Arms of Sir Guy Ferre (d. 1323), steward of Queen Eleanor of Castile: Gules, a fer-de-moline argent over all a bendlet azure. As seen sculpted on gatehouse of Butley Priory
The coats of arms displayed are as follows: Top left (Dexter (1st) Quarter (to bearer's R, viewer's L)): Denys; Top right: (Sinister) Russell. Bottom L (3rd Q ): 1st: Denys; 2nd: Russell; 3rd: Gorges; 4th: a cross moline or fer de moline, is for the family of Eleanor Ferre, da. of Sir John Ferre, of Tothill, Lincs., an heiress of the Gorges. (Raymond Gorges, History of the Family of Gorges, Boston USA, 1944; The arms of Sir Guy Ferre( d. 1323), possibly his brother, can be seen above the pedestrian gateway of Butley Priory (of which he held the advowson) where the fer de moline of his canting arms is shown in the form of a cross moline). Bottom R (4th Q): 1st: Denys; 2nd: Russell; 3rd: Gorges; 4th: prob. Danvers. Armorials repeated on tabard fronts and sleeves. Maurice Denys the father to L in Dexter position of honour. Russell was his heiress-mother, Gorges a former Russell heiress. On the R. is Sir Walter Denys, the son, with the arms of his co-heiress second wife, Agnes Danvers, in the 4th Q.
Blasons
Denys arms:left as sculpted on denys brass, Olveston; right, recreated version with tinctures: Gules, 3 leopards' faces or jessant-de-lys azure, over all a bend engrailled of the last
Denys:3 leopards' faces jessant-de-lys, over all a bend engrailled. With tinctures it becomes:Gules, 3 leopards' faces or jessant-de-lys azure, over all a bend engrailled of the last. The Denys arms blazoned with these tinctures survive earliest in BL Add. MS 45131, f. 54, a 1509 drawing of Hugh Denys of Osterley (d. 1511) at the deathbed of Henry VII. The armourials are the arms of Cantilupe of Candleston Castle, Glamorgan, probably granted as "arms of patronage" to their feudal officials or tenants the Denys's, differenced by the imposition of a bend engrailled, probably before 1258. Cantilupe arms, reversed for difference, are still borne as the official arms of the See of Hereford, in honour of St. Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, canonised in 1320. The Denys arms are a rare ancient exception to the rule "no colour on colour or metal on metal" propounded by John Gibbon in his 1682 Introductio ad Latinam Blasoniam, in which he lists (pp.150–1) some exceptions, including Denys: "Now for my reader's diversion and delight I will insert what hath fallen under my observation". The Denys arms are also shown sculpted on the wings of the nearby Tudor mansion Siston Court, built by Sir Maurice Denys (d. 1563), great-grandson of Maurice Denys (d. 1466), yet there they have been altered to a neater composition, with the bend passing between the leopards' faces, and the latter composition was also adopted by the Denys family of Pucklechurch, lords of that manor until 1701.
Arms of Russell of Kingston Russell & Dyrham: Argent, on a chief gules 3 bezants
Russell: (of Kingston Russell, Dorset & Dyrham, Glos.) Sir Gilbert Denys of Siston had married c.1404, as his second wife, Margaret Russell, eldest daughter and later co-heiress of Sir Maurice Russell of Dyrham.Argent, on a chief gules 3 bezants. She was the mother of Maurice Denys. (Bezants are Byzantine gold coins, thought to have been very popular with the Crusaders who plundered Constantinople in 1204, not having received the previously agreed funding from the Emperor.)
