Hugh Denys (c. 14401511) of
Osterley
Osterley ( ) is an affluent district of Isleworth in west London, England, from Charing Cross in the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Osterley House (National Trust), charity-r ...
in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, was a courtier of Kings
Henry VII and of the young
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. As
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close Stool") was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, initially responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene.
The physical intimacy of the role natur ...
to Henry VII, he was one of the King's closest courtiers, his role developing into one of administering the
Privy Chamber
A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England.
The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...
, 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 Court, Gloucestershire, c. 1440, the second son of
Maurice Denys
Sir Maurice Denys (1516–1563) of Siston, Siston Court, near Bristol, Gloucestershire, and of St John's Street, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, was an Kingdom of England, English lawyer and property speculator during the Dissolution of the Monasteri ...
(d. 1466), Lord of the Manor of
Alveston
Alveston is a village, civil parish and former royal manor in South Gloucestershire, England, inhabited in 2014 by about 3,000 people. The village lies south of Thornbury and north of Bristol. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur Eu ...
and
Earthcott Green
Earthcott (or Earthcott Green) is a hamlet in the civil parish of Alveston in South Gloucestershire, England, between Latteridge and Rudgeway on the B4059 road between the A38 road and Yate. It has a letter box and a small village green, b ...
, Gloucestershire. His mother was Maurice's second wife, Alice Poyntz, daughter of Nicholas Poyntz of
Iron Acton
Iron Acton is a village, civil parish and former manor 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 ju ...
, Gloucestershire. The Denys family, formerly of
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. CGI Inc., the Global IT and busine ...
in
Coity Lordship,
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
, 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
Siston (pronounced "sizeton") is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is east of Bristol at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon. The village consists of a number of cottages a ...
, Alveston, and Earthcott Green, together with the
Hundred Court
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...
of Langley, as well as to Hope-juxta-Caus,
Salop
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the bor ...
, and
Lawrenny
Lawrenny is a village and parish in the community and electoral ward of Martletwy in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on a peninsula of the River Cleddau estuary upriver from Milford Haven where it branches off towards the Cresswell and ...
,
Pembroke. That Hugh was a second son is suggested by his use of a crescent as a mark of
difference
Difference commonly refers to:
* Difference (philosophy), the set of properties by which items are distinguished
* Difference (mathematics), the result of a subtraction
Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may also refer to:
Mu ...
in his armorials. The Heraldic Visitation of the Co. of Glos. of 1623, on the other hand, shows him as the third son.
Marriage to Mary Ros
Denys married very advantageously to Mary Ros (or Roos), the daughter and only child of
Richard Ros
Sir Richard Ros (8 March 1429 – 1482) was an England, English poet, the son of William de Ros, 6th Baron Ros, lord of Hamlake (Helmsley) in Yorkshire and of Belvoir, Leicestershire, Belvoir in Leicestershire.
Poetry
In Harl. manuscript 372 t ...
(1429–1492), younger son of
Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros
Thomas Ros or Roos, 8th Baron Ros of Helmsley (26 September 1406 – 18 August 1430) was an English peer.
Family
Thomas Ros, born 26 September 1406, was the second son of William Ros, 6th Baron Ros, and Margaret Fitzalan (d. 3 July 1438), th ...
(1406–1430), of
Hamlake Castle
Helmsley Castle (also known anciently as ''Hamlake'') is a medieval castle situated in the market town of Helmsley, within the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England.
History
Although the estate of Helmsley was granted to Ro ...
,
Helmsley
Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pickering.
Helmsley is ...
in North Yorkshire. The latter had drowned in the River Seine while on campaign in France. Richard's mother was
Eleanor Beauchamp
Lady Eleanor Beauchamp, Baroness de Ros and Duchess of Somerset (September 1408 – 6 March 1467) was the second daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick, Elizabeth de Berkeley, daughte ...
(1407–1466), daughter of
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.
Early life
Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe Court Richard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoi ...
and
Elizabeth Berkeley, daughter of
Thomas, 5th Baron Berkeley. Mary's uncle
Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros
Thomas Ros or Roos, 9th Baron Ros of Helmsley (9 September 1427 – 17 May 1464) was a follower of the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses.
Family
Thomas Ros, born 9 September 1427, was the eldest son of Thomas Ros, 8th Baron R ...
