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two leopards' faces Or |
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Edward Elbridge Salisbury, Family Memorials, 1885 privately printed at New Haven, Connecticut pages 381 - 383 (Gookin Family) |
| Respecting the Denne family, which became allied with the Gookins in 1566, I will first quote from Hasted: |
| "Dennehill is another seat on the same side of Barham downs [in the parish of Kingston], at the eastern boundary of them, which took its name from the family of Dene or Denne, of eminent note in this county, the possessors of it in very early times. One of these, Ralph de Den, held much land in Romney Marsh, and at Buckhurst in Sussex, in the 20th year of William the Conqueror, as appeared by an old roll in the earl of Dorset’s possession, being written in the record son of Rob’tus Pincerna, a name probably given him from his being butler or sewer to one of our kings before the conquest. Sir Alured de Den was chief steward of the priory of Christ-church in the 29th year of King Henry iii., and was a person so singularly esteemed for his wisdom that, when the laws and ordinances of Romney Marsh were compiled by that venerable judge Henry de Bath, in the 42d year of that reign, this Sir Alured and Nicholas de Handloe were joined with him for that purpose; and what is remarkable he at that early time sealed with three leopards' faces, the antient paternal coat of this family, which afterwards continued owners of this seat, and resided here with much reputation, as justices of the peace and other honourable employments of public concern, down to Michael Denne Esq., who lived here in the reigns of King Edward iv., and Henry vii., being descended by the marriages of his ancestors from the families of Apulderfield, Earde, Arderne and Combe, among others, whose posterity spread in several branches, resident not only in Canterbury and the several neighbouring parishes, but in West Kent likewise. But after this seat had continued in an uninterrupted descent to him from Sir Alured de Denne above mentioned, and from him again down to Thomas Denne Esq. who was recorder of Canterbury, and died possessed of it in 1655, it went by Mary, his youngest daughter and co-heir, in marriage, to Vincent Denne Esq. of Canterbury, sergeant-at-law, descended from the same stock of ancestry, but he bore for his arms: Argent, on two flaunches Sable two leopards' faces Or, being the bearing of this younger branch of this family. The elder branch, of Dennehill, bore: Sable, three leopards' faces Or. He died possessed of it in 1693, leaving four daughters his co-heirs . . .." 1 |
| Vincent Denne Esq. Sergeant-at-law,
above mentioned as belonging to a younger branch of this family, was a
grandson of Vincent Denne, LL.D., who was son of William and brother of
Catharine (Denne) Gookin;2and
this William was a younger son of Thomas Denne Esq., of Dennehill in the
time of Henry viii., who, in that reign [therefore, before 1558], gave
to his son William the manor of Bursted or Burghsted, in the parish of
Bishopsbourne, co. Kent. Here then, probably, William Denne was living
at the date of his daughter Catharine’s marriage in 1566,
for his "grandson William, son of Vincent Denne, LL.D., died possessed
of it in I640." 3
The name of Vincent Denne, brother of Catharine, is especially interesting
to us, for it was undoubtedly from him that Sir Vincent Gookin, his nephew,
took that name.
The complete lineage of the Dennes, from the days of Edward the Confessor, is given by Burke, showing that William, father of our Catharine, was son of Thomas, son of Michael, son of John, son of Thomas, son of Richard, son of Sir William, son of John, son of Walter, son of Walter, son of Sir Alured de Denn, son of William de Denn, son of Robert de Dene, son of Ralph de Dene, son of Ralph de Dene, son of Robert de Dene, son of Robert de Dene, "who held large estates in Sussex and Kent, as well as in the duchy [of Normandy], and was Pincerna or butler to Edward the Confessor."4 |
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two leopards' faces Or |
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Hasted’s Kent, Canterbury, 1798, ix. 344 – 46 |
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These relationships are proved by a pedigree in Barry’s Kent Genealogies – Notes and Queries . . . 3d Ser. London, 1862, ii. 473 – and by Hasted, ix. 333, 347. |
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Hasted’s Kent, ut Supra, ix 333, 347 |
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A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. . . . By John Burke. . . . London, 1838, iii. 19 – 21. Click HERE for an online version. |
| 1.
Robert de Dene, who held large estates . . . butler to Edward the Confessor.
2. Robert de Dene 3. Ralph de Dene 4. Ralph de Dene (We have only one Ralph in our other records) 5. Robert de Dene 6. William de Denn 7. Sir Alured de Denn 8. Walter 9. Walter |
10.
John
11. William (Shown in our other records as "Sir William or Walter Denne Knight of Denne Hill, sat in Parliament . . . 1326 and . . . 1341.") 12. Sir Richard (Shown as "Richard" in our other records) 13. Thomas 14. John 15. Michael 16. Thomas 17. William, father of Vincent,Thomas, Mary and Catharine Denne. |
| The Perry Family | The Saies-Jones Family Tree |
| For Robert Sewell's pages, please click on Denne Genealogy |
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