Draft:De' Anyers family

The De' Anyers Family of Cheshire

De' Anyers of Over Tabley Coat of arms recorded in the Cheshire Visitations. (c.1613)

The De'Anyers family of Cheshire are an ancient noble family who first settled in Cheshire during the late 11th century following their arrival with William the Conqueror from Bayeux. The family is one of the oldest in Cheshire and held extensive estates across North West England including Bradley, Daresbury, Over Tabley Hall and Lymme Handley. The main seat of the family until the early 18th century was Over Tabley Hall.

From the 14th century onwards the De' Anyers family held important Court, Municipal, Parliamentary, and Military positions in England, with many members holding Knighthoods in their own right.

Notable members include- Sir Peter De' Anyers MP, Sir William Daniell Judge of Common Pleas, Colonel Sir Samuel Daniell, and Sir William Duckinfield-Daniell 3rd Baronet of Dukinfield.

The senior-most branch of the family ceased in 1726 following the death of Colonel Sir Samuel and Lady Daniell of Over Tabley without issue, as well as the ownership of the De' Anyers' Cheshire estates. Sir Samuel's uncles John and William however both produced issue, descendants from which remain today, the latter through matrilineal descent.

A branchof the family based in the South West founded a shipping company in the late 18th century, which remained successful operating between 20–25 ships at its height, until its voluntary liquidation in the early 20th Century. The family had later interests in significant banking, brewing and railway investments and held estates in Devon and Somerset.

Descendants of the family were still active in government, municipal and military affairs during 20th century and at present.

Origins

Sir William De' Anyers, Judge of Common Pleas also spelt Daniell. (c.1604)

The De Anyers family can be traced back to Le Signeur Danuillers known as 'Denyas' an archer who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066, the name can be found inscribed on the Roll of Battle Abbey.

Following the Norman Conquest Denyas settled in Cheshire in Chester alongside Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester in the late 11th Century.

The progenitor of the ancient family of De' Anyers descended from Denyas can be traced with accuracy from William De' Anyers who married Agnes de Legh in 1270, and in 1291 purchased land in Daresbury from William le Norreys. He had two sons both founders of respective Houses, Thomas De'Anyers who purchased the Bradley estate in 1301 from Peter Dutton, Lord of Warburton and William De' Anyers who inherited his father's lands and whose son Sir John De'Anyers was knight of Daresbury.

Owing to the destruction of deeds during the reign of Charles I, the family can only be traced with accuracy from the year 1250 and little is known about the family's origins before the Norman Invasion.

According to the book The 'Biographical history of the family of Daniell or De Anyers of Cheshire' published in 1876, evidence of the family in France prior to the invasion can be found in Bayeux and according to The Duchess of Cleveland in her work 'The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages' published in 1889, further evidence can be found of their originating as nobles in Asnieres-en-Bessin in north-western France.

Sir Thomas De' Anyers and The Battle of Crécy

Thomas De' Anyers of Bradley, the eldest son of William De' Anyers, served as Sherriff of Cheshire in 1350 and from his first marriage to Margaret de Tabley, was father to Sir Thomas De'Anyers (d.1354).

Sir Thomas De' Anyers is noted as the most notable member of the family who gained fame at the Battle of Crécy on the 26th August 1346 following his retrieval of the Black Prince's Standard and then capturing of the Chamberlain of France, the Comte de Tankerville.

The Black Prince, for his heroism Knighted him on the spot and settled upon him an annuity of forty marks a year. Sir Thomas married Isabel Bagguilly an heiress in her own right and died during the lifetime of his father, leaving only a daughter Margaret.

Memorial to Sir Thomas De' Anyers. St Wilfrid's Church c.1876

Sir Thomas' daughter Lady Margaret Savage (née De' Anyers) was sole heiress of her mother's lands at Lyme Handley and eventually successfully claimed her father's lands totalling 1,400 acres from Richard II in 1398. She married Sir Piers Legh in 1388, their descendants the Barons of Newton held the estate at Lyme Park until 1946.

Sir Thomas De' Anyers' other lands were settled on the heirs male of the De Anyers family, with his half-brother from his father's second marriage also called Sir Thomas De' Anyers recieving the entirety of the De Anyers' Cheshire estates from his brother and father.

