De'Anyers family

The De'Anyers family, known also as the Daniell family, are one of the oldest from Cheshire and held extensive estates across North West England including Bradley, Daresbury, Tabley and Lymme Handley from the late 13th century onwards, as well as estates in Normandy, and later Devon and Somerset.

Since the 14th century the De'Anyers family held important court, municipal, parliamentary, and military positions in England and France, with many members holding knighthoods in their own right.^[6][4]

Following the loss of their Cheshire estates in the 18th century, descendants of the family moved to the South West and founded a successful shipping company with later interests in banking, brewing and railway investments with estates in Devon and Somerset.^[7]

Notable members include: Sir Thomas De'Anyers, Sir Peter Daniell MP, Sir William Daniell Judge of Common Pleas, Colonel Sir Samuel Daniell, Sir William Duckinfield-Daniell 3rd Baronet of Dukinfield and Lieut-Gen Henry Daniell de Grangues.^[8][9]

The senior-most branch of the family ceased in the 1720s following the death of Colonel Sir Samuel and Lady Daniell 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 of which remain today, the latter through matrilineal descent.^[7]

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

The De'Anyers (Daniell) coat of arms is recorded in the 1613 Cheshire visitations as quarterly of four- argent, a pale lozengy sable (De'Anyers) and argent, a panther statant and regardent sable (De Tabley) with a crest of a unicorn's head couped or, crined argent^[10]

The De'Anyers family can be traced back to Le Signeur Danuillers known as 'Denyas' who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066, the name can be found inscribed on the Roll of Battle Abbey.^[6]

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 family descended from Denyas can be traced to William De'Anyers who married Agnes de Legh in 1270, and in 1291 purchased Daresbury from William le Norreys.

He had two sons both founders of respective branches, 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.^[11]

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 before the invasion can be found in Bayeux.

Based on research by The Duchess of Cleveland in her work The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages published in 1889 translating a significant portion of the Battle Abbey Roll, further evidence can be found attributing the De'Anyer's family origins in Asnieres-en-Bessin in North-Western France.^[11][6]

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).^[12] Sir Thomas De'Anyers is noted as the most recognised member of the family gaining fame at the Battle of Crécy on the 26th August 1346 following his retrieval of the Black Prince's Standard and capturing of the Chamberlain of France, the Comte de Tankerville.^[13][12]

For his actions, the Black Prince knighted him on the battlefield and settled upon him estates and an annuity of forty marks a year from the Earldom of Chester. Sir Thomas married Isabel de Bagguilly an heiress in her own right and died during the lifetime of his father, leaving a daughter Margaret.^[14]

Sir Thomas' daughter Lady Margaret Savage née De'Anyers was the sole heiress of her mother's lands at Lyme Handley and eventually also 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, Lyme Park until 1946.^[14][15]

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 receiving the entirety of the De'Anyers' Cheshire estates from his brother and father. The latter Sir Thomas De'Anyers was also described as warrior of note and served alongside Sir Hugh Calvely^[13]

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 was knight.^[16][13][17]

Sir Thomas' half-brother Sir Thomas De'Anyers married an heiress, Katherine De Tabley and at the time of their marriage received a third of Tabley and at her father's decease inherited the remainder which were amalgamated into the De'Anyers estate. 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 in Grappenhall.^[14][13]

The family continued in service to the crown as knights, operating from Cheshire and through subsequent marriages were able to acquire further land in Warrington, Nether Tabley, and Cherry Tree Hurst during the 15th century.^[18]

An inheritance dispute occurred in 1493 between the De'Anyers of Over Tabley and Daniells of Lymme, following the death of an uncle Thomas Daniell of Cherry Tree Hurst without a legitimate heir in 1493.

Thomas De'Anyers (great great great grandson of Thomas De'Anyers and Lady Elizabeth) at the time of his uncle's death claimed the land, which was met with disagreement from a cousin William Daniell of Longdon who claimed that Thomas Daniell had made him his sole heir. The dispute was settled 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.^[18]

His grandson and heir Piers De'Anyers Esquire (also spelt as Daniell), was secretary to Prince Henry (later King Henry VIII) and was succeeded by his son Thomas who married Margaret Wilbraham, acquiring land in Woodhey.^[14]

Thomas was eventually succeeded by his grandson Sir Peter Daniell MP who inherited his father's Chesire estates aged 6 in 1560. He married Christian, the daughter of Sir Richard Grosvenor (ancestor to the Dukes of Westminster) in 1620 and was a politician who sat in the House of Commons as MP for Cheshire in 1626 and a member of the 'Baronet Group'. 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 at Warwick Castle.^{[19][20][21][9]}

