Toponymes
In France near the city of Reims along the river Marne, the small city of Dormans is situated, where in the middle ages (1290-1550) the noble family “de Dormans” wielded the scepter. No relationship had been demonstrated between this French family and the Limburgian Dormans family.
In Schaesberg, community Landgraaf, a street was called “at the Dormansberg”. This description has no relation with our family name. Originally the hamlet was called “Dormig,” but about 1960 this name was enlisted wrongly.
In the English county Sussex the rural hamlet of Dormansland is located, belonging to the village Lingfield. The name Dormansland presumably descends from Reginald Dereman, tenth man, (tax inner), named in rent registers from about 1310 of the heredity Lingfield. The same name was mentioned in a local rent register of 1424. This data was found in the book “The history of Dormansland”, present in the local library and composed of six contributions of local inhabitants on occasion of the 100 year celebration of the local parish.
Dormans Park is a forest rich residential area of the village Lingfield, where Mr A. Burr built the first country houses in 1880. The local railway station of the British Railway is called Dormans.
Dormanstown is an English city in the county Northumberland, where the first houses were built in 1917 by the iron and steel group Dormans Long for its employees. In 19020, this group was one of the largest British iron and steel groups, of which British Steel is now the owner. At the time Dormanstown was announced in the local press (Cleveland Standard) as Redcar’s Garden City. Since 1920 Dormanstown has belonged to the community Redcar. In springtime 1916 Albert De Lande Long and Sir Arthur Dormans BT, KBE, born in Kent in 1848, died in 1930, became the owners of the steel company. (From: Charles Winston: The history of Dorman Long, edited in April 1957 in Steel Review, published by British Iron and Steel Federation).
At an old map from 1755 of the heredity Groesbeeck a piece of ground with the name “Dormans Dris” was mentioned (Dries = Dris = non-used acre, pasture). This map was appendix 1 in “Van Gronspech tot Groesbeeck”, fragments of a local past 1040-1940 by A.Bosch and J.Schmiermann. This indication of place is related to one Dormans, living in Groesbeek: Josgen Dormans, who from Sunday, 1 September 1686, was a member of the rosary brotherhood, registered in the local parish archives. In the registry of 1649 and 1790, in some lists of owners of horses and cattle from the period from the end of the 17th until the end of the 18th century, the family name Dormans was not present. Further details in the birth/marriage/death registers of Groesbeek of the 17th century were lacking.
In 2002 in the village, Maasbree, belonging to the community Peel en Maas (North-Limburg) a new district called “in den Bosch” was constructed. The historical workgroup choose to drop names of local old homesteads and fields, found in old (Maas)-Breese archives such as Erckelentsgoed, Gaelengoed, Spiekergoed, Velsengoed, Weertsgoed, Toermansgoed and Dormansgoed.
Finally I will mention some facts, that have nothing to do with our family, however they are very nice to know.
In Magherafeld, Northern Ireland there is a restaurant called “Dormans and the Opera”.
A very famous coffee brand in Kenia is “Dormans coffee”.