Bulmer family
The Bulmer family was an Anglo-Saxon-origin noble family associated chiefly with Yorkshire and northern England, whose recorded history continued through the Norman and later medieval periods.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Bulmer family was an English noble and landed family whose principal historical associations were with Yorkshire and the north of England. The family took its name from Bulmer in North Yorkshire, following a medieval naming practice in which a lineage adopted the name of an important manor or principal seat. The precise etymology of Bulmer is uncertain. Proposed explanations connect it either with an Old English expression meaning a lake frequented by a bull, or with a Norse or Anglo-Saxon personal-name tradition interpreted as referring to an illustrious bull. These explanations remain matters of historical and genealogical interpretation rather than settled fact. The family is traditionally regarded as having Anglo-Saxon roots and as having retained or recovered status after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Domesday Book records the manor of Bulmer under Nigel Fossard, who held it from Robert, Count of Mortain, William the Conqueror's half-brother. Earlier Anglo-Saxon ownership is associated in historical accounts with a figure named Luigulf or Liulf, a nobleman connected with northern estates and later traditions concerning the Lumley family. The Bulmers are thought to have continued as tenants or local landholders under the Norman order, eventually establishing a documented lineage in the twelfth century. Ansketil de Bulmer is commonly identified as the first recorded member using the family's later form of the surname. He is associated with service as Sheriff of Yorkshire. His marriage into the family holding Brancepeth near Durham helped extend the family's regional importance. His son Bertram Bulmer succeeded him in the shrieval office and inherited Brancepeth. Through a later marriage involving a Bulmer heiress, substantial estates including Brancepeth Castle and Raby Castle passed to the powerful Neville family. The relationship is also linked in historical tradition with the Neville use of a bull as a heraldic emblem and seal, although the precise heraldic development is discussed in genealogical sources. A separate and later branch was based at Wilton Castle in Wilton, in the area now known as Redcar and Cleveland. Sir Ralph Bulmer held the manor of Wilton in the early fourteenth century and received a royal licence to crenellate the manor house in 1330. The Wilton branch remained prominent in regional administration. Sir William Bulmer served as High Sheriff of Durham from 1503 to 1516 and as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1517. The family's fortunes changed dramatically during the religious and political upheavals of Tudor England. Sir John Bulmer, Sir William's son, and his wife Margaret Stafford participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and in the subsequent rebellion associated with Sir Francis Bigod in 1537. They were convicted of high treason and executed on 25 May 1537, during the reign of Henry VIII. Their lands were forfeited. Some property, including Wilton Castle and part of the former estate, was later restored to their nephew Sir Ralph Bulmer by Edward VI in 1547, but the estate was subsequently granted to Thomas Cornwallis under Mary I in 1558. Other members and branches held estates in County Durham and neighboring areas. William Bulmer, the brother of Sir John, acquired property at Embleton, Tursdale, Claxton, and Fishburn through his marriage to Elizabeth Elmeden, an heiress. Further land sales, political confiscation, and the effects of the English Civil War reduced the family's remaining landed position. Wilton Castle was damaged after the Civil War, became uninhabitable, and was later demolished and rebuilt by a different owner in the nineteenth century. A separate tradition records that Joseph Bulmer was hanged in Newcastle in 1649 after being accused of witchcraft, although the surviving account presents this as a reported episode rather than a broad family development. The historical material does not establish a contemporary corporate organization, commercial brand, or current headquarters for the family.
