TH E FAM I LY CH EYN E/CH EYN EYICH EN EY

AN ENGLISH FAMILY DURING THE MIDDLE

AGES AND THE TUDOR DYNASTY, 1485-1603

A viewing of the 38 episodes of "The Tudors" determined that, unlike its name, the movie focuses on

the years 1509-1547, the years of the reign of Henry Vlll. During one scene covering the anticipated invasion of England by France, there is a report that Sir Thomas Cheney has determined that England's preparations for war with France can be relaxed because the French fleet was sailing somewhere other than to England.
Sir Thomas Cheney was, during this period, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Cinque Ports were a

group of maritime towns in Sussex and Kent which had originally been chartered by Edward the Confessor to provide ships and men against invasion before the English navy was established.
Sir Thomas Cheney was a member of a branch of the Cheney family that was kinsmen of the emigrant

John Cheney of Newbury. Other Cheney family members and kinsmen were also kinsmen of individuals

portrayed in "The Tudors". Therefore, a document describing these relationships, which included a brief discussion of the status of the Cheney family in English society during the Middle Ages, which ended

with the death of Richard lll in 1485, was thought to be of interest; hence the following document.
While the years of the Tudor Dynasty, 1485-1603, represented the years covering generations 11-18 of the English Cheney family, generations 6-L0 are included here to identify the relationship of these various family branches, which all had their beginning in generation seven from the manor of Shurland,
lsle of Sheppey, Kent.

While reading this document it would be well to remember that the ingredients of the social ladder during the Middle Ages of 'Medieval England' were 'Men who Fight', Men who Pray', and 'Men who

Work'. These three professions were not on the same social ladder. At the top of the secular stood the king, the nobility, and the peasantry, at the top of the other side the pope stood over the clergy.
The men who fought were the noblemen whose roles were of administrator and soldier. From his manor

the noble managed landholdings that nourished the domain. For the king he would lead his own men into battle to protect the realm. ln return the noble shared in the kingdom's land and wealth and savored the court's pomp and pleasures.
Pastors to their flocks, clergymen were often social leaders too, higher echelons enjoying privilege such
as the comforts of estate ownership,

the right to sit in Parliament, and the standing to frequent the

courts.
The feudal system claimed the peasant's service and a share of his production. He lived in a village close

to the fields he tilled for the lord.

Jack Cheney

* 2334 Squaw Creek Road * Lander, Wyoming *82520

DESCENDANTS OF THE MANOR OF SHURLAND

ISLE OF SHEPPEY, KENT

6. *1 SirAlexanderdeCheyne =

(124s-12e61 |
I

AgnesdeSay *2
(124e-12es)

1304

7.
8.

Sir William de

Cheyne = (1274-1322)
|

Margaret Shurland *3

Sir Robert de Cheyne *4

(1304-1362)
I

Peter de Cheyney (e1310-1360)

*5

(A)

9.

Richard de Cheyne

*6

Margaret de Cralle

(13s3-

)
*7

10. Simon de Cheney

Sir William de Cheyne *8

( -14ss)
I I

-ob1aaz)

Eleanor

Nottingham John = Beauchamp I

(1) Sir

Eleanor Salerne

Edith = Stourton I

(2) Sir

Robert Shottesbroke

11. Robert Cheney

t-t---*--------------ll *13 *12

William Cheney

Margaret Beauchamp-----Eleanor Shottesbroke *9 I *lLJohn Beaufort --l l---- SirJohn Cheyne *L0-------------l | l(1403-1444t11(1412-1468) Duke of Somerset I
I

(1421,- )
Ana Lovelace

| (L423- ob1485) I

Sir Roger

*14

Baron John

*15

Sir

William *16

de

Cheyne
I

de

Cheyne

de

Cheyne

--l
I
|

L2.

Margaret

Beaufort-----------------

=Margaret I I

(1443-

)m.1455 Edmund Tudor (ts) farl of Richmond

( -1499) (1"44s-1499) ( -1486) lsabel I Sir Thomas--------Boleyn *17

I I
I

(
I

-1.4s6)

t-----------rt
I

I |

Boleyn (L477-r.s3e)

l-----l
I

13.

