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 The Leghs of Lyme were a gentry family seated at Lyme Park in Cheshire, England, from 1398 until 1946, when the stately home and its surrounding parkland were donated by the 3rd Lord Newton to The National Trust. Since the Middle Ages variou ...

. He was wounded in the Battle of Agincourt 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 Mastiffs. Five centuries later, this pedigree 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 ...

breed. An old stained glass window remains in the drawing room of Lyme Hall 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 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