I found a reference to Wyamarus in a book listed as a source by Rev. Samuel Whaley in his book 'English Record of the Whaley Family etc'. The book, which I found in Cardiff Public Library, is: John Burke, 'A General & Heraldic History of Commoners of Great Britain & Ireland enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank, But Uninvested with Heritable Honours' 4 Volumes. Pub: Henry Colburn 1838. ISBN (and DYNISC) 449346. (Didn't they just love long titles back then?) I also found an index volume, published at a later time, and so I am pretty certain there is only one entry for Whalley, and none for Whaley, Walley, or any other variation of spelling. Rev. Sam. says the book spells the name 'Whaley', but he's mistaken. The entry concerns the family of Hyde-Salmon Whalley of Norton Hall, Somersetshire, and Hinton House, Hants. Somerset is in the south west of England, and Norton Hall should not be confused with the village of Norton, in the county of Leicestershire, in the English Midlands, which also has a Whalley family associated with it. Hants. is short for Hampshire, a county in the south of England, wherein lies the port of Southampton. Rev. Sam keeps calling it 'Hauts'. Here is the part of the entry concerning Wyamarus: 'The family of Whalley in Somerset claims to be descended from Wyamarus Whalley, who accompanied WILLIAM the Conqueror from Normandy, and was the standard bearer at the battle of Hastings. The Conqueror gave him the Lordship of Whalley in the county of Lancaster, in which shire as well as in the counties of Stafford, and Nottingham, his descendants possessed extensive property.' The family described in the entry is the same as in Rev. Sam's book, page 38 to 42, which, he implies, he got from a record in the College of Heraldry. Hyde-Salmon Whalley inherited Norton Hall from his great uncle James Tooker, and it seems that in order to get the estate, he had to change his name to Tooker. Rev. Sam says that it was at the time of the name change that an heraldic record was made to show descent from Wyamarus. For this information he refers to Rev. Mark Noble's book 'Memoirs of the Protectoral House of Cromwell'. This is simply untrue: Noble makes no reference to Wyamarus. Rev. Sam even spells Noble's name wrongly! Furthermore, Hyde-Salmon Whalley was born in 1790, which was after Noble's book was published! Another disappointment: Before listing the family lineage, down from the year 1601, Rev. Sam says (p38), 'The man whose name stands first in the following line of ancestors, was doubtless an acknowledged descendant of Wyamarus Whaley. Hence no further record was necessary'. This must surely must be a mealy-mouthed way of saying that no documentary evidence was produced to show the descent from Wyamarus. So where does all this leave my search for Wyamarus? The Whalley entry in Burke's 'History of Commoners' says only that the family 'claims' to be descended from Wyamarus, and quotes no documentary evidence. Rev. Sam, referring to the same family, also uses the word 'claims', and goes on to say that documentary evidence is not needed because descent from Wyamarus is 'acknowledged'. I still think that the Wyamarus story is likely to be just a load of hooey. But the search continues. Frank Whalley