(1427–1464) of
Hamlake married Philippa de Tiptoft, sister of
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG (8 May 1427 – 18 October 1470), was an English nobleman and scholar who served as Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable of England and Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was known as "the Butcher of Englan ...
and
Constable of England
The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was ...
to King
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
. Thomas de Ros, Denys's uncle-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 firstly (c. 1452) William Lord Bottreux (d. 1462) of
North Cadbury
North Cadbury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wincanton, by the River Cam, Somerset, River Cam, in Somerset, England. It shares its Parish councils in England, parish council with nearby Yarlington and its civil ...
, Somerset. She married secondly in 1463
Sir Thomas Borough of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Because Margaret's mother Eleanor Beauchamp had married secondly
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain, (140622 May 1455), was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His rivalry ...
, Margaret's stepbrother became
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (26 January 143615 May 1464) was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Wars of the Roses. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd Duke of Somerset, because the title was re-created for his ...
, 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
The Battle of Hexham, 15 May 1464, marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV.
The battle was fought near the town of Hexham in Northumberland. John Neville, ...
in 1464. Margaret's second husband Sir Thomas Borough was on the victorious Yorkist side at Hexham so possibly witnessed the beheading of his wife's stepbrother.
Mary's cousin Eleanor Ros (1449–1487) married in 1469 Sir Robert Manners, Admiral of England who fought for Richard III at the
Battle of Bosworth
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...
, from which marriage descended the
Dukes of Rutland
Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...
who inherited
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 10 ...
in Rutland from the De Ros family via Eleanor. Mary's cousin Edmund de Ros, heir of her beheaded uncle 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.
At Denys's death Mary had borne him no children, and Mary went on to marry her second husband Sir
Giles Capel
Giles Capel (died 1556) was an English landowner, soldier, and courtier, known for performing in tournaments at the Tudor court.
Family background
He was a son of William Capel, a London alderman, Worshipful Company of Drapers, draper, and Lord ...
. One of Mary's books, a gift from
Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...
and
Lady Margaret Beaufort
Lady Margaret Beaufort ( ; 31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late 15th century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first House of Tudor, Tudor monarch. She was also a second cousin o ...
survives, ''The Scale of Perfection'' by
Walter Hilton
Walter Hilton, Can. Reg. (c. 1340/1345 – 24 March 1396) was an English Augustinian mystic, whose works gained influence in 15th-century England and Wales. He is commemorated by the Church of England and by the Episcopal Church in the Unit ...
, and she signed in it as "Mary Denys" and "Dame Capill". Henry VII had given her a pension or annuity allocated from the manors of
Cookham
Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
and
Bray
Bray may refer to:
Places France
* Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département''
* Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département''
* Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département''
* Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département''
* Bray-et-Lû ...
. In October 1535, Dame Mary Capel wrote to
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
, offering him £20 for a horse if he would secure her overdue payments from the annuity.
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 exemplified 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 four 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 made a policy and the result was a reign of terror. The means employed were through two financial instruments known as bonds and recognisances, which are agreements with penalty clauses for non-compliance. An individual was fined for offences real or imaginary, forced to pay part immediately, and to enter into bonds to pay the balance. 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
Edmund Dudley (c. 1462Gunn 2010 or 1471/147217 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of Henry VII of England, King Henry VII. He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law, Speaker of the House o ...
, with Sir Richard Empson
Sir Richard Empson (c. 1450 – 17 August 1510), minister of Henry VII, was a son of Peter Empson. Educated as a lawyer, he soon attained considerable success in his profession, and in 1491 was a Knight of the shire for Northamptonshire in P ...
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 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
Sir Edward Belknap (died 1521) was active in the service of the English crown, both on the battlefield and as a court official, during the 15th and 16th centuries.
He fought for Henry VII at the battles of Stoke Field and Blackheath and poss ...
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 () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...
(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 (persons to whom grants of freehold property are made), 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
A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England.
The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...
started to control the national finances, was instrumental in the creation of the Tudor depotism.
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
Verger
A verger (or virger, so called after the staff of the office, or wandsman in British English though archaic) is a person usually a layperson, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches.
Etymology
...
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.
Other Offices held by Hugh Denys
In the Pardon Roll of Henry VIII, of 16 March c. 1510, Hugh Denys is described as "
Esquire of 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 of 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 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 virginals
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
clavichord
The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance music, Renaissance, Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), Classical eras.
Historically, it was most ...
s, a form of early keyboard instrument capable of dynamics (i.e. playing loud and soft through striking the strings directly via a metal tangent), 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
Mary 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 for the
coronation of Henry VIII and Catherine
The coronation of Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon, Catherine as King of England, King and Queen consort of England, Queen of Kingdom of England, England took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 24 June 1509. Henry acceded to the th ...
