Hugh Denys
Encyclopedia
Hugh Denys was a courtier of Kings Henry VII
and of the young Henry VIII. As Groom of the Stool
to Henry VII, he was one of the King's closest courtiers, his role developing into one of administering the Privy Chamber
, a department in control of the royal finances which during Denys's tenure of office also gained control over national fiscal policy. Denys was thus a vital player in facilitating the first Tudor king's controversial fiscal policies.
, Gloucestershire, c.1440, the second son of Maurice Denys
(d.1466), Lord of the Manor of Alveston
and Earthcott Green, Gloucestershire. His mother was Maurice's 2nd. wife, Alice Poyntz, daughter of Nicholas Poyntz of Iron Acton
, Gloucestershire. The Denys family, formerly of Waterton, Bridgend
in Coity Lordship
, Glamorgan
, had become established in Gloucestershire in 1380, on the marriage of Hugh's grandfather Sir Gilbert Denys
(d.1422) to Margaret Corbet, heiress of her brother William (d.1377) to the Gloucestershire manors of Siston
, Alveston and Earthcott Green, together with the Hundred Court of Langley, as well as to Hope-juxta-Caus, Salop. and Lawrenny, Pembroke
. That Hugh was a second son is suggested by his use of a crescent as a mark of difference in his armourials. The Heraldic Visitation of the Co. of Glos. of 1623, on the other hand, shows him as the 3rd. son.
(1429–1492), younger son of Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros
(1406–1430), of Hamlake Castle
, Helmsley
in North Yorkshire. The latter had drowned in the River Seine while on campaign in France. Richard's mother was Eleanor Beauchamp(1407–1466), da. of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
and Elizabeth Berkeley
, daughter of Thomas 5th. Lord Berkeley. Mary's brother Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros
(1427–1464) of Hamlake married Philippa de Tiptoft, sister of John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
and Constable of England to King Edward IV
. Thomas de Ros, Denys's brother-in-law was an ardent Lancastrian
and was attainted in 1461, and beheaded at Newcastle in 1464. Mary's aunt was Margaret de Ros who married 1stly. c.1452 William Lord Bottreux(d.1462) of North Cadbury
, Somerset. She married 2ndly. in 1463 Sir Thomas Borough of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Because Margaret's mother Eleanor Beauchamp had married 2ndly. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
, Margaret's stepbrother became Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
, Captain of the King's Body Guard in about 1463. In 1464 he changed sides, again, back to the Lancastrians, and was beheaded at the Battle of Hexham
in 1464. Margaret's 2nd. husband Sir Thomas Borough was on the victorious Yorkist side at Hexham so possibly witnessed the beheading of his wife's stepbrother. At Denys's death Mary had borne him no children, and Mary went on to marry again, Sir Giles Capel. Mary's sister Eleanor Ros(1449–1487) married in 1469 Sir Robert Manners, Admiral of England who fought for Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, from which marriage descended the Dukes of Rutland
who inherited Belvoir Castle
in Rutland from the De Ros family via Eleanor. Mary's nephew Edmund de Ros, heir of her beheaded brother Thomas, was restored in his barony by Henry VII on his accession in 1485, and resided possibly quite close to the Denys's at Elsinges, Enfield
, Middlesex.
Alternatively the manors may have been purchased in his name as investments beneficially owned by the royal privy purse.
"In 1493 Henry VII had broken with tradition and set up a new department of the Royal Household. Historically there were 2 of these, the Lord Steward's dept. which provided food and drink, and the Lord Chamberlain's which dealt with both ceremony and the King's personal service. To these Henry added a third: the secret or Privy Chamber. This took over responsibility for the King's body service. It was also used, as its name indicates, to enforce a much more rigorous separation between the King's public and private lives. The establishment of the secret chamber greatly expanded the Groom's importance and his portfolio. Denys became the head officer of the new department. He controlled access to the King and assumed responsibility for the King's everyday necessities. Denys became the King's personal treasurer, running an account that later became known as the Privy Purse. In the last few years of Henry's reign, avarice was erected into a policy and the result was a reign of terror. The means employed were two financial instruments known as bonds and recognisances, which are agreements with penalty clauses for non-compliance. Individuals were fined for offences real or imaginary, forced pay part immediateley and to enter into bonds to pay the balance the terms imposed were broken. He was therefore at the King's mercy. The arrangements were assessed and enforced by a sub-committee of the King's Council called the Council Learned in the Law
, headed by Edmund Dudley
, with Sir Richard Empson
as a powerful member. In the Autumn of 1508, Denys moved centre stage as the King recovered from a serious illness and decided on a wholesale extension of his policy of fiscal terrorism. Henry decided to cast his net wider than just the elite, and created the post of Surveyor of the King's Prerogative, charged with the rigorous and universal enforcement of the King's rights as head of the feudal system. Local commissioners were appointed under Edward Belknap
to enforce the policy on a county by county basis. All the elements of an alternative system of taxation were in place, permanent, nation-wide and exempt from either parliamentary authority or scrutiny. The terms of Belknap's appointment are silent on what became of his profits, but it soon became clear they were to be paid over directly to Denys as a kind of private royal slush fund. Where they were paid is interesting, some at Greenwich Palace, but some at the private royal residences of Wanstead
(of which Denys was the official keeper) and Hanworth. The last recording of such a paying-over of "fines assessed by the King's highness" was that paid by Belknap to Denys at Hanworth in February 1509, at which date the account book breaks off, incomplete".
It is clear that Denys re-invested these funds in real-estate as a bare trustee for the King, using a group of feoffees many of whom were close to the King. That is to say the King must have had absolute confidence in him that he would not misappropriate the funds, for as a bare trustee no written agreement would have existed.
The existence of such a system, where the courtiers of the Privy Chamber
started to control the national finances, was proposed as long ago as 1917 by Newton, A.P. in King's Chamber under the Early Tudors, and by Dietz, Frederick C. English Government Finance 1485–1558, Illinois, 1920. It was also proposed by Dr. Walter C. Richardson in his book: Tudor Chamber Administration 1485–1547, Baton Rouge, 1952. David Starkey's book, Henry, Virtuous Prince (2008) treats the subject particularly clearly.
were to carry the "verge", or rod (from Latin virga, twig, rod) of office before a bishop, dean or other dignitary in ceremonies and processions and most especially before the king at the annual Garter Ceremony
.
In these offices held by Denys is evidence of the evolution of the role of the Groom of the Stool from an officer dealing with palace finance to one dealing with taxation matters and national finance. It is likely these were substantive roles, not mere sinecures, in view of Denys's known day-to-day involvement with the royal finance in the "Chamber System".
s, a form of virginal, thought to be amongst the earliest imported into England. The transaction is recorded in the Privy Purse expenses of Elizabeth of York, Queen of Henry VII, August 1502: "Item, the same day, Hugh Denys, for money by him delivered to a stranger (i.e. foreigner) that gave the Queen a payre of clavycordes. In crowns for his reward, iiii libres" (£4). The reward was four times greater than the estimated value of the gift, perhaps signifying the royal mark of approval and appreciation of the maker's generosity. As Alison Weir wrote of Henry VIII "It was common for subjects to bring gifts to royalty in the expectation of a reward and such largesse or tipping was expected of a monarch".