The latter Sir Thomas De' Anyers was described as warrior of note who served under Sir Hugh Calvely

Sir Thomas De' Anyers of Crécy fame is memorialised in St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall, the village of which his elder brother Sir John De' Anyers served as knight.

Sir Thomas' half-brother Sir Thomas De' Anyers married an heiress, Katherine De Tabley and at the time of their marriage recieved a third of Tabley and at her father's decease incurred the rest into the De Anyers' landholdings. Their son Thomas De' Anyers of Over Tabley married Lady Elizabeth Aston, neé Boydell widow of his cousin Thomas Boydell heir to Sir John De' Anyers' lands at Grappenhall.

15th-17th century

De Anyers coat of arms taken in the 1566 Visitation of Cheshire.

The family continued to be involved in services to the crown as knights, operating largely from Cheshire and through subsequent marriages were able to acquire further landholdings- Warrington in 1413, parts of Nether Tabley in 1440 and Cherry Tree Hurst in 1493.

An inheritance dispute occured from 1493-1523 between the De' Anyers of Over Tabley and Daniell's of Lymme, following the death of a childless uncle Thomas Daniell of Cherry Tree Hurst in 1493.

Thomas De' Anyers the great great great grandson of Thomas De' Anyers and Lady Elizabeth, at the time of his uncles death claimed the land which was met with disagreement from a cousin William Daniell of Longdon.who claimed that Thhomas Daniell had made him heir. The dispute was settled some 30 years later in 1523 ruling in the De' Anyers' favour with William Daniell conveying all rights to the land to Thomas' grandson, Thomas De' Anyers of Over Tabley.

His grandson and eventual heir Piers De' Anyers Esquire, was secretary to Prince Henry and was succeeded by his son Thomas De' Anyers who married Margaret Wilbraham, acquiring land in Woothey.

He was eventually succeded by his grandson Sir Peter De' Anyers who inherited his father's Chesire estates aged 6 in 1560. He married Christian, the daughter of Sir Richard Grosvenor in 1620 and later was a politician who sat in the House of Commons for Cheshire as an MP in 1626. He suffered considerable debts during his lifetime and died in Great Budworth in 1652, his wife survived him by over a decade and died in 1663.

18th Century

Sir William Dukinfield-Daniell, 3rd Baronet of Dukinfield (c.1745)

Sir Peter De' Anyers was succeded in his estates by his son Captain Peter Daniell who's grandson Sir Samuel Daniell eventually acceded to the properitorship of Over Tabley.

Sir Samuel served as a Colonel in the army of William of Orange and was knighted by him for his extensive military service. Sir Samuel married first Anne Tatton, Lady Meredith widow of Sir Amos Meredith and secondly Frances Dormer a first cousin of Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon. From his second marriage Daniell had one daughter Anne, who died in infancy.

Daniell's Will dated Feburary 19th 1723 leaves his Cheshire estates and Over Tabley to his great nephew Samuel Duckinfield the son of his neice Lady Dukinfield-Daniell and Sir William Dukinfield-Daniell, 3rd Baronet who took the name of Daniell and arms of De' Anyers following Daniell's death. Samuel did not survive to adulthood and the marriage produced no further children.

The Duchess of Cleveland in her work The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages said the following:

"Thirteen generations had dwelt, in prosperous and uninterrupted (though seemingly uneventful) succession at Over-Tabley,

Penelope, Lady Dukinfield-Daniell (c.1745)

when, early in the last Century, Samuel Daniell found himself the last of his house.

His two brothers had died s. p., and he had lost his only child—a daughter—in her infancy.

At his death in 1726, his Cheshire estates were demised by will to his great-nephew Samuel Duckenfield"

Following the death of her husband Lady Dukinfield-Daniell became the sole heiress of the Dukinfield and Daniell estates, she died in 1762 and thus ended the De Anyers' 450 years ownership of their Cheshire estates. The entirety of them were left to Lady Dukinfield-Daniell's second husband John 'Beau' Astley.

Soon after Astley extensivley remodelled Over Tabley Hall, demolishing the old house and built a Strawberry Hill style Neo-Gothic manor. The estate was eventually broken up and sold in part to the Aston family and to the Leicesters of Tabley House.