page_title: Manor of Dyrham
section_title: Sir William Denys
hierarchical_section_title: Manor of Dyrham / Descent / Sir William Denys
caption_attribution_description: English: Arms of the Denys family of Glamorgan and of Siston and Dyrham, Gloucestershire, England, UK: Gules, three leopard's faces or jessant-de-lys azure over all a bend engrailed of the last. It appears on the Denys monumental brass in the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Olveston, Gloucestershire.
context_page_description: The Manor of Dyrham was a former manorial estate in the parish of Dyrham in South Gloucestershire, England.
context_section_description: The first of the Denys family to have resided at Dyrham rather than at the Denys ancestral manor of Siston, appears to have been Sir William Denys(1470–1533), son of Sir Walter Denys(d.1505), who is depicted on the Denys monumental brass in the  Church of Olveston, which manor was also held by the family,  and Agnes Danvers. His half-uncle was Hugh Denys(d.1511) who had been Groom of the Stool to King Henry VII(1485–1509). It may have been due to the closeness of Hugh to the old King, for he occupied the foremost position of all the courtiers, that Henry's son Henry VIII appointed Sir William as an Esquire of the Body, at some date before 5 June 1511. The new King had not continued Hugh Denys in his post, which was one of some personal intimacy, having appointed his own favourite Sir William Compton(d.1528), but perhaps out of respect for his father's loyal old servant had kept him on as a standard Esquire of the Body for the first 2 years of his reign until Hugh's death in 1511. It was perhaps at the very time of William's appointment as an Esquire of the Body that the King granted him the honour of the licence to empark 500 acres of Dyrham, which is to say to enclose the land with a wall or hedgebank and to establish a captive herd of deer within, with exclusive hunting rights. This grant is witnessed by a charter on parchment, to which is affixed a rare example of a perfect great seal of Henry VIII, now hanging in a frame beneath the main staircase of Dyrham Park. It clearly was handed down with the deeds of the manor on the termination of the Denys era at Dyrham. The charter is of exceptional interest as it is signed as witnesses by men of the greatest importance in the state, who were at the King's side at that moment, at the Palace of Westminster. The text of the document, translated from Latin is as follows:
  "Henry by the grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland sends greetings to his archbishops, bishops, abbotts, priors, dukes, marquises, earls, barons, judges, sheriffs, reeves, ministers and all our bailiffs and faithful subjects. Let it be known that we, motivated by our especial grace and certain knowledge of him, have granted for us and our heirs to our faithful servant William Denys, esquire of the Royal Body, to him, his heirs and assigns, the right to empark 500 acres of land, meadow, pasture and wood together with appurtenance at Le Worthy within the manor of Dereham in the county of Gloucestershire and enclose them with fences and hedges in order to make a park there. Also that they may have free warren in all their demesne lands within the said manor. No other person may enter this park or warren to hunt or catch anything which might belong to that park or warren without permission from William, his heirs or assigns under penalty of £10, provided that the land is not within our forest.
  
  Witnessed by:
  The most reverend in Christ father William Canterbury our chancellor and archbishop
  The reverend in Christ fathers Richard Winchester, Keeper of the Privy Purse and
  Thomas Durham, our secretary, bishops.
  Thomas Surrey, Treasurer of England and
  George Shrewsbury, steward of our household, earls.
  Charles Somerset Lord Herbert, our chamberlain and
  George Neville of Abergavenny, barons.
  Thomas Lovell, treasurer of our household and
  Edward Poynings, comptroller of our household, knights, and many others.
  Given by our hand at Westminster on the 5th day of June in the 3rd year of our reign" (1511).
  From the size of the present park it appears that only about 250 acres were ultimately enclosed. Sir William served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1518 and 1526, continuing the tradition of the Denys family which would hold  that post on more occasions than any other family.
  William Denys married firstly in about 1482, Edith Twynyho, da. of John Twynyho(d.1485), a wealthy cloth merchant of Cirencester, MP for Bristol 1472-5, 1484, and sister-in-law to John Tame(d.1500), the builder of  Fairford Church, Glos., business partner of John Twynyho and favoured courtier of Henry VII. The marriage set
caption: Arms of Denys of Gloucestershire: "Gules, 3 leopard's faces or jessant-de-lys azure over all a bend engrailled azure". An escutcheon of these arms, sculpted in stone, was at one time on display within the porch of Dyrham Church
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