. She is described as "Gentlewoman of the Queen's Chamber", appearing second in 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 Fetyplace, 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
A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England.
The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...
financial system was in operation, Hugh Denys purchased interests in several manors, in some possibly as a
bare trustee
Bare literally means fully or partially naked,
or figuratively used it means minimal.
Bare may also refer to:
People
* Bare (surname)
* Jader Volnei Spindler (born 1982), Brazilian football player nicknamed "Bare"
Places
* Bare Island (di ...
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 Dudley
Edmund Dudley (c. 1462Gunn 2010 or 1471/147217 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of Henry VII of England, King Henry VII. He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law, Speaker of the House o ...
, 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 as 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 were fined, often arbitrarily, for offences real or imaginary. Records exist which show these large sums were 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, as 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
Osterley
Osterley ( ) is an affluent district of Isleworth in west London, England, from Charing Cross in the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Osterley House (National Trust), charity-r ...
, Middlesex some time after 1498, when it was recorded as belonging to Edward Cheeseman (d. 1510), the owner of Norwood manor. It 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 . He left his estate to feoffees for the support of the Chapel of All Angels at Brentford End which he founded. Long after Denys's death,
Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettines, Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th cent ...
leased Osterley to
Robert Cheeseman
Robert Cheeseman or Cheseman (1485–1547) was an English politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesex, 28 April 1539 – 24 July 1540.
Life
He was born in 1485, son and heir of Edward Cheeseman, Cofferer and Keeper of the W ...
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 with a farmhouse on the site of the present Osterley Park. By 1565, it was held by Sir
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham the Elder (; c. 151921 November 1579) was an English merchant and financier who acted on behalf of King Edward VI (1547–1553) and Edward's half-sisters, queens Mary I (1553–1558) and Elizabeth I (1558–1603). In 1565 Gr ...
, 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 is a Georgian era, Georgian country estate in west London, which straddles the London boroughs of London Borough of Ealing, Ealing and London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow. Originally dating from the 1570s, the estate contains a ...
, the parkland of which is still 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 that 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 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, 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 later became), the last Dennis lord of the manor of Pucklechurch, it descended to his two daughters and co-heiresses, Mary, and her younger sister Elizabeth, who held it jointly until about 1736. Elizabeth made an unfortunate marriage, as the second wife of a future notorious
South-Sea Bubble
The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...
bankrupt,
Sir Alexander Cuming of Culter, in Aberdeen, 1st Baronet. His son by his first marriage was an extraordinary character, Sir
Alexander Cuming
Sir Alexander Cuming, 2nd Baronet (1691–1775) was a Scottish adventurer to North America; he returned to Britain with a delegation of Cherokee chiefs. He later spent many years in a debtors' prison.
Early life
Cuming was born (according to his ...
, 2nd Baronet, whose mystical and powerful persona induced the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
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' loyalty 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.
Wallasea Island
This is situated directly south of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, south-east of Denys's manor of Purleigh.
Shenley Buckinghamshire
Purchase
These lands at Shenley (including seemingly Over-Shenley and Nether-Shenley) were quitclaimed on 10 May and 14 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, of land, meadow, pasture, wood & 100s rent in Shenley and Eton and 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, to Denys as well. 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, and 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, senior, John Cheyne, Thomas Langston, Ralph Lane and Thomas Palmer) was granted to Denys and Thomas Wolverston by the king on 21 May 1509.
Portpool Manor (Gray's Inn) Holborn
Hugh Denys, using the same system of enfeoffing others which had been common with the de Grays, purchased
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
, formally known as
Portpool
Portpool was a manor or soke in the district of Holborn, London. It is not recorded in the Domesday Book but references to it occur from the 12th century onwards. For many years it was owned by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral, wh ...
Manor, from
Edmund Grey, 9th Baron Grey de Wilton (d. 1511) on 12 August 1506. His 10 feoffees were as follows and included some of Henry VII's close financial officers and courtiers:
Edward Dudley,
Roger Lupton
Roger Lupton (1456–27 February 1539/40) was an English lawyer and cleric who served as chaplain to King Henry VII (1485–1509) and to his son King Henry VIII (1509–1547) and was appointed by the former as Provost of Eton College (1503/ ...
(Clerk, Provost of Eton College, Canon of Windsor, later Master in Chancery.), Godfrey Toppes, Edward Chamberlayn, William Stafford,
John Ernley
Sir John Ernley (or Ernle; 1464 – 22 April 1520) was an English justice. He was educated at one of the Inns of Chancery from 1478 to 1480 before being admitted to Gray's Inn. By 1490 he was a particularly conspicuous member of the "Sussex circle ...
