Mostly Harmless
Mark Wigmore - a Brief History
- BSc from The City University, London
- Chartered Civil Engineer (MICE EngC)
- Working as a Software Engineer for Lockheed Martin UK IS&S Ltd (formerly STASYS) developing MANDRIL - a tool for decoding and analysing Tactical Data Link messages.
- Douglas Adams fan.
- Drive a SAAB 9-5 Aero.
- Into sailing, skiing, Tanglefoot, fine wine...
Welcome to my homepage
I'm not married, I have no children, but I do live in Surrey,
England a tiny island on a small blue-green planet, circling a small unregarded yellow sun, far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy...
(With apologies to the late Douglas Adams)
Other Pages of interest:
- Sailing Stuff
- Hobie Cat
- Scottish Cruise '98
- SPICE Cruise '00
- The Slippery Slope
- Harrow County School
- Wigmore Castle
- Misc Links
Sites I've developed for others and I now host:
- Morning Star Trust
- ASTO - UK Sail Training
- Captain Chris Wren
- St Mary's Church, Bitton
- New Life Centre, India - School and Orthopedic Centre
- Paul Wigmore - Lyricist
- Greg Birch - GasHeat: Gas and Heating Engineer
I have spare capacity on my server if you need a new home for a website or would like to create one. Just drop me a line.
The Wigmore Name
Wigmore castle in Herefordshire (map) holds a certain fascination for me, but unfortunately I've found no direct connection with it. It was built by the Mortimer family and, as far as can be determined, there is no blood relationship between that family and the Wigmores.
There is also a place called Wigmore in Kent, (map) which was not developed until the early part of 20th century when smallholders settled. Before that, this was land surrounded by woodland. The origin of Wigmore could be 'broad pool' as Wigmore Road was built where a pool had been. This and other possible origins of the name, mainly from the Herefordshire Wigmore, include:
- Wigemore 1086 (Doomsday Book).
- Probably 'quaking marsh'. Old English wicga + mor.*
- Wydemere 1275.
- 'Broad pool'. Old English wid + mere.*
- Wicingamire
- Anglo-Saxon for pirates.
- Gwig mawr
- Welsh for 'great wood'
* A Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford University Press, ©A.D. Mills 1998
The two names could have developed from 'wicga mor' from Wales and 'wydmere' in Kent. This would be quite a coincidence, but in genealogy nothing is impossible.
Early records of the name include Warnecombe Wigmor, who was registered as a student in Oxford in 1596, and Michael Wigmor of Somerset in 1602. The parish records of Canterbury contain an entry for the marriage of Henry Wigmore to Sarah Croke in 1688 while Richard Wigmore married Mary Weston in 1771 in St George's, Hannover Square. The Arms were granted to the Wigmore family of Sholden, Hertfordshire. BLAZON: Argent three greyhounds in pale courant sable collared or. CREST: A greyhound sejant argent collared gules ringed and garnished or. This is not to be confused with the Wigmore Arms in Luton, Bedfordshire, which is a pub.
Find out more about Wigmore Castle and the history of the region. To discus the Wigmore name, ancestry or genealogy, join the Wigmores Group at Yahoo! I have also prepared a list of everyone in my family tree and those of my in-laws.
Blatant advertising
On your way up (or down) the M6 between Scotland and London? Fancy breaking the journey? Why not try the comfortable and friendly Mercury Motel at Westhoughton, conveniently situated just off Junction 5 of the M61, easily accessible from the M6 (J25 n'bnd, J30 s'bnd), and the M60/M62 Manchester motorway system. (Map)
Need a professional skipper for your luxury yacht? Contact Captain Chris Wren.
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Talk to me
It would be great to hear from any kindred spirits, so please feel free to me. Thanks for visiting my home page. My CV/Resume is available on request.