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The "Downe" surname first appears recorded in the 12th Century and from two different locations, Cheshire County and Suffolk County, England, and they bore different coats of arms.
The Cheshire DOWNES: Crest – a stag as in arms and the mottto: “Nihil sine labore.”
The Suffolk DOWNES: Crest – a wolf’s head eraseed and the motto: “A Cruce salus.”
1220 is the earliest record of DOWNE in the Cheshire rolls which is of ROGER DE DOWNE. The name was spelled this way in old wills and records until the middle of the 16th century, when the letter “s” was frequently added, probably in course of Parish registration. The plural letter seems to have its origin in the numerous families of DOWNES hat sprang up in groups around every established center, giving rise to the expression “the Downes” of one place or another.
In 1236, ROBERT DE DOWNE inquisition “post mortem” was seized of the Manors of Shrigleigh, Taxhall, and Sutton Downes, in the Hundred of Macclesfield. It has been suggested that the tenure of large tracts of Down land may have given rise to the surname of this family.
While Brien's family may have passed down the sheep hearder legend, my own family claims to come from a long line of drunks and boxers. So much for our colorful heritage.
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