Sir Piers Legh (1389 - 16 June 1422), also known as Sir Piers de Legh and Peers Legh, was the second generation of the Leghs of Lyme. He was wounded in the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

on 25 October 1415. His mastiff stood over him and protected him for many hours through the battle. The dog returned to Legh's home and was the foundation of the

Lyme Hall Mastiff The English Mastiff, or simply the Mastiff, is a British dog breed of very large size. Likely descended from the ancient Alaunt and Pugnaces Britanniae, with a significant input from the Alpine Mastiff in the 19th century. Distinguished by its e ...

s. Five centuries later, this

pedigree Pedigree may refer to: Breeding * Pedigree chart, a document to record ancestry, used by genealogists in study of human family lines, and in selective breeding of other animals ** Pedigree, a human genealogy (ancestry chart) ** Pedigree (animal ...

figured prominently in founding the modern

English Mastiff The English Mastiff, or simply the Mastiff, is a British dog breed of very large size. Likely descended from the ancient Alaunt and Pugnaces Britanniae, with a significant input from the Alpine Mastiff in the 19th century. Distinguished by its e ...

breed. An old

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window remains in the drawing room of

Lyme Hall Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Ches ...

portraying Sir Piers and his devoted mastiff. He was injured again in action in 1422 and died as a result of his wounds in Paris. He was buried at

St Michael's Church, Macclesfield St Michael and All Angels Church overlooks Market Place in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Macclesfield. It form ...

in the Legh Chapel, which had been built to receive his body.

References

1422 deaths English knights People from Disley Knights Bachelor 1389 births Military personnel from Cheshire People of the Hundred Years' War {{England-mil-bio-stub