Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Hedgecock Coat of Arms / Hedgecock Family CrestThis name HEDGECOCK was one of the many names received from birds, and was also baptismal name 'the son of Richard'. It is a variant of the name Hitchcock. Many of the early names recorded in medieval documents denote noble families but many also indicate migration from the continent during, and in the wake of, the Norman invasion of 1066. There was a constant stream of merchants, workmen and others arriving in England during this time. In 1086 the Record of Great Inquisition of lands of England, their extent, value, ownership and liabilities was made by order of William The Conquerer. It is known as the Domesday book. Early records of the name mention Hichecock (without surname) who was such a tenant listed in this Domesday Book. Richard Hitchcott was documented in the year 1275 in County Yorkshire. William Hyggecock appears in 1329 in County Dorset. Willelmus Higerock of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Francis Heycock registered at Oxford University in the year 1581, and Roger Watts and Agnes Hytchecooks married in London in the year 1553. William Selby and Sarah Hedgecock were married at St. Antholin, London in the year 1719. A notable member of the name was Edward Hitchcock (1793-1864) the American geologist, born in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He was professor of Chemistry at Amherst. He conducted geological surveys of Massachussets, and explored dinosaur tracts in Connecticut valley. Sir Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was the English film-maker, born in Leytonstone, London. He began as a junior film technician in 1920, and by 1925 had graduated to motion picture director. He was an un-excelled master of suspence with such films as 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' (1935) and Psycho (1960). It has long been a matter of doubt when the bearing of coats of arms first became hereditary and it was not until the Crusades that Heraldry came into general use. Men went into battle heavily armed and were difficult to recognise. It became the custom for them to adorn their helmets with distinctive crests, and to paint their shields with animals and the like. Coats of arms accompanied the development of surnames, becoming hereditary in the same way. |
