the United States in general. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. |
