Sir John Dinham (or Dynham) (1406–1458) was a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

from

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

shire, England. His principal seats were at Nutwell and Kingskerswell in South Devon and Hartland in North Devon.Cokayne, p.377

Origins

He was the son and heir of Sir John Dinham (1359–1428) by his third wife Philippa Lovel, daughter of Sir John Lovel of Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire and Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire (d. 19 October 1414) and Eleanor la Zouche (d. 15 March 1434). The Dynhams took their name from their ancient manor of

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, and had been at Nutwell since about 1122 and were one of the leading gentry families in Devon. They founded Hartland Abbey in 1169 on their manor of Hartland.

Career

He was knighted at some time before 1 May 1430, at the age of 24. In 1431 he was in France with King Henry VI. In 1444 he is recorded as having been accused by the Abbot of Hartland Abbey of having broken into the Abbot's close and houses at Stoke St Nectan (next to Hartland Abbey), and having stolen his horses, sheep and cattle. A similar accusation had been made by the abbot against his father in 1397.

Lands held

Dynham's landholdings in several counties included the following estates or manors: Nutwell, Kingskerswell and Hartland in Devon;

Buckland Dinham Buckland Dinham is a small village near Frome in Somerset, England. The village has a population of 381. The village's main industry is farming (arable and dairy), but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities of Bath and ...

in Somerset and

Cardinham Cardinham () (the spelling 'Cardynham' is almost obsolete) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a village in mid Cornwall, England. The village is approximately three-and-a-half miles (6 km) east-northeast of Bodmin. The hamlet ...

in Cornwall.

Marriage and children

At some date before 12 July 1434, aged 28, he married Joan Arches (died 1497) sister and heiress of John Arches and daughter of Sir Richard Arches (died 1417), MP for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

in 1402, of Eythrope and Cranwell (both in the parish of

Waddesdon Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone. Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and la ...

) and Little Kimble, Buckinghamshire. The

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s of the

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s of the surviving mediaeval Nutwell Chapel, attached to the present Nutwell Court, display weathered sculpted reliefs of the Dynham arms ''Gules, four fusils in fess ermine''. His children by Joan included: * John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham (1433–1501), KG, Lord Treasurer of England. *Phillipa Dynham, wife of Sir Thomas Beaumont (1401–1450) of Shirwell. *Joan Dynham, wife of

John la Zouche, 7th Baron Zouche, 8th Baron St Maur John la Zouche, 7th Baron Zouche, 8th Baron St Maur (1459–1526) was a Yorkist nobleman and politician. He was noted for his loyalty to Richard III, under whose command he fought at the Battle of Bosworth, where Richard was killed. Under the vi ...

. *Margaret Dynham (died 13 December 1470), wife of Sir Nicholas Carew (died 6 December 1470) of Ottery-Mohun, both were buried at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. *Katherine Dynham, wife of Sir Thomas Arundell in December 1473. *Edith Dynham, wife of Thomas Fowler. *Elizabeth Dynham (died 1516), who married three times. Her first husband was Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin. She married secondly Sir John Sapcotes, and thirdly Sir Thomas Brandon. The barony did not survive the first generation, and after Lord Dynham's death the Dynham estates were divided between the heirs of his numerous sisters.

Death and succession

He died on 25 January 1458 at NutwellCokayne, p.378, note a, quoting from his inquisition post mortem ''obiit apud Nutwell'' and was buried in the Blackfriars, Exeter. Separate Inquisitions post mortem were held concerning his landholdings in the counties of Hampshire, Devon, Somerset, Cornwall, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.Cokayne, p.378, note a His heir was his son John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham (c. 1433 – 1501).

References

Sources

*Chope, R. Pearse, The Book of Hartland, Torquay, 1940, Chapter V, pp. 26–37, The Dynham Family *