I have been intrigued by my unusual surname ever since I was around 12 years old and asked my father where it originated from. My grandfather was English, born in a village called Netley, near Southampton in Hampshire and he immigrated to Australia in 1925. He told my father that he'd been told the family origins lay in the little village of Erwood, located on the banks of the winding River Wye in Wales.

 

As a child, my father remembered his father showing him a book about the River Wye by an Australian author, Frank Clunes. He remembered being quite excited by references to an Erwood River, an Erwood Castle, and even a Lord Erwood. Whether these are the memories of a child that magnified somewhat over the years or not I have never been able to ascertain as, despite extensive searching, I have not been able to locate a copy of the book. However, I do believe the book existed as when I searched for titles by Frank Clunes there are many featuring locations from all over the world, including several based in Wales. 

 

This somewhat romantic story, along with my lifelong love of history, planted a seed and I knew that one day I would attempt to trace the origins of my Erwood family, hopefully all the way back to that little village on the banks of the River Wye. 

 

I have certainly made some headway in this regard and have managed to get the family back from Hampshire to Devizes in Wiltshire, but not as yet back to Wales. I still believe that they did in fact originate from Erwood in Wales, moving from Wales to England at some stage for whatever reason until they finally arrived in Hampshire around the 1870s. However, as I have them confirmed in Wiltshire from as far back as the late1500s, it appears any move from Wales to Devizes wasn't made until prior to that which will probably make it a bit difficult to establish that final jump. Please click on the link to view more detail around this on the Erwood village page.

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One of the reasons I wish to gather this information is that our branch of the family will end with my brother and myself, and I am mindful of the importance of recording this information for future generations.