Sir Anthony Denny (16 January 1501 – 10 September 1549) was
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, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene.
The physical intimacy of the role naturally le ...
to King
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, thus his closest courtier and
confidant
The confidant ( or ; feminine: confidante, same pronunciation) is a character in a story whom a protagonist confides in and trusts. Confidants may be other principal characters, characters who command trust by virtue of their position such as ...
. He was the most prominent member of the
Privy chamber in King Henry's last years, having together with his brother-in-law,
John Gates, charge of the "dry stamp" of the King's signature, and attended the King on his deathbed. He was a member of the
Reformist
Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement.
Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...
circle that offset the conservative religious influence of
Bishop Gardiner. He was a wealthy man, having acquired several manors and former religious sites distributed by the
Court of augmentations after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries. By 1548 he was keeper of the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...
.
Life
Anthony Denny was the second son of
Sir Edmund Denny (d. 22 December 1520), a
Baron of the Exchequer
The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...
, by his second wife, Mary Troutbeck, the daughter and coheir of Robert Troutbeck of
Bridge Trafford
Bridge Trafford is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Mickle Trafford and District, situated near to Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The hamlet lies ...
,
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. He had an elder brother, Sir Thomas Denny, of
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, who married Elizabeth Monoux, the daughter of
Sir George Monoux,
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
, as well as two younger brothers and ten sisters, including
Martha
Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...
.
Denny was educated at
St Paul's School and
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...
. In 1547, he was elected
knight of the shire
Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...
(MP) for
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
.
Along with
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford,
John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, and
Sir William Paget, Denny helped to finalise King
Henry VIII's will upon his deathbed in 1547. Denny specifically argued to the King on several occasions against the removal of Bishop Gardiner from the will. Denny was himself the man to tell King Henry of his coming death, advising the old King "to prepare for his final agony". His position gave him both the power to control who saw King Henry VIII in his last years (in which he spent excessive time in the Privy Chambers), and the power to influence, through his personal relationship with the ageing King. Along with Sir William Paget, the
Principal Secretary The Principal Secretary is a senior government official in various Commonwealth countries.
* Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan
* Principal Secretary to the President of Pakistan
* Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ind ...
, Denny is suspected of having fixed the choosing of the "Progressive" appeals, headed by Edward Seymour.
In 1525, Denny married
Joan Champernowne, the daughter of Sir Philip Champernowne, and the close friend of King Henry VIII's wife, Queen
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...
. She was also the sister of
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, governess of the future
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
. With Joan, Denny had 12 children, including:
* Henry Denny, Dean of Chester (d. 24 March 1574). He married, firstly, Honory Grey, daughter of
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton and
Lady Mary Somerset. Their son was
Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich
Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich (15 August 1569 – 24 October 1637), known as The Lord Denny between 1604 and 1627, was an English courtier, Member of Parliament, and a peer.
Life
The son of Sir Anthony Denny's eldest son, Henry Denny,Mos ...
. His second wife was Elizabeth Grey, by whom he had a son, who died unmarried.
[Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes'' (Wilmington, Delaware, 2003), Volume I, pg. 1094.]
*
Sir Edward Denny, Knight Banneret of Bishops Stortford 1547–1599, who married Margaret Edgcumbe, daughter of Sir Piers Edgcumbe (1536 - c.1607), by whom he had issue.
* Mary Denny, who married Thomas Astley of Writtle, one of the grooms of the Privy Chamber to
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
.
[Walter C. Metcalfe, ''Visitation of Essex, 1634'' (London, 1878), p. 336.]
See also
*
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest por ...
Notes
References
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External links
Sir Anthony Denny, KnightSir Anthony Denny (1501–1549), Courtier to King Henry VIII: Sitter associated with 3 portraits(
National Portrait Gallery)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Anthony
1501 births
1549 deaths
People educated at St Paul's School, London
English MPs 1547–1552
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Anthony
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
Knights banneret of England
Grooms of the Stool
Court of Henry VIII