, who was the first president of the "Council Learned in the Law
" set up by the king in the last years of his life, which David Starkey explains to have been a private slush fund for the king, reducing his need to consult Parliament in order to raise revenues. The funds were generated by the imposition of "bonds" on those who had been fined, often arbitrarily, for offences real or imaginary. Records exist which show these large sums to have been handed over regularly to Denys, the head of the Privy Chamber. Naturally the money needed investing somewhere, to generate income. A manor was then the closest equivalent to a stock exchange company. It was a going concern, with tenants, managers (i.e. stewards, bailiffs etc.) and was fully staffed. The steward had only to redirect the stream of net profits to the new owner, as companies alter their dividend payments today to the bank accounts of new shareholders. Denys and his feoffees would receive the income directly into the Privy Purse, controlled by the head of the Privy Chamber, Denys himself, who of course was completely trusted by the king in handling his personal money. Thus the King's revenue from extra-parliamentary fines was capitalised in real estate producing an income received directly by officers of the Privy purse. It is significant that on Denys's death the properties held under this system of feoffees, in Denys's name, did not descend to Denys's heir, John Denys of Pucklechurch (as did apparently only Purleigh), but went to religious institutions with royal connections. This may have been the feoffees carrying out the secret wishes of the king, expressed to them verbally as his bare trustees. Such a system, based on trust alone, could clearly only function if staffed by the king's closest, most trusted aides. Hence the Groom of the Stool was the perfect candidate to control the operation, a man of discretion, an intimate companion of the king, long in his confidence, probably without strong personal ambition, therefore trustworthy.
, Middlesex some time after 1498, when it was recorded as belonging to Edward Cheeseman (d.1510), the owner of Norwood manor. It had formerly belonged to John Somerset, physician to Henry VI and Chancellor of the Exchequer. On the death of John Somerset c.1455, his estate in the manor, together with Wyke, covered nearly 500 acres (2 km²). He left his estate to feoffees for the support of the Chapel of All Angels at Brentford End which he had founded. Long after Denys's death, Syon Abbey
leased Osterley to Robert Cheeseman
in 1534. It was later known as "The Chapel Lands" when granted in 1547 to the Duke of Somerset. "Osterley Farm", a part of the land, then comprised 202 acre (0.81746572 km²) with a farmhouse on the site of the present Osterley Park. By 1565 it was held by Sir Thomas Gresham
, who consolidated it with other adjoining manors he owned. Hugh Denys's former manor became the site of the neo-classical Georgian mansion of Osterley Park
, the parkland of which is still today a pristine and undeveloped island within the suburbs of the Metropolis, being situated under the busy elevated section of the M4 Motorway approaching the Capital. The ancient Wyke Lane (now called Syon Lane) still exists, connecting Osterley with the former nunnery of Syon Abbey.
These lands at Shenley (including seemingly Over-Shenley and Nether-Shenley) were quitclaimed on 10th. May and 14th. June 1506 by Edmund Grey and Florence (Lord de Gray of Gray's Inn) to Hugh Denys for £500, paid by Denys's feoffees. The record of this purchase is in the Feet of Fines (CP 25/1/22/129, no.103): Plea of Covenant re manor of Shenley & 20 messuages, 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land, 100 acre (0.404686 km²) meadow, 600 acres (2.4 km²) pasture, 100 acre (0.404686 km²) wood & 100s rent in Shenley & Eton & the advowson of the church of Shenley. Clearly this is a large transaction, coming just 2 or 3 months before Gray's further sale of Gray's Inn or Portpool Manor, Holborn, also to Denys. It may therefore be a likely candidate as a capitalisation of royal "slush-fund" monies. It is useful to list the parties:
Querents: Sir Giles Daubeney(Chamberlain of the Lord King), Hugh Denys,esquire, Edmund Dudley,esquire, Thomas Wolverston, Thomas Pygot & Geogffrey Toppys
Deforciants: Edmund Lord Grey of Wilton and Florence his wife. They acknowledged the manor, tenements & advowson "to be the right of Hugh as those which (his feoffees) have of their gift and have remised and quitclaimed them from themselves & the heirs of Florence to (the feoffees) and the heirs of Hugh forever. Warranty. (The feoffees) have given them (i.e. the Gray's) £500".
Disposal
A licence to alienate Verdons and Vaches and "lands in Shenley, Over-Shenley and Nether-Shenley" to the feoffees of Thomas Pygot (Robert Brudenell, Justice of the King's Bench, Ralph Verney, Thomas Pygot, snr., John Cheyne, Thomas Langston, Ralph Lane and Thomas Palmer) was granted to Denys and Thomas Wolverston by the King on 21st. May 1509.
, formally known as Portpool Manor, from Edmund Lord de Gray on 12th. August 1506. The property consisted of 4 messuages, 4 gardens, the site of a windmill, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of land, 10 s. of rent & the advowson of Portpool Chantry.
Grey's Inn was at this time just starting to be tenanted by lawyers, and is now one of the Inns of Court
, a centre of the legal profession. The list of feoffees clearly demonstrates that these persons were close to royal power, again possibly this transaction was an investment of Privy Purse funds.
Hugh Denys, Edmund Dudley, Roger Lupton, John Ernley & Thomas Pygot
Versus:
Richard Grey, Earl of Kent & Elizabeth his wife.
Re: manors of Rushton, Ayton & moiety of Town of Tarporley.
Pleas before the Justices of Chester returned into the Exchequer on a Writ of Certiorari. 1507-8
was situated 5 miles (8 km) E. of St.Austell, only vestiges remain today. A receipt document is held by Cornwall Archives acknowledging receipt by Hugh Denys of 33s 4d from the Prior of Trewardaff being part payment of his corrody due on 25 March 1509. On Denys's death the Corrody "in the King's gift by death of Hugh Denys" was granted by Henry VIII to another courtier, John Porth. This Corrody had originally been monetised at 5 marks per annum, when granted by Henry VII in 1486 to his servant William Martyn, possibly Denys's predecessor.
, described as the "Monastery of St. Edmondsbury", as one was re-granted by Henry VIII on 4th. Jan. 1512, after Denys's death, to William Gower, Groom of the Chamber "vice Hugh Denys deceased". (i.e. in place of).
