House of Percy


The House of Percy is an English noble family. They were one of the most powerful noble families in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages, known for their long rivalry with another powerful northern English family, the House of Neville.
The House of Percy descended from William de Percy, a Norman who crossed over to England after William the Conqueror in early December 1067, was created 1st feudal baron of Topcliffe in Yorkshire, and was rebuilding York Castle in 1070. The name derives from the manor of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy, the home of the family at the time of the Norman Conquest. Members have held the titles of Earl of Northumberland or Duke of Northumberland to this day, in addition to Baron Percy and other titles. The Percy surname twice died out in the male line but was re-adopted by the husband of a Percy heiress and by their descendants. In the 12th century, the original Percy line was represented by Agnes de Percy, whose son by her husband Joscelin of Louvain adopted the surname Percy. Again in the 18th century, the heiress Elizabeth Seymour married Sir Hugh Smithson, who adopted the surname Percy and was created Duke of Northumberland.

Earls of Northumberland

Dukes of Northumberland

Recurring names

Recurring names in the Percy genealogy include:
Prominent members of the family include:
part of this is taken from the article on the Duke of Northumberland
This summary genealogical tree shows how the current house of Percy is related:

Coats of Arms

Paternal arms of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy : Azure, five fusils in fess or, which he abandoned in favour of right: Or, a lion rampant azure Both arms were quartered by the Percy Earls of Northumberland and remain quartered by the present Duke of Northumberland

Building work by the Percy family

of Lucy of Cockermouth Castle: Gules, three lucies hauriant argent
Following the death of his grandson Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset in 1750, the former Percy estates were split between the Smithson and Wyndham families