History
The Bulmer family is identified with an English lineage whose historical base was in Yorkshire and whose branches later held estates in Durham and the wider north-east. The surname derives from the place-name Bulmer in North Yorkshire, although the deeper meaning of the place-name is uncertain. Historical explanations have connected it with an Old English reference to a bull-associated lake and with Norse or Anglo-Saxon terminology relating to an illustrious bull. Neither explanation is presented as definitive. The family's traditional ancestry reaches back to the Anglo-Saxon period. Accounts of the post-Conquest settlement associate the pre-Conquest lord of Bulmer with Luigulf or Liulf, while the Domesday survey records Nigel Fossard as lord of the manor in 1086, holding it from Robert, Count of Mortain. The family's survival and advancement under the Norman regime is therefore understood through a combination of local continuity, tenancy, marriage, and service to the crown and regional administration. Ansketil de Bulmer, active in the twelfth century, is the earliest documented bearer of the family name in its later form. He is associated with the office of Sheriff of Yorkshire. His marriage to the daughter of the lord of Brancepeth near Durham connected the family with another important estate. Their son Bertram Bulmer inherited Brancepeth and continued the family's public role. A subsequent Bulmer heiress married into the Neville family, transferring Brancepeth, Raby Castle, and related interests to one of the most powerful noble houses in northern England. Raby's so-called Bulmer Tower and related heraldic traditions are part of the material associated with this connection. The Wilton branch became particularly significant in the late medieval and Tudor periods. Sir Ralph Bulmer held Wilton manor in 1310 and received permission to fortify his manor house in 1330. Sir William Bulmer of Wilton later occupied important county offices, serving as High Sheriff of Durham for much of the period from 1503 to 1516 and as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1517. The family became caught up in the Tudor government's suppression of rebellion. Sir John Bulmer and Margaret Stafford, his wife, took part in the Pilgrimage of Grace in October 1536, a major uprising connected with opposition to Henry VIII's religious and governmental policies. They were also implicated in Bigod's Rebellion in January 1537. Both were convicted of high treason and executed in London on 25 May 1537: Sir John was hanged at Tyburn and Margaret was burned at Smithfield. Their estates were forfeited. Edward VI restored Wilton Castle and a limited part of the former property to their nephew Sir Ralph Bulmer in 1547, but Mary I later granted the estate to Thomas Cornwallis by sequestration in 1558. The family maintained additional Durham connections through William Bulmer, Sir John's brother. William's marriage to Elizabeth Elmeden, an heiress, brought him estates at Embleton, Tursdale, Claxton, and Fishburn. During the seventeenth century, property was sold by Sir Bertram Bulmer, and remaining holdings were sequestered in 1644 after his son William was classified as a delinquent for opposing Parliament during the Civil War. The estate was ultimately restored to William's brother Anthony and then sold. The decline of the family's estate at Wilton was also shaped by the Civil War. Wilton Castle was slighted and became uninhabitable; it was later demolished and rebuilt in the early nineteenth century under a new owner. Another reported episode concerns Joseph Bulmer, who was allegedly executed at Newcastle in 1649 after an accusation of witchcraft. The available material does not document a modern family institution, business, or commercial identity, so the Bulmer family is best treated as a historical genealogy and noble-house subject rather than as an operating brand.
- 1649
Reported witchcraft-related execution of Joseph Bulmer
[1]Historical accounts report that Joseph Bulmer was hanged at Newcastle after being accused of witchcraft.
- 1644
Sequestration during the English Civil War
[1]Remaining estate was sequestered after William Bulmer was declared a delinquent for opposing Parliament.
- 1558
Wilton estate granted to Thomas Cornwallis
[1]Queen Mary I granted the Wilton estate to Thomas Cornwallis by sequestration.
- 1547
Partial restoration of Wilton property
[1]Edward VI restored Wilton Castle and part of the forfeited estate to Sir Ralph Bulmer, the family's nephew.
- 1537
Executions following Tudor rebellions
[1]Sir John Bulmer and Margaret Stafford were convicted of high treason and executed on 25 May 1537.
- 1536
Participation in the Pilgrimage of Grace
[1]Sir John Bulmer and Margaret Stafford became involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace, an uprising during Henry VIII's reign.
- 1517
Sir William Bulmer serves as High Sheriff of Yorkshire
[1]Sir William Bulmer held the office of High Sheriff of Yorkshire.
- 1503
Sir William Bulmer begins service as High Sheriff of Durham
[1]Sir William Bulmer of Wilton served as High Sheriff of Durham from 1503 to 1516.
Norman Conquest and the post-Conquest transition
[1]The family is traditionally described as an Anglo-Saxon-origin lineage that retained local standing or adapted to the Norman landholding system after the conquest of England.
Bulmer recorded in the Domesday settlement
[1]The Domesday Book lists Nigel Fossard as lord of the manor of Bulmer, holding it from Robert, Count of Mortain.
Products and positioning
A historical English noble and landed family rather than a commercial product or corporate brand.
Controversies
1649
Accusation of witchcraft against Joseph Bulmer
A reported account states that Joseph Bulmer was hanged in Newcastle after being accused of witchcraft during the early modern witch-trial period.
1537
Executions after the Pilgrimage of Grace and Bigod's Rebellion
Sir John Bulmer and Margaret Stafford were convicted of high treason for their involvement in Tudor-era uprisings. Sir John was hanged at Tyburn and Margaret was burned at Smithfield on 25 May 1537; their estates were forfeited.
Sources1 sources
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