Bridge, spanning the River Brent
which flows from the N. into the Thames east of Osterley. The exact site is not known. It had been founded by John Somerset, a previous owner of Osterley and Wyke manors, the King having laid the foundation stone. Denys in his will entrusted his property to Sheen Priory to enlarge or perhaps refound it for 7 poor men and to found a chantry for 2 secular priests. The foundation was to be called "The Chapel & Almshouses of Hugh Denys". The priests were to be resident and hold no other benefices, were to receive 9 marks a year & free fuel and were to pray for the souls of King Henry VII, John Somerset and Hugh Denys. The poor men, all resident, were to receive 7½d per week, free fuel & a gown worth 4 s.
, a Bridgettine
nunnery, its neighbour across the Thames one mile (1.6 km) due north. Gray's Inn was not similarly transferred, but remained held by Sheen. Purleigh although it had been left to John Denys, was subject to an annual charge payable to Sheen, as provided for in the will. It appears that Syon Abbey were attracted by the prospect of acquiring the 2 nearby manors, while distant Gray's Inn could serve no function in their plans. The charter effecting the transfer from Sheen to Syon is an elaborate illuminated manuscript "An Indenture, a book with indented covers is preserved in the Augmentation Office
. It is a beautiful Illuminated MS on vellum with a neat drawing of St. Bridget
in the initial letter". It recites Denys's will. (Now in the British Library, Harleian MS 4640). The miniature on folio 1 shows the Virgin Mary kneeling before Christ's manger. A Transcript of the Indenture is printed in Aungier, History of Syon. (pp. 465–78) the abstract of which states:
who not only had inherited his father's lands, comprising the Corbet estates and those of the heiress Margaret Russell of Dyrham, 2nd. wife of Sir Gilbert Denys and matriarch of all the Denys's, Margaret Corbet not having produced a male heir, but he had also married very favorably Lady Ann Berkeley, da. of Maurice, 3rd. Baron Berkeley, de jure 2nd. Marquis Berkeley, the leading family in Gloucestershire. It seems that Hugh wanted to help John, a mere younger son, to become established. John married Fortune Norton of nearby Bristol, and it seems they used their inheritance to purchase an estate in Pucklechurch, the manor between, and linking up, the established Denys manors of Siston and Dyrham. The Denys family had long held the farm of this manor from the Bishops of Bath & Wells. It was John's son Hugh Denys of Pucklechurch, perhaps named after his generous great uncle, who made application to Parliament to procure an Act which would effect a resettlement of the then defunct Sheen bequest onto Magdalene College, Cambridge, then being refounded(in 1542). The Act was obtained in 1543 under the abstract:
The effect of the Act was to establish what became known as the "Dennis Benefaction". Of this endowment 20 nobles were to be used by the College and 20 marks were for the establishment of 2 fellowships, to be nominated by the King and called the "King's Fellows". These were the very first so-called bye fellowships. It was possibly the earliest benefaction received by the College, at the time one of the poorest of all the Cambridge colleges. These were suppressed in 1861 and the Emoluments carried to the Scholarship Fund. The "Dennis Benefaction" was thus founded, which is still extant today, within the consolidated "Scholarship Fund", a general fund for scholarships created by College Statute XX in 1956 by an Order in Council. It is however a mere historical curiosity yielding only a peppercorn income due to over four centuries of inflation and poor investment decisions.
Part of the very lengthy text is as follows:
(d.1609) was later himself a scholar at the College, and was either financed by it or accepted in gratitude of the bequest. John Dennys was clearly a highly educated man, who would find fame 198 years after his death in 1609 as a poet, author of "The Secrets of Angling" a pastoral didactic poem, the first on Angling in the English language. The work was published posthumously and anonymously as by "I.D.Esq", its true authorship being discovered in 1811 from an entry in the records of the Stationer's Company in London dated 1613 in which his publisher had entered his name as John "Dennys" by which spelling he has become immortalized in the literary world. (The family name was generally spelled "Denys" until about 1600, as "Dennis" thereafter.) The poem is in imitation of Virgil's Georgics, and is replete with cryptic classical and biblical references designed to delight the educated Elizabethan reader. It is certain that John Dennys must have studied very deeply at a university somewhere and it is likely that it was at Magdalene, due to the family connection, that the author of "The Secrets of Angling" learned his art.
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and of the young Henry VIII. As Groom of the Stool
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of a monarch's courtiers, whose physical intimacy naturally led to him becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master, and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course...
to Henry VII, he was one of the King's closest courtiers, his role developing into one of administering the Privy Chamber
Privy chamber
A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....
, a department in control of the royal finances which during Denys's tenure of office also gained control over national fiscal policy. Denys was thus a vital player in facilitating the first Tudor king's controversial fiscal policies.
Early life
Denys was probably born at Olveston CourtOlveston
Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. Alveston became a separate parish in 1846...
, Gloucestershire, c.1440, the second son of Maurice Denys
Maurice Denys (Sheriff)
Maurice Denys, Esquire, was twice Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1460 and 1461. The Denys family were stated by Sir Robert Atkyns, the 18th.c...
(d.1466), Lord of the Manor of Alveston
Alveston
Alveston is a commuter village of roughly 3000 people about south of Thornbury, South Gloucestershire and approximately north of Bristol, England. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur Eure, France. It has two hotels, a variety of small shops, several parks and fields, two churches and a...
and Earthcott Green, Gloucestershire. His mother was Maurice's 2nd. wife, Alice Poyntz, daughter of Nicholas Poyntz of Iron Acton
Iron Acton
Iron Acton is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north....
, Gloucestershire. The Denys family, formerly of Waterton, Bridgend
Waterton, Bridgend
Waterton is an area south of Bridgend, Wales. It is mainly an industrial zone, as it is home to Bridgend Industrial Estate, Waterton Industrial Estate, Waterton Park, the Ford Engine Plant & Waterton Retail Park...
in Coity Lordship
Coity Castle
Coity Castle in Glamorgan, Wales is a Norman castle built by Sir Payn "the Demon" de Turberville , one of the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan supposed to have conquered Glamorgan under the leadership of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Gloucester. Now in ruins, it stands in the Community of Coity...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, had become established in Gloucestershire in 1380, on the marriage of Hugh's grandfather Sir Gilbert Denys
Gilbert Denys, knight
Sir Gilbert Denys of Siston, Gloucestershire, was a soldier, and later an administrator. He was knighted by Jan 1385, and was twice knight of the shire for Gloucestershire constituency, in 1390 and 1395 and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1393-4...
(d.1422) to Margaret Corbet, heiress of her brother William (d.1377) to the Gloucestershire manors of Siston
Siston
Siston is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England east of Bristol Castle, ancient centre of Bristol, recorded historically as Syston, Sistone, Syton, Sytone and Systun etc. The village lies at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon...
, Alveston and Earthcott Green, together with the Hundred Court of Langley, as well as to Hope-juxta-Caus, Salop. and Lawrenny, Pembroke
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
. That Hugh was a second son is suggested by his use of a crescent as a mark of difference in his armourials. The Heraldic Visitation of the Co. of Glos. of 1623, on the other hand, shows him as the 3rd. son.
