Welcome To The Restorick-Restarick Family Society

ROSTOWRACK FARM – THE ORIGIN OF OUR SURNAME

The origin of the surname RESTARICK (from which RESTORICK and RESTRICK come) is ROSTOWRACK FARM in St Dennis, Cornwall.

The farm is shown on the 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey map sheet number SW95 (Nanpean) in grid square SW 9457.

ROSTOWRACK is also shown on Thomas Martyn’s map of 1741. Mention of it is first found in 1212 (Red Book of the Exchequer, Volume II, page 612) and over the years it has been variously spelt: ROSTOUREC in 1278, 1293, 1311; RESDOUREK in 1357, 1370; RESTOWRACK in 1559 and 1618.The name comes from the Cornish words “ROS”, meaning “heath” or “hill-spur”, and “DOWRAK”, meaning “watery”, which describes Restowrack perfectly – being part of the china clay area inland from St Austell.
The earliest mention found of the surname is in 1254: Geoffrey and Reginald de Resdouric, and Roger Resdouric, in Assize Roll (PRO JUST 1/1182 membrane 1).

Rostowrack Farm passed out of the family in 1430 when Margaret, daughter and sole heir of Ralph Restorake, married John Petit of Ardevora.

All those with the surname Restorick in Canada and the USA are descended from the Colyton Restoricks.
Restaricks in the UK and the USA are descended from a branch of the Axmouth Restaricks that moved to Axminster in Devon.  Restaricks in Australia are from the branch which remained in Cornwall until Victorian times. 
There was a Restarick branch in Boston descended from John Restarick, born 1806 in Grampound, Cornwall, who emigrated with his family in 1846 but this branch has died out in the male line.

For general enquiries please email us at:  j.restorick@ntlworld.com