This part of our site is devoted to our earliest family history in England. Our Conyers family was estab-lished by Roger de Coigniers, a French Norman who was part of the Norman army under William the Conqueror who invaded and conquered England in 1066 AD. William confiscated most of the lands and castles of the Saxons and gave these to his own men who then became the ruling nobility of England.

Roger was a Norman, one of the third-generation Norsemen or Vikings, who had settled in and conquered an area of France that became known as "Normandy". He was appointed Constable of Durham Castle in what is now Durham County (shire). Sometime in the 1100's, the Conyers family was granted the manor and estate of Sockburn on Tees near Middleton St. George. According to legend, this place was rewarded to John Conyers after he "slew a fierce local dragon called the Sockburn Worm--perhaps a distant relation to the Lambton Worm." In commemoration of this event, each new Bishop of Durham is presented with the sword called the "Conyers Falchion" which was reputedly used in the dragon slaying act. The presentation ceremony is carried out on the bridge at Croft on Tees near Darlington, with the following speech:

"My Lord Bishop, I hereby present you with the falchion wherewith the champion Conyers slew the worm, dragon or fiery flying serpent, which destroyed man, woman and child; in memory of which, the King then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn to hold by this tenure, that upon the first entrance of every new Bishop into the County the falchion should be presented."

Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson), the famous English writer and mathematician ("Alice's Adventures in Wonderland") lived as a boy at Croft on Tees and it was the place where he wrote the first verse of his famous nonsense rhyme about the killing of a dragon called "Jabberwocky".

A small community called NORTON CONYERS lies north of Ripon Norton. The community has been associated with our Conyers family for centuries and takes its name from the family.

More later...

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