Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland in 1970 to Dr Henry Angus Armstrong and Emma Thompson-McCausland. He studied at Trinity College Cambridge and is most well known for being one half of the comedy duo Armstrong & Miller.
He met his comedy partner Ben Miller in 1991 and they landed their Radio 4 show and TV series in 1998. He has since had roles in various TV shows including Life Begins, Dr Who and Mutual Friends. Alexander married Hannah Snow in 2003 and they have three children Rex, Patrick and Edward.
Alexander’s father Henry Angus Armstrong began practising medicine in 1967 and is the 8th generation of doctors in this area, which began with Claudius Fenwick in 1640.
Alexander’s great great grandfather John Charles James Fenwick, born in 1846, is shown on Northumberland and Durham census records as a physician, and can also be found on TheGenealogist on the 1895 Kelly’s Directory for Northumberland. The search tools on our directories allow you to enter a name and view the results or to browse through the images using bookmarks.
Alexander’s 3x great grandfather Joseph Watson, born in 1808 in Newcastle on Tyne is recorded on Northumberland census records as a solicitor and is also found in the 1856 Law List. Occupational records for solicitors/lawyers, clergy, teachers, doctors, civil servants and actors are now available as part of our new Diamond Premium subscription .
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On his mother’s side, Alexander is descended from one of the wealthiest families in Britain. The Irish McCausland family has aristocratic roots and is well documented in historical records. It seems his grandmother Helen Laura assumed the double-barrelled surname Thompson-McCausland by Royal Licence according to a family settlement on the 16/04/1942. Will he discover what the settlement was?
The McCausland line can be followed through the Peerage and Heritage records on TheGenealogist, available as part of the new Diamond subscription.
Alexander’s great grandfather Maurice Marcus McCausland was born in 1872 and his brother Maj. Edward Thomas William McCausland were both educated at Eton. The 1889 1909 Eaton School Registers include these records.
Records of interest for the McCausland family are:
- Armorial Families
- Burkes Landed Gentry
- School Registers
- Irish Directories
- Irish Will Indexes
See Alexander Armstrong tracing his family tree on BBC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ on August 23rd.
View Alexander Armstrong’s Family Tree in TreeView, the free online family tree builder.