Henry Vll (14s7-Lsoe) Elizabeth of York

Siriohn = 1536 *18 -1s4s)

Anne

Boleyn Sir Thomas *19 (L517-L536) Cheney K.G.

de Cheyne Joan Norreys

I
I I

-1ss8)

1.4.

(14e1-1s47)

(1ss8-1603)

1. 2. 3.

Sir Alexander de Cheyne (1245-ob1296) was undoubtedly a descendant of Radulf de Caisneto

(e1040-e1L00)who came to William the Conqueror in 1066. The grandparents of Agnes de Say were Geoffrey Il Lord de Say (e1155-1230) one of twenty-five
Barons selected to enforce the Baron's side of the Magna Charta, and Alice de Cayneto (e1155e1225) of East Rudham, Norfork, the great-granddaughter of Radulf de Caisneto l.

Margaret Shurland was the daughter of Sir Robert Shurland, Knight Banneret, who held the fortified Manor House of Shurland, lsle of Sheppey, Kent, residence of the early English kings, including Harold ll. On 16 March 1322,Margaret's husband, SirWilliam de Cheyne (1274-1322) and her father, Sir Robert Shurland, were part of the English nobility that were defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge by the army of Edward ll, son of Edward I 'Longshanks' in the movie 'Braveheart'. Sir William was hanged at York, Sir Robert imprisoned. ln 1327, Edward ll was murdered by this same nobility.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Sir Robert de Cheyne served in the King's Division of Edward

lll at the Battle of Crecy in 1346;

was the Knight of Shire for Kent 1348-1357, and Wiltshire 1358. Peter de Cheyney was the ancestor of Cheyney family branches at Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire; Holyfield, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire; Thorngumbald, Humberside, York; and Boston,
Lincolnshire.
Richard de Cheyne was Squire to the Black Prince, son of Edward lll.

Simon de Cheyne was the ancestor of six generations of the Cralle, Walberton, Sussex family branch.
Sir William de Cheyne was a lawyer and Justice, Knight

of Kent in 1416, Justice or Recorder of London in 1-4!7 , and later a Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1428 under Henry Vl. He served as a Knight of Kent in 1416 and Sheriff of Kent. He was knighted in L424 for his services at the Battle of Verneuil against the French and their Scottish allies. 9. Eleanor Shottesbroke was a half-sister to Margaret Beauchamp, grandmother of Henry Vll. 10. Sir John Cheyne was knighted in 1445 as a Sergeant at Arms to Henry Vl. From 1452to L47L, John was Victualler of Calais; Justice for Kent L447-L46O; Knight of Shire 1449; Sheriff of Kent 1454; fought on Lancastrian side in the early battles of the Wars of the Roses for which he was pardoned in 1452 by Edward lV. John and Eleanor were the ancestors of five generations at
West, Woodhay, Berkshire.

11. John Beaufort's grandfather was John of Gaunt, son of Edward lll and the father of Henry lV. 12. Robert Cheney was the founder of the Cheney family of Higham, Milsted, and Sittingbourne,
Kent.

13. William Cheney served as a Justice for Kent from 1461-1474, and in 1484, and was a Commissioner of Array for the Lancastrian forces just prior to the Battle of Bosworth. 14. Sir Roger de Cheyne was the ancestor of the West Woodhay, Berkshire branch of the family.

15. Baron John de Cheyne and his brother, Robert, escaped in 1483 from England to Brittany, France to join Henry Tudor, they being attainted and their properties being confiscated in absentia by