They had five sons: Peter, John, Henry, William and Thomas as well as several daughters.^[5]

Both Thomas and Peter were Royalist officers, Thomas was killed at the Battle of Brentford in 1642 and Peter at the Siege of Gloucester in 1643. Henry was also killed during the Battle of Brentford in 1642 however evidence suggests that he likely fought on the Parliamentarian side. Both John and William survived the Civil War and were supporters of Oliver Cromwell.^[22][9][23]

John served as Auditor General of the forces in the West Indies expedition, during the Anglo-Spanish War, his letters of which survive today, and worked as a spy for John Thurloe.^[22][24]

William De'Anyers served as a Colonel in the Parliamentarian forces and was active in the invasion of Scotland and later appointed commander in Northern Scotland by the 1st Duke of Albermarle.^[25][26][5]

Sir Peter was succeeded in his estates by his grandson Thomas from his eldest son Captain Peter Daniell a Royalist officer in the army of John, 2nd Earl Rivers, killed during the Siege of Gloucester. His grandson Colonel Sir Samuel Daniell inherited Over Tabley and the De'Anyers Cheshire estates.^[22]

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, Sir Samuel had one daughter Anne, who died in infancy.^[27]

Sir Samuel's will dated February 19, 1723 leaves his Cheshire estates and Over Tabley to his great nephew Samuel Duckinfield the son of his niece Lady Dukinfield-Daniell and Sir Charles Dukinfield-Daniell, 2nd Baronet. The Dukinfield's took the name of Daniell and arms of De' Anyers following Sir Samuel's death in 1726, their son Sir William Dukinfield-Daniell, 3rd Baronet married Penelope Vernon.^[28][29][30]

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, 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" ^[11]

Following the death of her husband, Lady Dukinfield-Daniell became the sole heiress of the Dukinfield and Daniell estates, she died in 1762 and ended the De'Anyers ownership of their Cheshire estates spanning over 450 years. The entirety of them were left to Lady Dukinfield-Daniell's second husband John 'Beau' Astley.^[29][19][30]

Astley extensively remodelled Over Tabley Hall, demolishing the old hall and built a Strawberry Hill style Neo-Gothic manor. The estate was eventually broken up and sold in part to the Leicesters of Tabley House and tenant farmers.^[31][5]

Following the senior male line descending from Sir Peter Daniell dying out in 1726, the name was succeded by descendants of his two sons John and William, the latter through matrilineal descent.^[5][13]

Colonel William De'Anyers was succeeded in his estates by his daughter who married into the Willis family of Lancashire descendants of which remain today and married into the Skeffington family and Swiss Salis-Soglio family descended from the Princes Caraman-Chimay.^{[13][32][3][2]}

John married and had a son, Thomas whose descendants moved to the South West of England and established a successful shipping company in the late 1700s which remained active until the early 1900s after which it went into voluntary liquidation. At its height, it was one of the largest in the South West and operated over 20 ships, with a banking branch extending over £50,0000 in commercial investments.

In 1900 it was valued at £1m, approximately £102m as of 2023.^{[33][34][35][36]}

By 1920, remaining assets from the banking firm were sold and eventually merged into Barclays Bank, following this the family had interests in significant rail, brewing, and banking investments and held landed estates in Devon and Somerset.^[37][38]

Members married into several notable families including the Carew baronets and Harvey family of Norfolk the latter of which had made a sizeable fortune in textile manufacturing and descended from the Grenville family.^{[39][40][41][42][43]}

Several members served with high ranking distinction during the Anglo-Boer Wars, World War 1 and World War 2 and were active and donors in the equestrian, horticultural and hunting communities .^{[44][45][46][47]}

Despite the loss of their ancestral Cheshire estates, members are still active in municipal, business and military affairs. Their rich history is preserved in historical records, memorials, and monuments throughout Cheshire and the South West, where members of the family remain today.^[16][17][2]

The family's former seat at Over Tabley Hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building and parts of the 17th-century stable block remain.^[48][49]

The house underwent renovations from 2007-2017.^[50]

The east end of the south aisle of All Saints' Church, Daresbury houses the De'Anyers 'Daniell Chapel', formerly the Chadwick Chapel, which was renamed in commemoration of one of Cheshire's oldest families.^[51]

The east window of the chapel features characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, erected in 1935 in celebration of the centennial of Lewis Carroll's birth.^[51]

As commented by The Duchess of Cleveland:

"Here again, therefore, we may welcome among us one of the rare old names that have never died out." ^[11]