"Gorges Modern": Lozengy or and azure, a chevron gules
Gorges (of Knighton, Isle of Wight; Wraxall, Somerset; Bradpole, Dorset). Sir Theobald I Russell (d. 1341) of Kingston Russell, Dorset, grandfather of Sir Maurice Russell of Dyrham, had been the ward of Sir Ralph III de Gorges, 1st Baron Gorges (d. 1324), and had been married-off by his warder to his second daughter Eleanor de Gorges. Eleanor's third son Theobald II Russell inherited from his uncle Ralph IV de Gorges (d. 1331), 2nd Baron, the former Gorges estates and changed his name to "Gorges", adopting their arms, apparently as part of the arrangement. The arms of Gorges were originally canting arms of a Gurges, which is Latin for whirlpool, then c.1300 were changed voluntarily to Lozengy, or and azure, in recognition of the de Morvilles, ancestors of the Gorges. Yet there was a celebrated dispute in 1347 (see Warbelton v. Gorges) when these lozengy arms were claimed by John de Warbelton against Theobald II Russell "de Gorges" and a court of honour adjudged the arms to Warbelton. Instead of adopting completely new arms, Theobald merely added a red chevron as a difference, blazoned Lozengy or and azure, a chevron gules. These arms are known as "Gorges Modern". The Denys family should logically have quartered the undifferenced arms of their ancestor Ralph III de Gorges, not those of Theobald II Russell "de Gorges", their cousin, unless as appears to have been the case, it was customary to apply such heraldic judgements retrospectively.
Danvers (of Cothorpe, Oxon.) Maurice Denys's second wife, and Sir Walter's mother, was Agnes Danvers, co-heiress of Sir Robert Danvers (d. 1467), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. The arms blazoned in the 4th Q. on Sir Walter's tabard appear as A chevron between 3 roses, yet the arms given by Burkes 1884 for this family are quite different Argent, on a bend gules 3 martlets (house martens) vert legged or. The arms of Danvers of Warwick however are closer to those depicted here: Gules, a chevron between 3 mullets (stars) of 6 points or.
Assessment
The brass is likely to have been erected well after the date of the interment, so if indeed there are errors on the part of the engraver, or in the instructions given him, it may have been felt acceptable to let the matter rest, rather than incur considerable expense in having it remade. On the other hand, if the arms are all correct, there are major lacunae in the literature and official records of Denys family history.
Inscriptions
Below
Her lyeth buryed in ye midde. of the quere [i.e. choir/chancel] Maurice Denys esquyer sonne and here of sir Gylbert Denys knyght lorde of the maner of Alveston & of the maner of Irdecote [i.e. Earthcott Green] & also sir walter Denys knyght sonne and here to the seid morys denys esquyer ye. whiche sir walter denys decessed the first day of the moneth of Septembre in the xxi yere of the reigne of kyng henry the vii [i.e. 1506] whose soules Jhesu pardon amen. All ye that this rede and see of yor. charitie seye for their soules a pater noster and an ave [i.e. Hail Mary].
Above
Miseremini mei miseremini nostri saltem vos filii et amici nostri quia manus domini tetigit nos. (Be ye all pitiful of me, be ye all pitiful of us, at the least ye our sons and friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched us) (Job 19:21, altered)
On scroll issuing from mouth of Maurice
Unicus et trinus bone jhesu sis nobis Jesus (One and Three o good Jesus, you are to us Jesus)
On scroll issuing from mouth of Sir Walter
In trinitate perfecta sit nobis requies et eterna vita (In the perfected Trinity may there become to us rest and eternal life)
Comparisons
Memorial brass of James Samewell and his wife, circa 1500, in St Mary the Virgin Church, Cottisford, Oxfordshire
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Kingston Russell House is a large mansion house and manor near Long Bredy in Dorset, England, west of Dorchester. The present house dates from the late 17th century but in 1730 was clad in a white Georgian stone facade. The house was restored in 1913, and at the same time the gardens were laid out.
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Sir Gilbert Denys of Siston, Gloucestershire, was a soldier, and later an administrator. He was knighted by January 1385, and was twice knight of the shire for Gloucestershire constituency, in 1390 and 1395 and served as Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1393-4. He founded the family which provided more Sheriffs of Gloucestershire than any other.
The Gorges family was an Anglo-Norman family with lands in the southwest of England. They obtained the manors of Wraxall, Somerset and Bradpole in Dorset.