Marriage to Mary Ros
Denys married very advantageously to Mary Ros (or Roos), the daughter and only child of Richard RosRichard Ros
Sir Richard Ros , English poet, was the son of Sir Thomas Ros, lord of Hamlake in Yorkshire and of Belvoir in Leicestershire.In Harl. manuscript 372 the poem of "La Belle Dame sanz Mercy," first printed in W...
(1429–1492), younger son of Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros
Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros
Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros of Helmsley was an English nobleman.-Lineage:He was the second son of William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros and Margaret Fitzalan...
(1406–1430), of Hamlake Castle
Helmsley Castle
Helmsley Castle is a medieval castle situated in the market town of Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England.-History:...
, Helmsley
Helmsley
Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. The town is located at the point where the valleys of Bilsdale and Ryedale leave the higher moorland and join the flat Vale of Pickering. It is situated on the River Rye and lies on the A170 road, east...
in North Yorkshire. The latter had drowned in the River Seine while on campaign in France. Richard's mother was Eleanor Beauchamp(1407–1466), da. of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Count of Aumale, KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Early Life:...
and Elizabeth Berkeley
Elizabeth Berkeley
Elizabeth Berkeley may refer to:*Lady Elizabeth Germain nee Berkeley dau. Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley m. Sir John Germain, 1st Baronet...
, daughter of Thomas 5th. Lord Berkeley. Mary's brother Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros
Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros
Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros of Helmsley was a follower of the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses.-Family:...
(1427–1464) of Hamlake married Philippa de Tiptoft, sister of John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG , English nobleman and scholar, was the son of John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft and Joyce Cherleton, co-heiress of Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton. He was also known as the Butcher of England...
and Constable of England to King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
. Thomas de Ros, Denys's brother-in-law was an ardent Lancastrian
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
and was attainted in 1461, and beheaded at Newcastle in 1464. Mary's aunt was Margaret de Ros who married 1stly. c.1452 William Lord Bottreux(d.1462) of North Cadbury
North Cadbury
North Cadbury is a village west of Wincanton in the River Cam in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish with nearby Yarlington and includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of...
, Somerset. She married 2ndly. in 1463 Sir Thomas Borough of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Because Margaret's mother Eleanor Beauchamp had married 2ndly. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War...
, Margaret's stepbrother became Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, since the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died...
, Captain of the King's Body Guard in about 1463. In 1464 he changed sides, again, back to the Lancastrians, and was beheaded at the Battle of Hexham
Battle of Hexham
The Battle of Hexham marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV....
in 1464. Margaret's 2nd. husband Sir Thomas Borough was on the victorious Yorkist side at Hexham so possibly witnessed the beheading of his wife's stepbrother. At Denys's death Mary had borne him no children, and Mary went on to marry again, Sir Giles Capel. Mary's sister Eleanor Ros(1449–1487) married in 1469 Sir Robert Manners, Admiral of England who fought for Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, from which marriage descended the Dukes of Rutland
Duke of Rutland
Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England, derived from Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged....
who inherited Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
in Rutland from the De Ros family via Eleanor. Mary's nephew Edmund de Ros, heir of her beheaded brother Thomas, was restored in his barony by Henry VII on his accession in 1485, and resided possibly quite close to the Denys's at Elsinges, Enfield
Enfield Town
Enfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
, Middlesex.
Groom of the Stool to King Henry VII
This office made its holder the King's closest courtier. The duties in the earliest days of this ancient post involved assisting the king in the performance in a decorous manner of his bodily function of excretion. Arrangements would have to be made for the custody of the stool itself (the word derives from Old English & Norse stul, signifying "chair", or piece of furniture for sitting on), provision of a suitable room for the use thereof, with curtains, hangings being provided. Washing equipment would also have been required: water, bowls, towel etc. Assistance would have been needed in undressing and re-dressing, bearing in mind the thick and valuable winter clothes worn by monarchs, replete with complex fastenings, which would need careful handling. Whether the function of the office involved intimate bodily cleaning must be questioned. The answer would seem to be affirmative. It is unlikely, as in the popular imagination, to have been a duty demanded by the king to boost his royal ego, rather a necessity to ensure the process was properly performed. Disposable paper tissue would only make its appearance several centuries later, cloth and water are likely to have been required. Clearly the office was one where the king would want to select a person in whose company he felt relaxed and comfortable. From this relationship grew the role of the Groom as a close adviser of the king. He had the king's ear, and this is likely to have given him power over the other courtiers, from their fear of his influence, and their desire to keep in his favour. By the reign of Henry VII, as exeplified in the person of Hugh Denys, the Groom of the Stool was a substantial man, from the gentry, married to an aristocratic wife, who died owning at least 4 manors (although possibly not all beneficially as will be discussed below). It is possible the role changed during Henry's reign, as Denys seems to have come into a lot of money late in life, as evidenced by the dates of purchase of his manors, and the funds may have come from perquisites or commissions retained from his various offices concerned with revenue collection, such as Gabler, Gauger and Ulnager. These latter are evidence as to how the role of Groom of the Stool changed into one of a financial function.Alternatively the manors may have been purchased in his name as investments beneficially owned by the royal privy purse.
The "Chamber System" of Royal Finance
The Tudor historian David Starkey describes this system, and Denys's role in it, as follows:"In 1493 Henry VII had broken with tradition and set up a new department of the Royal Household. Historically there were 2 of these, the Lord Steward's dept. which provided food and drink, and the Lord Chamberlain's which dealt with both ceremony and the King's personal service. To these Henry added a third: the secret or Privy Chamber. This took over responsibility for the King's body service. It was also used, as its name indicates, to enforce a much more rigorous separation between the King's public and private lives. The establishment of the secret chamber greatly expanded the Groom's importance and his portfolio. Denys became the head officer of the new department. He controlled access to the King and assumed responsibility for the King's everyday necessities. Denys became the King's personal treasurer, running an account that later became known as the Privy Purse. In the last few years of Henry's reign, avarice was erected into a policy and the result was a reign of terror. The means employed were two financial instruments known as bonds and recognisances, which are agreements with penalty clauses for non-compliance. Individuals were fined for offences real or imaginary, forced pay part immediateley and to enter into bonds to pay the balance the terms imposed were broken. He was therefore at the King's mercy. The arrangements were assessed and enforced by a sub-committee of the King's Council called the Council Learned in the Law
Council Learned in the Law
The Council Learned in the Law was a highly controversial tribunal of Henry VII of England's reign.The brainchild of Sir Reginald Bray, the Council Learned was introduced in 1495 to defend Henry’s position as a feudal landlord. It dealt with the king's fiscal matters and enforced payments of debts...
