A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Hampson family of Britain.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à trois sérans ou machines à broyer le chanvre, de sa. Cq. timbré d'une couronne murale d'or. C.: une tête de lévrier de sa., coll. d'or. D.: NUNC AUT NUNQUAM.”
The Hampson arms were recorded in Kent, c. 1642.
Kent sits between London and the short crossing to Europe, and the trade passing through made it wealthy. Merchant families bought land with that money, and it was landowners who took coats of arms.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Britain in this period.
Reigning in Britain when the Hampson arms are first recorded.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The Hampson family name is rooted in the ancient landscape of England, where it developed as a locational surname derived from the Old English words for a home or enclosure. By the year 1642, historical records confirm that members of the family were firmly established in the county of Kent. During this period, the region was a bustling center of trade and agriculture, placing the family in a significant part of the country as the English Civil War began to unfold. Life for the Hampsons in seventeenth-century Kent likely revolved around local parish communities, where families often stayed for generations to work the land or participate in local crafts. As the name spread from its early origins, it became a permanent fixture in the social fabric of the English countryside, reflecting the steady growth and movement of families during the early modern era.
A Germanic personal name meaning home or homestead.
