The first Hamon de Massey was the owner of the manors

Manorialism

Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

 of Agden, Baguley

Baguley

Baguley is a locality in Wythenshawe, and an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England.Historically within Cheshire, the town is mentioned as Bagelei in the Domesday Book of 1086.-History:...

, Bowdon

Bowdon, Greater Manchester

Bowdon is a suburban village and electoral ward in the Altrincham area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England.-History:...

, Dunham

Dunham Massey

Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...

, Hale

Hale, Greater Manchester

Hale is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, approximately southwest of the city of Manchester....

 and Little Bollington

Little Bollington

Little Bollington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The Bridgewater Canal runs through the western side of the parish from south-west to north, and Dunham Park lies to the north east of the parish, across the...

 after the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

 in 1066, taking over from the Saxon thegn

Thegn

The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...

 Aelfward according to the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

.

The name of Hamon de Massey was passed on to his descendants for several generations. There are several different ways of spelling the name, including "de Masci", "de Mace", "de Macei", "de Mascy", "de Massy" and "de Massie".