, headed by Edmund Dudley
Edmund Dudley
Edmund Dudley was an English administrator and a financial agent of King Henry VII. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons and President of the King's Council. After the accession of Henry VIII, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed the next year on a treason charge...
, with Sir Richard Empson
Richard Empson
Sir Richard Empson , minister of Henry VII, King of England, was a son of Peter Empson, an influential inhabitant of Towcester....
as a powerful member. In the Autumn of 1508, Denys moved centre stage as the King recovered from a serious illness and decided on a wholesale extension of his policy of fiscal terrorism. Henry decided to cast his net wider than just the elite, and created the post of Surveyor of the King's Prerogative, charged with the rigorous and universal enforcement of the King's rights as head of the feudal system. Local commissioners were appointed under Edward Belknap
Edward Belknap
Sir Edward Belknap was active in the service of the English crown, both on the battlefield and as a court official, during the 16th and 17th centuries....
to enforce the policy on a county by county basis. All the elements of an alternative system of taxation were in place, permanent, nation-wide and exempt from either parliamentary authority or scrutiny. The terms of Belknap's appointment are silent on what became of his profits, but it soon became clear they were to be paid over directly to Denys as a kind of private royal slush fund. Where they were paid is interesting, some at Greenwich Palace, but some at the private royal residences of Wanstead
Wanstead Park
Wanstead Park is the name of a grade II listed municipal park covering an area of about 140 acres , located in Wanstead, in the London Borough of Redbridge, historically within the county of Essex...
(of which Denys was the official keeper) and Hanworth. The last recording of such a paying-over of "fines assessed by the King's highness" was that paid by Belknap to Denys at Hanworth in February 1509, at which date the account book breaks off, incomplete".
It is clear that Denys re-invested these funds in real-estate as a bare trustee for the King, using a group of feoffees many of whom were close to the King. That is to say the King must have had absolute confidence in him that he would not misappropriate the funds, for as a bare trustee no written agreement would have existed.
The existence of such a system, where the courtiers of the Privy Chamber
Privy chamber
A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....
started to control the national finances, was proposed as long ago as 1917 by Newton, A.P. in King's Chamber under the Early Tudors, and by Dietz, Frederick C. English Government Finance 1485–1558, Illinois, 1920. It was also proposed by Dr. Walter C. Richardson in his book: Tudor Chamber Administration 1485–1547, Baton Rouge, 1952. David Starkey's book, Henry, Virtuous Prince (2008) treats the subject particularly clearly.
Hugh Denys a Citizen of London
Hugh Denys was a citizen of the City of London. As a member of the Grocer's guild, he may possibly have been in commerce prior to his royal service.Appointment as Verger of Windsor Castle
Hugh Denys held the post of Verger of Windsor Castle, as evidenced by the Letters & Papers of Henry VIII. The sale documentation relating to Gray's Inn confirms this, referring to Denys as "Verger of Windsor Castle". The duties of the office of VergerVerger
A verger is a person, usually a layman, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches.-History:...
were to carry the "verge", or rod (from Latin virga, twig, rod) of office before a bishop, dean or other dignitary in ceremonies and processions and most especially before the king at the annual Garter Ceremony
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
.
Other Offices held by Hugh Denys
In the Pardon Roll of Henry VIII, of 16th. March c.1510, Hugh Denys is described as "Esquire for the Body, Gauger in Bristol, one of the Ushers at the Receipt of the Exchequer, Ulnager in Counties Oxford and Berks., Grocer and Garbler(sic) of London". This implies that the by then elderly Denys, after his former royal master's death in 1509 had remained in royal service for Henry's son Henry VIII, but as a standard courtier, an Esquire for the Body. The reference to a Grocer implies membership of the Guild of Grocers in the City of London. It is therefore conceivable he may have had a career in commerce. The three offices of Gauger, Ulnager and Gabeler are all concerned with excise and duty collection, protection or measurement. An Ulnager inspected woolen cloth for quality, and assessed subsidy on it. A Gabeler collected gabels, such as taxes, duty service charges or rent. A Gauger measured or gauged bulk goods subject to duty, including alcoholic drink. The connection to Bristol is possibly due to his roots at Olveston, Gloucestershire, only 9 miles (14.5 km) to the north. An Usher at the Receipt of the Exchequer was the official doorkeeper who allowed the Sheriffs from the various counties in, one by one, to the room in which was situated the chequered table around which sat the Lords of the Exchequer, to present their annual accounts for their county.In these offices held by Denys is evidence of the evolution of the role of the Groom of the Stool from an officer dealing with palace finance to one dealing with taxation matters and national finance. It is likely these were substantive roles, not mere sinecures, in view of Denys's known day-to-day involvement with the royal finance in the "Chamber System".
Receives Fines for the King's Silver
Fines for King's Silver (Common Pleas) were paid to Hugh Denys by order of the King and Council, 1505–1508. (Exchequer: Treasury of the receipt: Miscellaneous Books E 36/211)Denys pays for a pair of early Pianos
Money is recorded having been paid by the Queen to Hugh Denys, reimbursing him for paying a deliveryman, or possibly their maker come in person, for a pair of clavichordClavichord
The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was widely used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces...
s, a form of virginal, thought to be amongst the earliest imported into England. The transaction is recorded in the Privy Purse expenses of Elizabeth of York, Queen of Henry VII, August 1502: "Item, the same day, Hugh Denys, for money by him delivered to a stranger (i.e. foreigner) that gave the Queen a payre of clavycordes. In crowns for his reward, iiii libres" (£4). The reward was four times greater than the estimated value of the gift, perhaps signifying the royal mark of approval and appreciation of the maker's generosity. As Alison Weir wrote of Henry VIII "It was common for subjects to bring gifts to royalty in the expectation of a reward and such largesse or tipping was expected of a monarch".
Coronation of the Queen, Katherine of Aragon, June 1509
Mrs Denys was one of many to obtain a warrant for stuff for gowns, coats etc. for particular persons, all courtiers and members of the Royal Household. She is described as "Gentlewoman of the Queen's Chamber", appearing 2nd. on the list:Katerina Fortes, Mrs Denys, Mrs Butler, Mrs Weston, Mrs Jernyngham, Mrs Brewce, Mrs Stanhop, Mrs Odell. ( A list of persons to receive a number of yards of scarlet and red cloth for the Coronation, among many hundred persons. Regarding the King's Chamber the Squires for the Body for the occasion are listed as: Hugh Denys, Richard Weston, John Porth(Keeper of the Books), Matthew Baker, Anthony Fetypace, Thomas Apar, Sir John Carew. etc.Manors held by Hugh Denys, possibly on behalf of the Privy Purse
Towards the end of his life, and of the King's, when the Privy Chamber financial system was in operation, Hugh Denys purchased interests in several manors, in some possibly as a bare trustee for another beneficial owner. A bare trustee is someone who holds assets for the benefit of a third party purely on personal trust, no legal agreement or documentation existing. It is interesting to speculate who the beneficial owner might have been; one possibility is Henry VII himself. Denys does not seem to have been a rich man himself, being a second son he would have had no inheritance, and his wife was the daughter of a younger son too. Yet he purchased ostensibly in his own name for his own beneficial interest, some very substantial properties, via a large group of "feoffees" or trustees, especially those purchased from Lord Gray. One of the feoffees in the Shenley purchase was Edmund DudleyEdmund Dudley
Edmund Dudley was an English administrator and a financial agent of King Henry VII. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons and President of the King's Council. After the accession of Henry VIII, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed the next year on a treason charge...