( who became Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1519), Thomas Pygot,(King's Serjeant in 1513), Richard Broke (a future judge of the Court of Common Pleas), William Tey, and Michael Fysher. The property consisted of 4 messuages, 4 gardens, the site of a windmill, of land, 10 s. of rent and the advowson of Portpool Chantry.
Gray's Inn, now one of the
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...
, was then just starting to be tenanted by lawyers, as a centre of the legal profession. The list of feoffees clearly demonstrates that these persons were close to royal power; so, once again, it is possible that 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
Edmund Dudley (c. 1462Gunn 2010 or 1471/147217 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of Henry VII of England, King Henry VII. He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law, Speaker of the House o ...
, Roger Lupton,
John Ernley
Sir John Ernley (or Ernle; 1464 – 22 April 1520) was an English justice. He was educated at one of the Inns of Chancery from 1478 to 1480 before being admitted to Gray's Inn. By 1490 he was a particularly conspicuous member of the "Sussex circle ...
& Thomas Pygot
Versus:
Richard Grey, Earl of Kent, and Elizabeth, his wife.
Re: manors of Rushton, Ayton, and a moiety of the 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 Priory was situated E. of
St Austell
Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon.
At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900.
History
St Austell was a village centred ...
, 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 Abbey
The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until its dissolution in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was a centre of pilgrima ...
, described as the "Monastery of St. Edmondsbury", as one was re-granted by Henry VIII on 4 January 1512, after Denys's death, to William Gower, Groom of the Chamber "''vice'' Hugh Denys deceased". (i.e. in place of).
Death and burial
Denys died on 9 October 1511 and was buried at
Sheen Priory
Sheen Priory (ancient spelling: Shene, Shean, etc.) in Sheen, now Richmond, London, was a Carthusian monastery founded in 1414 within the royal manor of Sheen, on the south bank of the Thames, upstream and approximately 9 miles southwest of th ...
, next to his former royal master's
Palace of Richmond, just SE and across the Thames from his manor of Osterley. His will was proved in the
Court of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law.
Courts general ...
. The graves and monuments at the priory were treated roughly after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, 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 five 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, five 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
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
Bridge, spanning the
River Brent
The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. in length, it rises in the London Borough of Barnet, Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tid ...
which flows from the north 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 seven poor men and to found a chantry for two 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 and 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 and a gown worth 4 s.
Double Alteration of Bequest of Hugh Denys
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 Abbey
Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettines, Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th cent ...
, a
Bridgettine
The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (; abbreviated OSsS), is a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta (Bridg ...
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 two 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
Thomas Cromwell established the Court of Augmentations, also called Augmentation Court or simply The Augmentation in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. It operated alongside three lesser courts (those of General Surveyors (1540 ...
. 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:
:''Indenture of Agreement between
Roger Lupton
Roger Lupton (1456–27 February 1539/40) was an English lawyer and cleric who served as chaplain to King Henry VII (1485–1509) and to his son King Henry VIII (1509–1547) and was appointed by the former as Provost of Eton College (1503/ ...
& 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, third son of his elder brother Sir Walter Denys of Olveston Court. John's eldest brother was Sir William Denys of
Dyrham Park
Dyrham Park () is a baroque English country house in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in South Gloucestershire, England. The house, with the attached orangery and stable block, is a Grade I listed building, while the park is Gr ...
who not only had inherited his father's lands, comprising the Corbet estates and those of the heiress Margaret Russell of Dyrham, second 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, daughter 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 and 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
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
, 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 twenty nobles were to be used by the College and 20 marks were for the establishment of two 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:
[From: Enactments in Parliament Specially Concerning the Universities of Oxford & Cambridge etc. Shadwell, Lionel L. (ed.) (4 vols.) Vol. 1 37 Ed III – 13 Ann, Oxford, 1912.]
:''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 that his son, the poet,
John Dennys
John Dennys (died 1609), a poet and fisherman, pioneered Angling poetry in England. His only work '' The Secrets of Angling'' was the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing. John Dennys may have been an acquaintance of Shakespeare.
Early ...
(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 – 202 years after his death – 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
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's ''
Georgics
The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek language, Greek word , ''geōrgiká'', i.e. "agricultural hings) the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from bei ...
,'' 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.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denys, Hugh
People from Olveston
Hugh
Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
1440s births
1511 deaths
15th-century English people
Esquires of the Body
Grooms of the Stool
English courtiers
Court of Henry VII of England