General Notes

The origin of this family was Bures near Bayeux, who owned an important castle there. Michel de Bures was, according to the Egerton manuscripts in the British Museum, the first of the name who came to England. He accompanied Duke William to the battle of Senlac, by whom he was given two manors in Somerset, one in Hertfordshire, mentioned in the Domesday survey. The two manors in Somerset are known as East Bower and West Bower, Bridgewater. Walter, his son, held a small manor near Calne in Wiltshire, to which he gave the name of Bures. Pierre de Bures was Viscount of Dieppe and Arques during the war of 1173-1174. The family prevailed in England, in the counties of Stafford, Somerset, Berks, Gloucester, and others, for several centuries (Ref: Crispin and Macary, pg. 66)