Manor of Dyrham

Dyrham passed with Wynebald's fiefdom, based at North Cadbury, Somerset, to his son-in-law de Newmarch who had married his daughter Mabilia.

[4] Henry de Newmarch's heir was his youngest son James who died leaving two daughters co-heiresses to the barony, Isabel the eldest and Hawise.

Ralph and Isabel's daughter Maud(d.1288)[6] (also known as Matilda) married Robert Walerand(d.1273) of nearby Siston, a great magnate and Justiciar to King Henry III(1216–1272).

Sir William Russell was seated there for the remainder of his life and played a central role in the defence of the Island from the frequent attacks by the French.

In 1294 he received royal instructions for putting the Island into a proper posture to meet the threatened invasion by France of the southern coasts of England.

In 1307 Russell received another summons from King Edward I Hammer of the Scots to join the royal army at Carlisle within 15 days of 8 July, to counter the aggression of Robert the Bruce.

Before the campaign commenced, the King determined on knighting his son, and was accorded by parliament the customary feudal aid, a form of taxation, to meet the costs of the splendid ceremony.

King Edward II, just knighted as Prince of Wales, succeeded his father later in the year 1307 and called his first parliament to meet at Northampton, to which Sir William Russell was summoned by writ for the county of Southampton.

In 1309 Russell was summoned by royal writ to be ready "with horse, arms, and all his lawful service (i.e. retinue)" at Newcastle upon Tyne, by 29 September., to punish the Scots for their non-observance of the truce recently entered into.

Roger went to Ireland in 1309, possibly to visit this relative, as the following entry in the patent rolls of 2 Edward II (1309) shows: "Master Roger Cantok, parson of the Church of Herdewyk, going to Ireland, has letters nominating Nicholas de Langeton his attorney until Michaelmas, May 2, Westminster" Theobald Russell's grandson was Sir Maurice Russell(1356–1416), the first of the family to make his home at Dyrham.

On his father's death, Thomas had become a royal ward, and had been found a wife named Margery, of family unknown, but no doubt as a result of his marriage having been sold by his guardian.

It was perhaps at the very time of William's appointment as an Esquire of the Body that the King granted him the honour of the licence to empark 500 acres of Dyrham, which is to say to enclose the land with a wall or hedgebank and to establish a captive herd of deer within, with exclusive hunting rights.

This grant is witnessed by a charter on parchment, to which is affixed a rare example of a perfect great seal of Henry VIII, now hanging in a frame beneath the main staircase of Dyrham Park.

The charter is of exceptional interest as it is signed as witnesses by men of the greatest importance in the state, who were at the King's side at that moment, at the Palace of Westminster.

The text of the document, translated from Latin is as follows:[15] "Henry by the grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland sends greetings to his archbishops, bishops, abbotts, priors, dukes, marquises, earls, barons, judges, sheriffs, reeves, ministers and all our bailiffs and faithful subjects.

Let it be known that we, motivated by our especial grace and certain knowledge of him, have granted for us and our heirs to our faithful servant William Denys, esquire of the Royal Body, to him, his heirs and assigns, the right to empark 500 acres of land, meadow, pasture and wood together with appurtenance at Le Worthy within the manor of Dereham in the county of Gloucestershire and enclose them with fences and hedges in order to make a park there.

The marriage settlement is contained in a charter dated 21 Ed IV (1482), quoted by the Inquisition post mortem of Sir William Denys.

In a subsequent record Deny's name is shown as erased from the list of those attending the King, with the words "With the Queen" added, suggesting he had been transferred into the retinue of Katharine of Aragon.

[16] In 1520 Sir William and Lady Ann founded the "Guild of St. Dennis" in the Church of St Peter, Dyrham, which had about 300 members, not only from Gloucestershire but also from adjoining counties.