My father, Sven Dodington, collected notes and material on family history but did not have time to combine it into a unified whole. After I retired I found time to enter the whole collection into a computer program (Legacy). This effort revealed numerous errors and inconsistencies in the material I was using. I am still finding conflicts in the data, particularly the dates.
The assumed-accurate primary sources are Burkes LANDED GENTRY and a Marriott-Dodington Pedigree done by the College of Arms in November 1863, which covers 1650 to 1863. When I find a conflict in the dates covered by these two sources, I defer to these sources. I inherited a collection of notes made by Philip Aubery, who is a relative by marriage. He traced the family history all the way back to the time of William the Conqueror, using scattered parish records and other materials. Before 1500 the entries are spotty with few firm dates. However there are birth and death dates in the 1300's and 1400's to give anchor points: these all relate to the village of Dodington, which is near Nether Stowey. The old manor house and the adjacent church and graveyard are still in place. Elsewhere on this web-site is the text of a memo posted in the church giving the history of the family name.
I have added material on Bubb Dodington (Lord Melcombe) as he was lucky enough to inherit a huge sum and spend his life writing a political diary which was published after his death. His DIARY and another book on the period, THE OLD CAUSE, both give information on our family history. I have searched the internet and added scattered material, such as on The Ship Dodington and its cargo of gold and silver (Clive was sending it to India). I visited the College of Arms and found material which I have also incorporated: they have information on the Act of Parliament that allowed a Marriott to change his name to Marriott-Dodington among other things, as well as the family coat of arms. The coat of arms in the background of pages is a sketch I made of this official version. Collinson's HISTORY OF DORSET and HISTORY OF SOMERSET also have good information, from the 1700's. Sir Francis Dodington was important enough to be mentioned in various documents: he was imprisoned in Windsor Castle during the Civil War and carved his name in a wall: the carving is still there.
Information on the Kennard family is largely from old scrapbooks filled with newspaper clippings and handwritten notes. Thomas William Kennard was an Engineer, like myself, so I have included much information on his activities. Little information is available on the Dworak family as the Dworaks left Bohemia in the 19th Century: the same is true of the McGargills, who left Ireland.
FAMILY ORIGIN: Colinson's HISTORY OF SOMERSET gives information on the village and people of Dodington at the time of the Conquest: it was part of The Manor of Stringston. (Near Dodington is a street sign with one arrow pointing to Dodington, and the other arrow pointing to Stringston.) This information has been included in the family tree. There is another book called ORIGINS OF SOME ANGLO-NORMAN FAMILIES which has information on "Conteville of Somerset" on page 31. I have included this information in the tree also. Philip Aubery gave my father the results of his work on the earliest part of the family history. He found that a Lady named Herleve was married to Herluin de Conteville, and they bore a son, Robert, Count of Moraine (d. 1091). Adam de Conteville is a descendant of Robert. Herleve later married(?) Robert II, Duke of Normandy (ca 1030) and William the Conqueror was their iligitimate son. I have no way to verify all this, but my impression from the various sources is that after the Conquest, lands were given to many of William's relatives and soldiers, so perhaps some of them did get Dodington. Philip Aubery also showed a long succession, starting with King Henry III (1207-1272) and ending with the Anktell family: Margaret Anktell married John Dodington in 1573.
Burke's LANDED GENTRY, 1972 edition (?), page 260
College of Arms, A "Pedigree of Marriott-Dodington of Horsington", apparently done by the College of Arms. The references at the bottom are in part:
"extracted from the records of the Heralds' College, London, marked "D 27" p.38, and "Norfolk X." p.55, and examined therewith the 24th day of November 1863 by Us, E. S. Dendy, Chester Herald, G.W. Collen, Porticullis Pursuivant of Arms."
"extracted from the Heralds' Visitation of Somersetshire, An 1623, marked "2C.22", p.321; remaining in the Heralds' College, London"
THE OLD CAUSE, by John Carswell (subtitled " Three Biographical Studies in Whiggism"), Cresset Press, London, 1954. The references section of this book lists many sources of additional material on GBD.
POLITICAL JOURNAL OF GEORGE BUBB DODINGTON (reprinted within the past 25 years)
Somerset Archaeological Society, Volume XLV, page 25
Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families
Royalist Prisoners in Windsor Castle, by Sir Owen Morshead (concerns Sir Frances Dodington) (20 pages, printed, but no information on the publication itself)