Richard ltl. About a year later, John and Robert returned to England with Henry Tudor and were

dubbed Knights Bachelor at the landing. On 22 August 1485 on Bosworth Field, Henry's army defeated and killed Richard lll and HenryTudor became Henry Vll. ln the battle Richard lll personally unhorsed John Cheney, a man of unusual height and strength. The legend is that King Richard struck off John's helmet, wounding and stunning him , but that John, recovering his
senses after a while, cut the skull cap and horns off an ox which chanced

to be nearby and

placed the gruesome thing on his head to replace the loss of the upper part of his helm. He then returned to the fray and fought gallantry. To commemorate the incident, Henry assigned Sir John as a crest for his Arms 'Two Bulls's horns Argent separated from the scalp, roots Or, fixed to the mantel without torse'.John's actions at Bosworth resulted in a great change in his

fortunes. He was made a Knight of the Body, Constable of Christchurch and of Southampton, and Keeper of the New Forest. His properties restored he became Knight of Shire for Wiltshire. of the Garter and a Privy Councilor. ln 1487, after the Battle of Stoke, John was made a Knight Banneret, the supreme honour of knighthood for services in the field. ln L487, John was created a Baron of Parliament as Lord Cheney. ln 1489 and 1492, John ln
1"486, John became a Knight

commanded English forces in France. 1-6. Sir William de Cheyne served as Sheriff of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex in turn and, in 1477 he was appointed by Edward lV to be Governor of the ancient Castle of Queensborough on the Medway. ln 1483 he was made a Knight of the Bath. 17. tsabel Boleyn was the sister of Sir Thomas Boleyn and aunt to Anne Boleyn,
2nd

Queen of Henry

vill.
18. Sir John de Cheyne was an Esquire to Edward lV in L471-1483 and fought on the side of York during the last battles of the Wars of the Roses at Barnet and Tewesbury. 19. Sir Thomas Cheney was a remarkable man of unusual intelligence and adapted himself successfully to the favour of four Sovereigns: Henry Vlll, Edward Vl, and Queens Mary and Elizabeth. ln 1512, during war with France, Thomas commanded a ship-of-war. He excelled as a diplomat and in 1513 was sent on his first mission to the Court of Pope Leo X. ln 151-5, he was Sheriff of Kent and an Esquire to Henry Vlll. ln 1519, Thomas was sent on a mission to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles of Spain. ln 1520, at the Field of Cloth in France
Thomas was in the king's retinue and was one of the English challengers at the tournaments. Returning to England he was made the Treasurer of the Royal Household, a post he retained

throughout his life. From 1521-22, Thomas was Ambassador to the French Court. He returned as Ambassador in 1526, being accompanied by a young attach6, Thomas Wyatt. ln addition to Queensborough Castle, Thomas was Constable of Rochester and Dover Castles, Bailiff of Sandwich and Dover, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. ln 1532, Thomas entertained King Henry and Anne Boleyn at Shurland, just before they were married. ln 1539, Henry made Thomas a Knight of the Garter. ln his Will of 1546, Henry Vlll left Thomas a legacy of 200 pounds, a handsome sum in those days. Thomas was a very wealthy man and he entertained magnificently at Shurland where he had a retinue of 400 persons.

(A)

CHEYNEYS OF FEN DITTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE;

THORNGUMBALD, HUMBERSIDE/YORK; AND BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE

8. Peter de Cheyne

= *1 (e1310-1360)
y

9. Henry

Cheyney = (1340-e1377) I

t----------------l

Joan Muschet

(1344-

t---------------l 10. Sir William Cheyney =

Catherine Pabenham

(1368-r.403) 13e6 {1372-L436)

l-----------l Cheyney =
(13e6-ob1a61)

11. Sir Lawrence

12. Sir John Cheyney

t--------*3
*4

*2 1419

Elizabeth Cockayne
)

(14e0t-----------l

Elizabeth

Cheyney

(B)

{1,423-1,489\
Elizabeth Rempston
13. William Cheyney

(e1419-ob1473)

Sir Thomas

Cheyney *5

Anne

Holme
I I

Elizabeth Parr

14. William Cheyney

Frances Cheney

( -ob1599)

*6

1-. Wyatt reported that there was a Cheney from Cambridgeshire at the Battle of Crecy in 1346.
Peter represents the only known individual, because of age and location, who fits this

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

description. His brother, Robert, is known to have been there. Sir Lawrence Cheyney was Escheator of Buckingham and Bedfordshire in 1423; Sheriff of
Cambridgeshire from 1,431-1-442; Justice from 1437-1461; a Commissioner of Array for the Lancastrian forces in 1459 during the Battles of Blore Heath and Ludford.

to Henry Vl and Escheator for Cambridgeshire and Huntingtonshire; in 1.449, he was a Knight of the Shire and Justice for
Sir John Cheyney was a lawyer. ln 1445, he was a Sergeant-at-Arms

Cambridgeshire.