Sir Maurice Russell, JP of Kingston Russell, Dorset and Dyrham, Glos. was an English gentleman and knight. He was a prominent member of the Gloucestershire gentry. He was the third but eldest surviving son and heir of Sir Ralph Russell (1319–1375) and his wife Alice. He was knighted between June and December 1385 and served twice as Knight of the Shire for Gloucestershire in 1402 and 1404. He held the post of Sheriff of Gloucestershire four times, and was Coroner and Justice of the Peace, Tax Collector and Commissioner of Enquiry. His land holdings were extensive in Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. He was descended from an ancient line which can be traced back to 1210, which ended on the death of his son Thomas, from his second marriage, as a young man without male issue. Most of his estates, despite having been entailed, passed at his death into the families of his two daughters from his first marriage.
Sir Maurice Denys (1516–1563) of Siston Court, near Bristol, Gloucestershire, and of St John's Street, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, was an English lawyer and property speculator during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, at which time he served as a "powerful figure at the Court of Augmentations". He served as a Member of Parliament for Malmesbury in Wiltshire and as Treasurer of Calais. He was the builder of Siston Court in Gloucestershire, which survives largely unaltered since his time. His excessive speculation and borrowing caused the ruination of the Siston branch of the Denys family.
Sir William Russell (1257–1311) was an English nobleman, knight, and holder of a moiety of the feudal barony of North Cadbury, Somerset, but spent most of his life engaged in the administration and defence of the Isle of Wight, where he obtained by marriage the manor of Yaverland. He served as constable of Carisbrooke Castle, and sat in parliament on two occasions, firstly as burgess for Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, and then for the County of Southampton. As a baron his military service was called on several times by King Edward I Hammer of the Scots.
Warbelton v. Gorges was one of the earliest heraldic law cases brought concerning English armory, in 1347. It concerned the coat of arms blazoned Lozengy Or and azure, that is a field of yellow and blue lozenges. The arms were borne by the unrelated families of Warbelton, from Hampshire, and Gorges, from Somerset, apparently without knowledge of each other or their common usage, until John de Warbelton and Theobald de Gorges served together in the English army at the Siege of Calais in 1346/7. A gentleman's armorial bearings represented his very identity and were of enormous importance to him, both as a matter of family pride and for practical purposes of personal recognition in battle and in legal seals. Warbelton made a formal complaint to the officer appointed by the king to resolve such matters, namely Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Lancaster, seneschal of England, who was commanding the English forces. A 6-man court of honour was convened and the pair were cross-examined, with evidence being sought from knights of their own localities also serving at the siege.
Maurice Denys, Esquire, of Siston, Gloucestershire, was twice Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1460 and 1461. The Denys family were stated by Sir Robert Atkyns, the 18th-century historian of Gloucestershire, to have provided more sheriffs for that county than any other family.
Jessant-de-lys is a heraldic term denoting a fleur-de-lys issuing out of any object. It is most frequently seen in conjunction with a leopard's face, meaning in heraldic language the face of a lion.
Sir William Denys of Dyrham, Gloucestershire, was a courtier of King Henry VIII and High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1518 and 1526. The surname is sometimes transcribed as Dennis.
The surname Denys was borne by at least three prominent mediaeval families seated in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Devon in southwest England between 1166 and 1641. It is not known if any relationship existed between these families. The surname Denys is just one of many variant spellings of the name: Denise, Le Deneis, Le Danies, le Deneys ,and most recently Dennis, are some of the others.
The Manor of Dyrham was a former manorial estate in the parish of Dyrham in South Gloucestershire, England.
Manor of Siston is the ancient manor in Siston in South Gloucestershire, England.
The Denys family of Siston, also spelled Dennis, originally came from Glamorgan in Wales and in the late 14th century acquired by marriage the manor of Siston, Gloucester and shortly thereafter the adjoining manor of Dyrham. Maurice Denys re-built Siston Court in the 16th century.
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John Twynyho of Cirencester, Bristol and Lechlade, all in Gloucestershire, was a lawyer and wealthy wool merchant who served as Recorder of Bristol, as a Member of Parliament for Bristol in Gloucestershire in 1472-5 and in 1484 and for the prestigious county seat Gloucestershire in 1476. In 1478 he was Attorney General to Lord Edward (the future King Edward V, eldest son and heir of King Edward IV.
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