Sir William Denys (c. 1470–1533) of Dyrham, Gloucestershire, was a courtier of King Henry VIII and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1518 and 1526. The surname is sometimes transcribed as Dennis.
Origins He was the eldest son and heir of Sir Walter Denys (d. 1505) of Siston in Gloucestershire, by his 2nd wife Agnes Danvers, 2nd daughter & co-heiress of Sir Robert Danvers (died 1467) of Epwell, Oxfordshire, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (1450–1467). The Inquisition post mortem of his father Sir Walter, dated 1505, states William his son and heir to have then been "aged 35 years and more", which suggests a date of birth of 1470.
First marriage In about 1481 William's father arranged for him to marry Edith Twynyho, daughter of the wealthy Cirencester lawyer and cloth-merchant John Twynyho (1440–1485), whose monumental brass survives over his tomb in the south aisle of Lechlade Church, Glos. Twynyho served as MP for Bristol in 1472–1475 and again in 1484 and had been Attorney General to Lord Edward, 1st son of King Edward IV, in 1478. Twynyho had gone into partnership with John Tame (died 1500), the builder of Fairford Church, Glos., and a favourite of King Henry VII, and the pair had expanded their sheep, wool and cloth business in a bold fashion by acquiring large amounts of sheep rearing land, including Fairford in 1479. Indeed Twynyho's daughter Alice (died 1471) was given by her father as wife to John Tame, and the monumental brass of the couple can be seen on top of their chest tomb, known as "the Founder's Tomb", at Fairford Church. Twynyho's relativeVisitation of Glos. 1623, pp. 262-263 gives Ankaret as the sister-in-law of John Twynyho of Cirencester, married to William Twynyho of Keyford, Somerset. Ankaret Twynho (née Hawkeston) had been a servant of Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence (died 1476), daughter and co-heiress of Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick (died 1471), whose death in childbirth had been blamed, by her husband George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence (executed 1478), on poisoning by Ankaret.
Clarence was determined to have Ankaret executed, against the wishes of the Queen, who believed her to be an elderly and harmless widow blamed unjustly. Clarence rapidly gave orders for her arrest, which was performed at Keyford, Frome, Somerset, the family home, on 12 April 1477, by Richard Hyde and Roger Strugge and 80 "riotous persons", whence she was taken to Bath, thence to Cirencester thence to Warwick, where she was tried before JPs at the guildhall and found guilty by a jury. She was hanged at Mytton, Warks., on 15 April 1477, which action is considered by modern historians as a notorious judicial murder. Clarence himself was executed in the Tower of London the following year, 18 February 1478, and two days later, on 20 February 1478, Ankaret's grandson, Roger Twynyho, obtained the king's annulment of Ankaret's conviction.Calendar of Patent Rolls 1476–1485, pp. 72–73
It appears the Denys/Twynyho relationship may have started in 1481 on the sale or other transfer by Sir Walter Denys of the manors, or an interest therein, of North Cheriton and South Cheriton, Somerset, to the Twynyho/Tame wool-merchant partnership, which manors had been inherited from Sir Walter's grandmother Margaret Russell, daughter of Sir Maurice Russell (died 1416) of Dyrham. The following entry in the Somerset Feet of Fines records the transaction:Green, Emanuel (ed.) Pedes Finium, Commonly Called Feet of Fines for the County of Somerset, vol. 22, London, 1906, no. 137, pp. 212–213
At Westminster in the quinzaine of St. Hillary between Cristofor Twynyho cleric, John Twynyho of Cirencestre esquire, William Twynyho of Shipton Solers esquire, John Tame of Fayreford esquire, Edmund Langeley of Sudyngton Langeley esquire, Thomas Delalynde of Clencheston esquire, John Walshe of Olveston esquire, William Lovell of Raffeston esquire, and Thomas Warner of Cirencestre esquire querents; and Walter Denys esquire and Agnes his wife deforciants; for the manor of Northcheryton and the advowson of the free chapel of South-cheryton (and lands in Glouc. and Dors.). Walter and Agnes acknowledged the right of John Twynyho as by their gift and quit claimed for the heirs of Agnes, and they warranted against Richard abbot of the monastery of St Mary Cirencestre and his successors; for this John Twynyho gave them six hundred pounds sterling.
Christopher Twynyho was steward of Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset, of which his sister Margery was Abbess (1496–1505). Shaftesbury was the second wealthiest Abbey in the land, behind only Glastonbury Abbey. The will of John Twynyho (died 1485) bequeaths to this "Dame Margery, my niece, nun of Shaftesbury" a silver & gilt goblet "which had been presented to him by George, Duke of Clarence". This familiarity with the Duke suggests that John was the son or grandson of Ankaret. William Twynyho (died 1497) of Shipton Solers, Glos., was the 2nd son of William Twynyho of Keyford and served as MP for Weymouth 1472–1475 had acquired that manor in right of his wife Catherine Solers (died 1494), daughter of John Solers. The manor descended to his son Walter Twynyho.Victoria County History, Gloucestershire, vol. 9 Edmund Langley of Siddington, Gloucestershire, about 1 mile south of Cirencester was the husband of Lady Elizabeth Beynham (died 1527/28), widow of Sir Alexander Beynham of Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean, son of Sir Thomas Baynham and Alice Walwyn. Alice Walwyn, as widow of Sir Thomas, was the 4th and last wife of Sir Walter Denys (died 1505). Edmund Langley's will was dated 1490.Index of Wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, ed. J. Challenor, London, 1895. Thomas Delalynde of Winterborne Clenston, Dorset, was married to Edith Twynyho, daughter of William Twynyho (died 1472) of Keyford, Frome, Somerset, by Ankaret. He was living at Warwick, presumably as part of the retinue of Isabel, Duchess of Clarence, and the couple were summarily ordered to leave Warwick by order of the Duke of Clarence during the trial of Ankaret, as the petition to the king made by Roger, Ankaret's grandson, reveals. John Walshe (died c. 1492) of Olveston, and Little Sodbury Glos., appears to have acquired Olveston in 1472 from Sir Walter Denys,Emery, Anthony, Greater Mediaeval Houses, vol. 2, p. 130, Olveston Court father of William, who is buried in the middle of the choir of Olveston Church, as the Denys monumental brass there states. In 1490 Walshe was appointed King's Receiver of the estates of William, Marquess Berkeley, uncle of Anne Berkeley, Sir William Denys's 2nd. wife, when he alienated his estates to King Henry VII. His son, John II Walshe, was King's Champion at the coronation of Henry VIII, and was a great favourite of the young king's.Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Vol.13, 188/9, pp. 1–5, Little Sodbury John I Walshe's daughter Catherine married George Huntley (died 1580) of Frocester, MP for Cricklade, eldest son of John Huntley of Standish by Alice Langley, daughter of Edmund Langley of Siddington.History of Parliament, Bindoff, S. (ed.), House of Commons 1509–1558, vol. 1, Huntley.
