The Chance family originates from Burgundy, a region of France where the family has been in evidence since ancient times. The family came to England during the invasion of 1066 where the family distinguished itself during the battle of Hastings. Duke William of Normandy, their lieged lord, rewarded the family for their distinguished service during the battle with significant lands.

I won't list them all here but over the centuries the name Chance has been recorded in many forms due to the difficulties in representing the sounds of words into written characters. Variations included Chaunce, Chawnce and even Chawne but it is the Chance spelling that predominates today. Despite the similarities, it is considered unlikely that the Chance family has any links to the Chauncy and the Chauncey families from the Eastern Counties of England but this is still to be proven either way.

It is believed that the Chance family settled in and around Bromsgrove in Worcestershire sometime in the 15th century but it may have been earlier. My branch of the family were evident in Oldswinford, another Worcestershire parish very close to Bromsgrove, from the late part of the sixteenth and the early part of the seventeenth centuries. In is not clear at this time how they came to move to Oldswinford. However, Oldswinford would have been considered easily reached on foot from Bromsgrove in those days, being about 8 miles as the crow flies but I am yet to find a direct link. My research continues.

Various members of the Chance family are well documented historically in the area. William the Merchant or William I of Birmingham as he is sometimes described, is thought to have lived out his life in Bromsgrove. Together with Edward Homer, William started 'Chance and Homer Merchants' in Newhall, Birmingham. William married Sarah Lucus and had a large family. Thus started the long established relationship between the Chance, Lucas and Homer families. William's sons, Robert Lucas Chance and William Chance II, followed their father into business with the famous 'Chance Brothers Glass Company'.

I have a lot more information on the Chance Family from Bromsgrove and in the fullness of time, I intend to publish it all on this site. Please come back regularly and check for updates.

Other pages in this zone include the Chance coat of arms page and my ancestral line page.