, who was the first president of the "Council Learned in the Law
Council Learned in the Law
The Council Learned in the Law was a highly controversial tribunal of Henry VII of England's reign.The brainchild of Sir Reginald Bray, the Council Learned was introduced in 1495 to defend Henry’s position as a feudal landlord. It dealt with the king's fiscal matters and enforced payments of debts...
" set up by the king in the last years of his life, which David Starkey explains to have been a private slush fund for the king, reducing his need to consult Parliament in order to raise revenues. The funds were generated by the imposition of "bonds" on those who had been fined, often arbitrarily, for offences real or imaginary. Records exist which show these large sums to have been handed over regularly to Denys, the head of the Privy Chamber. Naturally the money needed investing somewhere, to generate income. A manor was then the closest equivalent to a stock exchange company. It was a going concern, with tenants, managers (i.e. stewards, bailiffs etc.) and was fully staffed. The steward had only to redirect the stream of net profits to the new owner, as companies alter their dividend payments today to the bank accounts of new shareholders. Denys and his feoffees would receive the income directly into the Privy Purse, controlled by the head of the Privy Chamber, Denys himself, who of course was completely trusted by the king in handling his personal money. Thus the King's revenue from extra-parliamentary fines was capitalised in real estate producing an income received directly by officers of the Privy purse. It is significant that on Denys's death the properties held under this system of feoffees, in Denys's name, did not descend to Denys's heir, John Denys of Pucklechurch (as did apparently only Purleigh), but went to religious institutions with royal connections. This may have been the feoffees carrying out the secret wishes of the king, expressed to them verbally as his bare trustees. Such a system, based on trust alone, could clearly only function if staffed by the king's closest, most trusted aides. Hence the Groom of the Stool was the perfect candidate to control the operation, a man of discretion, an intimate companion of the king, long in his confidence, probably without strong personal ambition, therefore trustworthy.
Osterley Manor
Denys purchased the manor of OsterleyOsterley
Osterley is a district in the London Borough of Hounslow in west London. It is situated approximately west south-west of Charing Cross.Osterley lies north of the A4 and extends further northwards beyond the M4 Motorway...
, Middlesex some time after 1498, when it was recorded as belonging to Edward Cheeseman (d.1510), the owner of Norwood manor. It had formerly belonged to John Somerset, physician to Henry VI and Chancellor of the Exchequer. On the death of John Somerset c.1455, his estate in the manor, together with Wyke, covered nearly 500 acres (2 km²). He left his estate to feoffees for the support of the Chapel of All Angels at Brentford End which he had founded. Long after Denys's death, Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey
Syon Monastery , was a monastery of the Bridgettine Order founded in 1415 which stood until its demolition in the 16th c. on the left bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex on or near the site of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House...
leased Osterley to Robert Cheeseman
Robert Cheeseman
Robert Cheeseman or Cheseman was an English politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Middlesex 28 April 1539 - 24 July 1540.-Life:...
in 1534. It was later known as "The Chapel Lands" when granted in 1547 to the Duke of Somerset. "Osterley Farm", a part of the land, then comprised 202 acre (0.81746572 km²) with a farmhouse on the site of the present Osterley Park. By 1565 it was held by Sir Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
, who consolidated it with other adjoining manors he owned. Hugh Denys's former manor became the site of the neo-classical Georgian mansion of Osterley Park
Osterley Park
Osterley Park is a mansion set in a large park of the same name. It is in the London Borough of Hounslow, part of the western suburbs of London. When the house was built it was surrounded by rural countryside. It was one of a group of large houses close to London which served as country retreats...
, the parkland of which is still today a pristine and undeveloped island within the suburbs of the Metropolis, being situated under the busy elevated section of the M4 Motorway approaching the Capital. The ancient Wyke Lane (now called Syon Lane) still exists, connecting Osterley with the former nunnery of Syon Abbey.
Wyke Manor
in 1444 Wyke manor belonged to John Somerset. It is likely Denys acquired it at the same time as Osterley. After receiving Wyke from Denys's will, via Sheen Priory, Syon Abbey let it in 1537 on a 40 year lease. In 1547 it was described as "Wyke Farm", comprising 104 acre (0.42087344 km²) of land and woods on each side of Wyke Lane (now Syon Lane). By 1570 Wyke was held by Sir Thomas Gresham, together with Osterley.Purleigh Manor, Essex
Hugh Denys died seised of Purleigh Manor in Essex, 10 miles (16.1 km) E. of Chelmsford, which he bequeathed to his nephew John Denys of Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire. On the death in 1701 of Sir William Dennis (as the name became modernised), last Dennis lord of the manor of Pucklechurch, it descended to his his 2 daughters and co-heiresses, Mary and younger da. Elizabeth, who held it jointly until about 1736. Elizabeth made an unfortunate marriage, as his 2nd. wife, to a future notorious South-Sea Bubble bankrupt, Sir Alexander Cuming of Culter, in Aberdeen, 1st. Baronet. His son by his first marriage was an extraordinary character, Alexander Cuming, 2nd. Bt., whose mystical and powerful persona induced the Cherokee Indians to make him their Co-Emperor and to treat him as a living deity. He applied to King George III to formalise his title and give him funding, promising to win the Cherokees' loyaly against the French in the War of Independence, yet was rejected as an eccentric. He died in abject poverty, ejected from an almshouse in London. He still features prominently in Cherokee history to this day.Wallasea Island
This is situated directly S. of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, 10 miles (16.1 km) SE of Denys's manor of Purleigh.Shenley Bucks.