George Huntley's brother John married Jane Carne, daughter of Sir Edward Carne (died 1561), husband of Anne Denys, daughter of Sir William Denys.
Marriage settlement The marriage settlement appears to have concerned the Denys manors of Aust, Gloucestershire, of which they held a moiety, and Litton Cheney in Dorset.
Litton Cheyne The Inquisition post mortem of William's father Sir Walter Denys, dated 18 October 1505, relating to his lands in Dorset, states as follows:Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem, 20–24 Henry VII, vol. 3, no.177, pp. 96–7
"He was formerly seized in fee of the under-mentioned moiety of the manor of Lutton, with the advowson, and by charter dated the eve of St. Thomas the Apostle, 21 Edward IV (i.e. 1481), gave it to Master Christopher Twynyho, clerk, John Twynyho, William Twynyho, John Walsshe, Thomas de la Lynde, William Lovell and Thomas Warner, esquires, to hold to them and their heirs to the use of William Denys, then his son and heir apparent, and of Edith, William's wife, and of the heirs of their bodies, and in default of such issue to the use of the said William Denys and his heirs; by pretext whereof the said Christopher and his co-feoffees were seized thereof to the use aforesaid in the form aforesaid".
The feoffees to this arrangement are the same as those who acted in the previously quoted transfer at about the same time of Cherington by Sir Walter Denys.
Aust The marriage settlement appears to have concerned the Denys manor of Aust, Glos., as recorded in a charter dated 21 Edward IV (1481), incompletely quoted and preserved in the Gloucestershire Inquisition post mortem of Sir Walter Denys, dated 14 September 1505 :Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem, 20–24 Henry VII, vol. 3, no.176, p. 96
He was seized of a moiety of the manor of Awste or Aust, and by charter dated... 21 Edward IV, ...enfeoffed thereof...Twynyho, William Twynyho, John Thame, Edmund Langley...to hold to the use of William Denys, then his son and heir apparent, and of Edith, William's wife, and of the heirs of their bodies, and in default of such issue to the use of the said William Denys and his heirs; by pretext whereof the said Christopher Twynyho and his co-feoffees were seized thereof in form aforesaid.
A daughter named Anne was born from the marriage with Edith Twynyho, who died sine prole.Visitation of Gloucestershire, p. 51, Dennis
Career
Esquire of the Body It may have been due to the position of William's half-uncle Hugh Denys (died 1511), Groom of the Stool to King Henry VII (died 1509), that he was appointed at some date before 5 June 1511 an Esquire for the Body to the new young King Henry VIII. Hugh had occupied the closest position to the king of all the courtiers, and was highly trusted by the old king. The new King, Henry's son, had not continued Hugh Denys in his post of Groom of the Stool, which was one of considerable personal intimacy, having appointed his own favourite Sir William Compton (died 1528), but perhaps out of respect, and indeed affection, for his father's loyal old servant had kept him on as a standard Esquire of the Body for the first 2 years of his reign until Hugh's death in 1511. It was perhaps as a replacement for old Hugh that the king appointed his half-nephew William Denys in his place.
Awarded licence to empark
At about the time of William's appointment as an Esquire of the Body the King granted him the honour of the licence to empark 500 acres of Dyrham, which is to say to enclose the land with a wall or hedgebank and to establish a captive herd of deer within, with exclusive hunting rights. This grant is witnessed by a charter on parchment, to which is affixed a rare example of a perfect great seal of Henry VIII, now hanging in a frame at Dyrham Park. It clearly was handed down with the deeds of the manor on the termination of the Denys era at Dyrham in 1571. The charter is of exceptional interest as it is witnessed by men of the greatest importance in the state, who were at the King's side at that moment, at the Palace of Westminster. The text of the document, translated from Latin is as follows:Translation provided by information sheet by National Trust, at Dyrham Park; A summary of the charter was retained in the royal records, Charter Roll 200, no.20, printed in Letters & Papers of Henry VIII, Foreign & Domestic, 1509–1514, vol.1, 5 June 1511, worded as follows:"William Denys, Esquire of the Body, license by charter to impark 500 acres at Le Worthy within his manor of Dereham Gloucestershire & to have free-warren in all the demesnes of that manor. Witnesses: W. Archbishop of Canterbury, Chancellor (William Warham) R. Bishop of Winchester, Privy Seal (Richard Foxe) Thomas, Bishop of Durham, Secretary (Thomas Ruthall)