Lait (Layte) family suffolk and Norfolk- how far back?

[Vance Mead]

I don't think it will be possible to get much further depending only on information that is available online. But there are parish records for Haughley going back to 1561. There are also some wills for people named Lait/Layt not too distant (Horringer is 15 miles away).

Having said that, I must admit that visiting archives and libraries right now is a bit of a problem.

[Emma Lait Hamilton]

Good point.  I've tried suffolk archives online etc.  Still,  it's further than I ever got before and (even though I'm adopted)I feel I have some roots. If you know what I mean

[Vance Mead]

One theoretical possibility is that Robert Layte came originally from somewhere around Attleborough, Norfolk. If you search the Norfolk archives and the legal records you will find many Lait/Laite/Layt/Layte in Great Ellingham, Deopham, and Shropham, all within two or three miles of Attleborough, from 1700 back to the 1400s. The earliest is Roger Layte, in 1444, of Great Ellingham, barker (a tanner or someone who prepares bark for use in tanning).

This might explain why Robert got married in Catton near Norwich, which is 40 miles from Haughley but 15 miles from Attleborough. Diss is also reasonably close to Attleborough, about 12 miles away. So maybe Timothy Lait moved to Diss because he had family connections in that area.


http://nrocat.norfolk.gov.uk/DServe/public/searches/nroadvanced.htm

https://waalt.uh.edu/index.php/Main_Page

http://aalt.law.uh.edu/Indices/CP40Indices/CP40_Indices.html

or Google site search:

site:http://aalt.law.uh.edu/indices/cp40indices/ layte

[Emma Lait Hamilton]

Thank you,  that's interesting.  A family story is we came over as hugenots