Edward Denny (soldier)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Elizabethan soldier and courtier. For other people of the same name, see Edward Denny.

Monument in Waltham Abbey, Essex, to Sir Edward Denny and his wife Margaret Edgcumbe, with "weepers" depicting their seven sons and three daughters
Arms of Denny: Gules, a saltire argent between twelve crosses pattée or[1]

Sir Edward Denny (1547 – 12 February 1600),

Elizabeth I
.

Origins

He was born in

Privy Councillor to King Henry VIII and one of the Guardians of his young son and successor King Edward VI. His nephew was Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich (1569-1637), who died without male issue and was buried at Waltham Abbey
in Essex.

Career

Orphaned in childhood, he inherited lands in Hertfordshire. After some minor appointments at court, in 1573 he went to

Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh
; however, their ships were forced to turn home due to bad weather.

Ireland

Denny and his cousin Raleigh were then sent to Ireland to help put down the Second Desmond Rebellion. Denny led a company at the infamous Siege of Smerwick, when 400 Spanish and Italian troops were beheaded by the English after surrendering. In 1581 he commanded another expedition to Ireland and returned with the head of Garret O’Toole, leader of one of the Irish clans.

High Sheriff, Knight and MP

Denny first became a

Constable of Castle Maine.[3]

The following year he returned to Ireland during the Nine Years' War, to find that the confiscated land he had been granted had been ransacked. Disgruntled by the lack of rewards for his service to the Crown, Denny allied himself to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. Late in 1599 or early in 1600, Denny "took a deadly sickness in his country’s service".[2] He died on 12 February 1600 at the age of 52.

Marriage & issue

Arms of Edgcumbe: Gules, on a bend ermines cotised or three boar's heads couped argent, as seen (inverted) on the monument to Sir Edward Denny in Waltham Abbey

In 1583 he married Margaret Edgcumbe (d.1648), one of the queen's

Member of Parliament
. Margaret survived her husband and having died in 1648 was buried in St Michael's Church, Bishop's Stortford. By his wife he had issue including:

  • Sir Edward Denny, eldest son and heir, who founded the Denny family of Tralee Castle in County Kerry, Ireland. His descendant was Sir Barry Denny, 1st Baronet (c. 1744–1794) of Castle Moyle, created a baronet in 1782;[4]
  • Arthur Denny (1584 – 4 Jul 1619)
  • Francis Denny
  • Henry Denny (1595–1658)
  • Anthony Denny (died young)
  • Anthony Denny (1592–1662)
  • Thomas Denny
  • Charles Denny (d. 29 Dec 1635)
  • Elizabeth Denny (b. 1586)
  • Honora Denny (died young)
  • Marie Denny (d. 29 Nov 1678)

Death & burial

He died on 12 February 1600 at the age of 52 and was buried in his family's vault in the churchyard

suit of armour, next to his wife; on a separate frieze below are sculpted his ten children, kneeling.[5]
His epitaph reads:

′Learn, curious reader, ere you pass,

What Sir Edward Denny was:

A courtier in the chamber,

A soldier in the field,

Whose tongue could never flatter,

Whose heart could never yield.′

Notes

  1. ^ As seen impaled by Walsingham in Mereworth Church, Kent, see File:HeraldicEastWindow StLawrence'sChurch Mereworth Kent.jpg (Source: Councer, C. R. (1962). "Heraldic Painted Glass in the Church of St. Lawrence, Mereworth". Archaeologia Cantiana. 77: 48–62, esp. p.50 et seq. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b N.M.S. "DENNY, Edward (c.1547-1600), of Bishop's Stortford, Herts. and Tralee, co. Kerry". historyofparliamentonline.org. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  3. ^ James Carmody, Story of Castle Magne, Co. Kerry, Kerry Archaeological Magazine, Volume 1, No. 3 (October 1909), p.127.
  4. ^ Burke
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84694-587-8
    (p. 179)

References
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