The Heatons of Heaton

The Heatons of Heaton are an old Lancashire family dating back to the 12th Century. Their ancestors originated around Ulverston in what is now the county of Cumbria but occupied land in North Lancashire early in their history.

Photo: Cumbria, home to the earliest Heatons, as seen from North Lancashire. In former times, the perilous journey across Morecambe Bay was made on foot and by stagecoach but nowadays, the official "Queen's Guide" leads visitors across the quicksands.

In Lancashire, the Heaton family lived in the ancient township of Heaton-in-Lonsdale near Lancaster and consequently, took the name "de Heaton".

From the early 14th century, the Heatons also held land in Heaton-under-the forest (or Heaton-under Horwich) in the parish of Deane as well as land in Billinge. These estates were administered from Heaton Old Hall and Birchley Hall.

Up until the Loss of the estates in the late 16th century, the Heatons were an important landowning family with representatives entitled to bear a Coat of Arms. In the centuries which followed, their descendants moved into the major cities and towns of Lancashire and further afield.

A detailed account of these Heatons can be found in The Heatons of Heaton-under-the-forest... (John Heaton Partington, 1903).

More recently, a comprehensive history of the Heaton family in Lancashire and elsewhere has been published in "The Heatons of Deane" by E.R. Heaton.