Skyrme family and one-name study website Guild of One Name Studies

@skyrme.info :: One-Name Study Reg. No. 6232

Places which historically had a cluster of Skyrmes.

Pembrokeshire, Wales

Undoubtedly considered the home of the family name by many. Today you will find more Skyrmes in the towns in Pembroke and the places around (such as Tenby, Haverford West, Narbeth) than anywhere else in the British Isles. Many church graveyards in the area will show a Skyrme or two. The odd Skyrme will also be found further afield, such as Crickhowell.

It is believed that one of the Pembrokeshire branches (Llawhaden) started with the arrival of Thomas Skirm from Herefordshire in the 17th century. We have also evidence of movement the other way in the 19th century. See, for example, The Skyrmes of Pembrokeshire (1) page 28 (PDF 2.5Mb)

Many of my own family were born in Monkton - a district that is virtually joined to Pembroke (west). Pembroke dockyard provided employment for many of our ancestors, bearing in mind the naval and shipwright traditions in our family. Below are some places in Pembrokeshire which feature prominently as birthplaces and residences of Skyrmes. They are listed roughly in frequency of Skyrm(e) births (up to about 1910) in our master database at June 2014. Links are given to local information, including parish information provided by GENUKI (UK and Ireland Genealogy):

By tracking names in census returns I have been able to chart the migration of the Skyrmes of Penally and Manorbier to other parts of South Wales (Carmarthenshire, the Rhondda) and England (notably Portsmouth, for the dockyard), paricularly in the 1880s and 1890s. You can see this chart in The Skyrmes of Pembrokeshire (1) (PDF 2.5Mb)

Herefordshire

There is also historically a very well defined cluster of Skyrmes in Herefordshire, a county just in England near the border with mid-Wales. Parish records list around 250 Skyrme, Skyrm, Scirm, Skirme entries (though some may refer to events involving the same person) with common Christian names being Anne, Elizabeth, Mary, William, Thomas, Richard, John. Record dates range from 1552 (Lugwardine).

Here are some links to further information on key parishes within Herefordshire in order of number of births (up to 1910) in the master database at June 2014. Note that this is work in progress and many entries have yet to be entered:

Inscription on a Tombstone

The connection of Skyrmes with Herefordshire is there for all to see - on a tombstone, strategically placed in the precints of Hereford Cathedral, home of the Mappa Munid. You will find it just outside the toilets by the south transcept. The inscription reads:

Underneath her lie the remains of
ISAAC SKYRME (late of this City
Alderman) who died Sep 9, 1789
Aged 75 years

Also of JANE SKYRME his Relict
who died March 17, 1778

Also of THOMAS SKYRME ESQ
only son of the above by JANE
his wife who died March 18, 1831

Aged 72 Years

Notes:
1. The date could be 1799 - many feet have smoothed out the detail!
2. Relict is an old word for widow.

My work on research into the Herefordshire Skyrmes is in its early stages. Generally, details of Herefordshire Skyrmes are captured if they turn up serendipidously as a result of research into the main Pembrokeshire lines. After completion of the Pembrokeshire research, more in depth research of the Herefordshire Skyrmes will follow (c. 2014-15).

Other Locations

Other locations where the Skyrmes from Pembrokeshire and Wales migrated in the 19th century included:

The study of Herefordshire Skyrmes is not as well advanced but movement to north west England, the USA and Canada is already apparent. With increased mobility in the 20th century a scattering of Skyrmes can now be found all over the UK, and as far afield as the USA and New Zealand. However, there are no clusters as strong as those in Pembrokeshire and Herefordshire of former times.