PurchaseThese lands at Shenley (including seemingly Over-Shenley and Nether-Shenley) were quitclaimed on 10th. May and 14th. June 1506 by Edmund Grey and Florence (Lord de Gray of Gray's Inn) to Hugh Denys for £500, paid by Denys's feoffees. The record of this purchase is in the Feet of Fines (CP 25/1/22/129, no.103): Plea of Covenant re manor of Shenley & 20 messuages, 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land, 100 acre (0.404686 km²) meadow, 600 acres (2.4 km²) pasture, 100 acre (0.404686 km²) wood & 100s rent in Shenley & Eton & the advowson of the church of Shenley. Clearly this is a large transaction, coming just 2 or 3 months before Gray's further sale of Gray's Inn or Portpool Manor, Holborn, also to Denys. It may therefore be a likely candidate as a capitalisation of royal "slush-fund" monies. It is useful to list the parties:
Querents: Sir Giles Daubeney(Chamberlain of the Lord King), Hugh Denys,esquire, Edmund Dudley,esquire, Thomas Wolverston, Thomas Pygot & Geogffrey Toppys
Deforciants: Edmund Lord Grey of Wilton and Florence his wife. They acknowledged the manor, tenements & advowson "to be the right of Hugh as those which (his feoffees) have of their gift and have remised and quitclaimed them from themselves & the heirs of Florence to (the feoffees) and the heirs of Hugh forever. Warranty. (The feoffees) have given them (i.e. the Gray's) £500".
Disposal
A licence to alienate Verdons and Vaches and "lands in Shenley, Over-Shenley and Nether-Shenley" to the feoffees of Thomas Pygot (Robert Brudenell, Justice of the King's Bench, Ralph Verney, Thomas Pygot, snr., John Cheyne, Thomas Langston, Ralph Lane and Thomas Palmer) was granted to Denys and Thomas Wolverston by the King on 21st. May 1509.
Portpool Manor (Gray's Inn) Holborn
Hugh Denys, via about 12 feoffees, using the same system of enfeoffing others which had been common with the de Grays, purchased Gray's InnGray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, formally known as Portpool Manor, from Edmund Lord de Gray on 12th. August 1506. The property consisted of 4 messuages, 4 gardens, the site of a windmill, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of land, 10 s. of rent & the advowson of Portpool Chantry.
Grey's Inn was at this time just starting to be tenanted by lawyers, and is now one of the Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
, a centre of the legal profession. The list of feoffees clearly demonstrates that these persons were close to royal power, again possibly this transaction was an investment of Privy Purse funds.
Rushton, Eaton ("Ayton") and a moiety of the town of Tarporley, Cheshire
Denys's involvement with these manors is revealed by Returns to Writ of Certiorari (Nat.Archives Cheshire 7/10):Hugh Denys, Edmund Dudley, Roger Lupton, John Ernley & Thomas Pygot
Versus:
Richard Grey, Earl of Kent & Elizabeth his wife.
Re: manors of Rushton, Ayton & moiety of Town of Tarporley.
Pleas before the Justices of Chester returned into the Exchequer on a Writ of Certiorari. 1507-8
Corrodies held by Hugh Denys
A Corrody was an annual charge on its income, originally a voucher issued by a Priory to pay board and lodging of founders while visiting, later monetised and used by kings as transferable pensions. It therefore originally represented a life long living allowance of about 1 loaf and a gallon of ale per day.Tywardreath Priory, Cornwall
Tywardreath PrioryTywardreath
Tywardreath is a small hilltop village in southern Cornwall, United Kingdom. about north west of Fowey. It is located in a sheltered spot overlooking a silted up estuary opposite Par and near the beach of Par Sands...
was situated 5 miles (8 km) E. of St.Austell, only vestiges remain today. A receipt document is held by Cornwall Archives acknowledging receipt by Hugh Denys of 33s 4d from the Prior of Trewardaff being part payment of his corrody due on 25 March 1509. On Denys's death the Corrody "in the King's gift by death of Hugh Denys" was granted by Henry VIII to another courtier, John Porth. This Corrody had originally been monetised at 5 marks per annum, when granted by Henry VII in 1486 to his servant William Martyn, possibly Denys's predecessor.
Bury St.Edmunds Abbey
Hugh Denys also held a Corrody in Bury St. Edmunds AbbeyBury St. Edmunds Abbey
The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England. Its ruins lie in Bury St Edmunds, a town in the county of Suffolk, England.-History:...
, described as the "Monastery of St. Edmondsbury", as one was re-granted by Henry VIII on 4th. Jan. 1512, after Denys's death, to William Gower, Groom of the Chamber "vice Hugh Denys deceased". (i.e. in place of).
Death and Burial
Hugh Denys died on 9th. October 1511 and was buried at Sheen Priory, next to his former Royal Master's Palace of Richmond, just 3 miles (4.8 km) SE and across the Thames from his manor of Osterley. His will was proved in the Court of the Dean & Chapter of Westminster. The graves and monuments at the Priory were treated roughly after the Dissolution, and certainly no trace of the grave remains.Will of Hugh Denys
By his will, a long and complex document, Hugh Denys left the manors of Osterley, Wyke and Gray's Inn to Sheen Priory in trust for the augmentation of the Chapel of All Angels at Brentford End, founded by John Somerset, and for a hospital to be founded in connection with it.Text of Will of Hugh Denys
Extract: I will that all such persons as now have been feoffed to my use of and in my manors of Osterley, Wyke, Portepele(Portpool), called Greysynte(Gray's Inn), lands & tenements in the Co. of Middlesex, that they be of them seized to the use of me, my heirs and assigns unto such time as the Prior & Convent of the Charterhouse at Sheen in Co. Surrey have obtained of the King's grace sufficient licence for the amortisement (alienation?) of the aforesaid manors to have to their use and successors for ever.Delay of 5 years in effecting the bequest of Hugh Denys
The necessary royal licence to alienate (i.e. convey ownership in) the manors, listed in Denys's will for the bequest to Sheen, was not obtained by Denys's feoffees until 1516, 5 years after his death, after much legal wrangling between the Court and feoffees. It seems that one of the manors was found, seemingly Gray's Inn, during the legal process to grant a licence for alienation, technically to have escheated to the Crown previous apparently to Deny's ownership, by reason of "the death of Robert de Chiggewell without an heir". This effectively meant that Denys had never himself held good title, and his representatives were therefore legally incapable of dealing in the property concerned. The matter required regularisation, which was achieved. Denys had foreseen the delay experienced by his feoffees in receiving a licence to alienate, and had made in his will specific provisions for the disposition of the income generated pending the transfer to Sheen.The Hospital or Chapel of All Angels
This Hospital stood beside BrentfordBrentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
Bridge, spanning the River Brent
River Brent
The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford, Hounslow.- Hydronymy and etymology :...
which flows from the N. into the Thames east of Osterley. The exact site is not known. It had been founded by John Somerset, a previous owner of Osterley and Wyke manors, the King having laid the foundation stone. Denys in his will entrusted his property to Sheen Priory to enlarge or perhaps refound it for 7 poor men and to found a chantry for 2 secular priests. The foundation was to be called "The Chapel & Almshouses of Hugh Denys". The priests were to be resident and hold no other benefices, were to receive 9 marks a year & free fuel and were to pray for the souls of King Henry VII, John Somerset and Hugh Denys. The poor men, all resident, were to receive 7½d per week, free fuel & a gown worth 4 s.
