Brecknock and Brecknockshire

Following the Norman Conquest English surnames were frequently associated with a habitation locality. It is therefore logical to associate the surname of Breckon with the Welsh town of Brecon and to attribute the variation in spelling to the absence of the letter k in the Welsh language. However, the Welsh name of Brecon is Aberhonddu, meaning the "mouth of the [river] Honddu".

Roman Brecon

Prior to the construction of a bridge by the Romans, Brecon was one of few places to ford the river Usk. Circa 75 AD, the Romans established a military base called Cincucium near Brecon, today know as Y Gaer.

Brecon in the Early Middle Ages

Celtic hagiography records a Welsh king called Brychan during the mid-5th centuary. Brychan was born in Ireland, son of Prince Anlach, but he married Marchell daughter of King Tewdrig of Gwent, a kingdon in South Wales. She brought with her a dowery of Welsh lands which became known as Brycheiniog. It is possible that Brychan is a Welsh variation of the Irish name Broccán; meaning badger in Irish Gaelic.

Brecon in the Middle Ages

The Lordship of Brecknock was established in the late 11th centuary as an Anglo-Norman marcher lordship to guard the border between England and Wales. The spelling of Brecknock is thought to be a Norman interpretation of Brycheiniog.

Brecon has a cathedral but this designation is recent as the diocese was only created in 1923 following the disestablishment of the Chruch in Wales. The church may have early Celtic origins; a priory church was founded in the late 11th centuary by Roger, a monk from Battle Abbey in Sussex. The relgious order at Battle was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings.

Broccán, Brychan, Brycheiniog and Brecknock

Clearly there is a close etymological association between the historic names of Brychan, Broccán and Brycheiniog and the names Brecon, Brecknock and Brecknockshire. It is interesting to note that there is no association in the distribution of the surname Breckon and Wales.

However, the use of place names as surnames often arose when an individual moved away from one location to another, adopting the locational surname on arrival at a new destination. The intruiging possibility exists that someone migrated from Brecknock to the North East of England and adopted the surname Breckon.

And is it thus? Repays he my deep service
With such deep contempt? Made I him king for this?
O, let me think on Hastings and be gone
To Brecknock, while my fearful head is on!

A reference to Brecon by the Duke of Buckingham in Shakespeare's play King Richard III, at the end of Act 4 Scene 2. Brecknock was the Buckingham family's estate in Wales. The Duke of Buckingham was suspected of supporting Richmond, the future Tudor king Henry VII.

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