With Parish Records going back well into the 16th Century it is possible to plot the presence of families in the village over many years. even before the days of the national census.
There is a review of the first 150 years of Parish Records here, with those records visible via this link.
Looking at a wider range of parish records, and combining this with the census information from those 1841 to 1921 censuses, plus the 1939 NHS review, an initial weighted list of the family names that have dominated village life in the almost 400 years leading up to the Second World War can be drawn up. It is not an infallible method – common family names can reoccur that are no relation to earlier ones, but it does seem to reflect village history reasonably well, albeit with more of a focus on the pre-Second World War period. Note that the date shown is the first time this name appears in the records – it may be a few years after that name was first seen in either of the villages.
It also doesn’t include weighting references for families still in the villages in the post-WWII era, to avoid any privacy / DPA issues. Following further research it may be possible to add a summary of the various families with more details on occupations, residences and relationships, as well as checking the continuity. Links are shown where the relevant family history has already been studied and included in the related section.
The full census information can be found here, and more information on the Parish Records is here.
| Family Name | First Record | Trades and Location |
| Adams | 1810 | Various including Teacher |
| Barnwell | 1815 | Farmer(Mount Pleasant), Tailor, Smallholder, Various others |
| Barratt / Barrett | 1801 | Woodman |
| Beers / Beer | 1790 | Various |
| Benn | 1663 | Farmer / Grazier |
| Billingham | 1770 | Farmer / Victualler |
| Bird | 1576 | Blacksmith |
| Bradford | 1670 | Newnham Area Farmer |
| Brierly | 1734 | Farmer (Newnham Hall / Lawford Grange / King’s Newnham area) |
| Brown | 1592 | Lime Burner / Baker / Victualler |
| Burnham | 1810 | Bricklayer / Farmer |
| Bushill / Bushell | 1668 | Bricklayer |
| Chalmers | 1890 | Farmer (Lawford Lodge Farm) |
| Chambers | 1891 | Various |
| Clarke | 1579 | Farmer (The Laurels) plus several others (also Clark) |
| Cooke | 1790 | Wheelwrights, Carpenters, Undertakers, Local Correspondent, Parish Clerk, Butchers |
| Cotton | 1631 | Butcher / Carpenter / Grocer |
| Cresswell | 1916 | Various |
| Crofts | 1603 | Farmers at Rookery Farm / Mount Pleasant / King’s Newnham |
| Dalton | 1589 | Farmers (Limestone Hall / Newnham Grounds) / Butchers / Shopkeepers / Clockmaker etc |
| Douglas | 1790 | Sawyer |
| Downing | 1730 | Farmer |
| Dumbleton | 1810 | Bricklayer |
| Elkington | 1693 | Various including Farming at Lawford Lodge |
| Farmer | 1820 | Miller / Baker / Grazier |
| Frankton | 1720 | Shoemaker / Sawyer |
| French | 1720 | Various including Victualler |
| Garfield | 1577 | Various including two family smallholdings in 18th Century |
| Gibbs | 1841 | Various |
| Grant | 1790 | Various |
| Gurney | 1851 | Various |
| Hall | 1614 | Various |
| Hirons | 1740 | Bailliff / Woodman / Grocer (see also Hiorns) |
| Holmes | 1861 | Railway Work |
| Ingram | 1790 | Various |
| Johnson / Johnston | 1720 | Newnham Area Farmer |
| Jones | 1780 | Various |
| Line | 1760 | Farmers At Ling Hall plus other holdings locally. |
| Mann | 1809 | Grazier |
| Martin | 1814 | Various including Farmers at Limestone Hall |
| Meanwell | 1901 | Woodman |
| Mitchell | 1887 | Various |
| Moe | 1603 | Various |
| Pincham | 1885 | Various |
| Prew | 1810 | Various |
| Reay | 1920 | Farmer (Grange Farm) |
| Riley | 1760 | Farmer (Manor Farm Church Lawford) |
| Robinson | 1920 | Farmer (Manor Farm Church Lawford) |
| Russell | 1808 | Various |
| Smith | 1581 | Bailliff / Teacher / Bricklayer / Farmer (Goodes Farm) |
| Sutton | 1632 | Various (see also Sutton Crofts) |
| Thorn | 1900 | Various |
| Townsend | 1750 | Farmer (Manor Farms at King’s Newnham and Church Lawford, plus Lawford Lodge). See also Worth Family. |
| Treen | 1740 | Various |
| Ward | 1670 | Shoemaker / Sawyer |
| Webb | 1634 | Various |
| Whiteman | 1740 | Grocers / Blacksmith / Shopkeeper / Parish Clerk / Post Office |
| Woodford | 1910 | Farmer (Village Farm / Burnhams Farm) |
| Worth | 1628 | Farmer / Landowner / Gentry in King’s Newnham. See also Townsend Family. |
| Wotherspoon | 1891 | Farmer (Rookery Farm) |