1530 Transfer of Bequest from Sheen Priory to Syon Abbey
In 1530 for convenience of administration Sheen Priory transferred, under various covenants, the bequest of the manors of Osterley and Wyke received from Hugh Denys following his death in 1511, to Syon AbbeySyon Abbey
Syon Monastery , was a monastery of the Bridgettine Order founded in 1415 which stood until its demolition in the 16th c. on the left bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex on or near the site of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House...
, a Bridgettine
Bridgettines
The Bridgettine or Birgittine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta of Sweden in approximately 1350, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370...
nunnery, its neighbour across the Thames one mile (1.6 km) due north. Gray's Inn was not similarly transferred, but remained held by Sheen. Purleigh although it had been left to John Denys, was subject to an annual charge payable to Sheen, as provided for in the will. It appears that Syon Abbey were attracted by the prospect of acquiring the 2 nearby manors, while distant Gray's Inn could serve no function in their plans. The charter effecting the transfer from Sheen to Syon is an elaborate illuminated manuscript "An Indenture, a book with indented covers is preserved in the Augmentation Office
Court of Augmentations
The Court of Augmentations was established during the reign of King Henry VIII of England along with three lesser courts following the dissolution of the monasteries. Its primary function was to gain better control over the land and finances formerly held by the Roman Catholic Church in the kingdom...
. It is a beautiful Illuminated MS on vellum with a neat drawing of St. Bridget
Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373; also Birgitta of Vadstena, Saint Birgitta , was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years...
in the initial letter". It recites Denys's will. (Now in the British Library, Harleian MS 4640). The miniature on folio 1 shows the Virgin Mary kneeling before Christ's manger. A Transcript of the Indenture is printed in Aungier, History of Syon. (pp. 465–78) the abstract of which states:
- Indenture of Agreement between Roger LuptonRoger LuptonRoger Lupton was born in the Parish of Sedbergh in the year 1456. In 1483, he was awarded a Bachelor of Canon Law degree from King's College, Cambridge, and Doctor of Canon law in 1504....
& others, executors to the will of Hugh Denys Esq. Agnes Jordan, Abbess of Syon Monastery & John Joborne Prior of the Carthusian Monastery of Sheen; relative to certain lands & tenements bequeathed by the same Hugh Denys to the last mentioned Priory, subject to certain payments for the purpose of augmenting the Chapel of All Angels near Syon.
1543 Establishment of the "Dennis Benefaction" at Magdalene College, Cambridge
On the Dissolution of Sheen Priory, the income from Purleigh provided by Denys's bequest required reassignment. The residuary legatee of his will was his nephew John Denys, 3rd. son of his elder brother Sir Walter Denys of Olveston Court. John's eldest brother was Sir William Denys of Dyrham ParkDyrham Park
Dyrham Park is a baroque mansion in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in Gloucestershire, England. For the history of the manor of Dyrham, see main article Dyrham.-Description:...
who not only had inherited his father's lands, comprising the Corbet estates and those of the heiress Margaret Russell of Dyrham, 2nd. wife of Sir Gilbert Denys and matriarch of all the Denys's, Margaret Corbet not having produced a male heir, but he had also married very favorably Lady Ann Berkeley, da. of Maurice, 3rd. Baron Berkeley, de jure 2nd. Marquis Berkeley, the leading family in Gloucestershire. It seems that Hugh wanted to help John, a mere younger son, to become established. John married Fortune Norton of nearby Bristol, and it seems they used their inheritance to purchase an estate in Pucklechurch, the manor between, and linking up, the established Denys manors of Siston and Dyrham. The Denys family had long held the farm of this manor from the Bishops of Bath & Wells. It was John's son Hugh Denys of Pucklechurch, perhaps named after his generous great uncle, who made application to Parliament to procure an Act which would effect a resettlement of the then defunct Sheen bequest onto Magdalene College, Cambridge, then being refounded(in 1542). The Act was obtained in 1543 under the abstract:
- An Act Concerning the Inheritance of Hugh Denys & £20 per annum to Magdalene College in Cambridge. 34 & 35 H VIII.
The effect of the Act was to establish what became known as the "Dennis Benefaction". Of this endowment 20 nobles were to be used by the College and 20 marks were for the establishment of 2 fellowships, to be nominated by the King and called the "King's Fellows". These were the very first so-called bye fellowships. It was possibly the earliest benefaction received by the College, at the time one of the poorest of all the Cambridge colleges. These were suppressed in 1861 and the Emoluments carried to the Scholarship Fund. The "Dennis Benefaction" was thus founded, which is still extant today, within the consolidated "Scholarship Fund", a general fund for scholarships created by College Statute XX in 1956 by an Order in Council. It is however a mere historical curiosity yielding only a peppercorn income due to over four centuries of inflation and poor investment decisions.
Part of the very lengthy text is as follows:
- Hugh Denys (great nephew of HD(d.1511)) most humbly beseecheth your most excellent Majesty your true faithful and obedient subject Hugh Denys son & heir of John Denys deceased nephew unto Hugh Denys also deceased some time one of the esquires of your Grace's Body. That whereas the said Hugh Denys deceased the 9th. day of the month of October in the year of our Lord God 1511, made and ordained and declared his last will in writing in default...all his manors lands and tenements with their...of his own issue to appurtenances and by the same his last will amongst "Dennis" in diverse other things & clauses therein contained willed tail upon that all and every such persons as then were seised (in)? to provide any manner of wise to his use of and in the manor of Purleigh masses with the appurtenances in the co. of Essex and of ever for the and reversion of the manor of Snorham Sayers souls of Southhouse Airesflete Marsh Lathenden...
Kinship to John Dennys the Angling poet
Hugh Denys of Pucklechurch chose Magdalene as the beneficiary of his reassigned inheritance from Hugh of Osterley, and it is quite likely his son, the poet John DennysJohn Dennys
John Dennys poet and fisherman was the pioneer of Angling poetry in England. His only work "The Secrets of Angling" was the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing, first published in 1613 in London...
(d.1609) was later himself a scholar at the College, and was either financed by it or accepted in gratitude of the bequest. John Dennys was clearly a highly educated man, who would find fame 198 years after his death in 1609 as a poet, author of "The Secrets of Angling" a pastoral didactic poem, the first on Angling in the English language. The work was published posthumously and anonymously as by "I.D.Esq", its true authorship being discovered in 1811 from an entry in the records of the Stationer's Company in London dated 1613 in which his publisher had entered his name as John "Dennys" by which spelling he has become immortalized in the literary world. (The family name was generally spelled "Denys" until about 1600, as "Dennis" thereafter.) The poem is in imitation of Virgil's Georgics, and is replete with cryptic classical and biblical references designed to delight the educated Elizabethan reader. It is certain that John Dennys must have studied very deeply at a university somewhere and it is likely that it was at Magdalene, due to the family connection, that the author of "The Secrets of Angling" learned his art.