William Cheyney and Anne Holme were the founders of a five generation family at Thorngumbald manor in Humberside/York.
Elizabeth Parr was aunt of Catherine Parr, 6'h Queen of Henry Vlll.

William Cheyney married Frances, a daughter of Baron Thomas Cheney K.G. of Shurland manor (-1558). William and Frances were the ancestors of the Cheney family of Bennington and
Boston, Lincolnshire that exists today.

ELIZABETH CHEYNEY OF BROXBOURNE, HERTFORDSHIRE

AND HER DESCENDANTS AT WALTHAM CROSS, HERTFORDSHIRE

(B)

*1

e1440

*2

eI447

*3

12. (1) Sir Frederick Tilney = Elizabeth Cheyney = (2) Sir John Say

(e141e-1445)l(e141e-1473)l(-1478) Agnes Anne Say Elizabeth = Thomas = 13. Lawrence Tilney (1'448-14781 | Cheyney Tilney I Howard I -Ls24)l I {e1446-e1500) ( -1487) l(
(1)

t-------------l-----ll---------------l *5 *41 I
(2)

Henry

Wentworth
(1448-1s00)

14. Robert

Elizabeth William Howard = Howard (e1465-e1495) (14S6-1s38) Margaret gir Thomas Garmage = Boleyn, Earl I I of Wiltshire I I I Cheyney
Lady

rl------lll

iohn = Seymour I ( -1s36)

Sir
|
I I

Marjory Wentworth

I I

15. Robert

Jane Seymour Catherine Anne Boleyn ll (L5L1-1537) (L507-1536) Howard Cheyney = (e1440-ob1542) =2nd =3rd =5th -----------Henry Vlll (1491-1s47)---------I Edward Vl 16. Robert lllCheyney Elizabeth 1 (1s37-1ss3) (e1525-ob1567) (1s33-1603)
I
|

(1,477-ts3e) I l*7 I *6

l*8

= Joan Harrison

| (1s2s-1se7)
I

17. John Cheyney

= Joan Bonde

(e1550-15e4)

(1ss4-162s)

l---------l
L8. William Cheney =

(l-58a-ob1628)
I

19. John Cheney

= Martha Smith

(e1602-ob1666)

1. Sir Frederick Tilney is believed to have been the father of Lawrence Cheyney who was born after Sir

Frederick's death. 2. Elizabeth Cheyney Say was the Godmother to Edward lV and great-grandmother to eueens Anne Boleyn and iane Seymour.
3. Sir John Say was a Member of Parliament for the borough of Cambridg e in 1447; member

for

Hertfordshire 1453-1468; Speaker of Parliament 1.449,1463-5, and 1467-8. John's brother, William Say, was Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. 4. Lawrence Cheyney was the ancestor of the Cheney family at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, for seven generations ending with the emigrant, John Cheney.
5. Thomas Howard was Earl of Surrey and the 2nd Duke of Norfork. ln 1513, Thomas commanded the English army at Flodden that defeated James lV and the Scotts. 5. Anne Boleyn was the second Queen of Henry Vlll. 7. Catherine Howard was the fifth Queen of Henry Vlll. 8. Jane Seymour was the third Queen of Henrr/ Vlll. Her mother, a Wentworth, was a descent of Edward

ilt.

CIVIL, MILITARY AND NOBILITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TITLES ASSIGNED BY THE MONARCH

Ambassador = minister of the highest rank Baron = lowest rank of the peerage Chief Justice of the King's Bench = chief judicial officer of England Commissioner of Array = quartermaster, officer supplying an army Constable = keeper or governor of a castle or royal fortress Escheator = king's agent who verified qualified heirs for land and tenements upon the death of the

present holder
Esquire = English gentry rank next below knight

Justice = judge or magistrate Keeper = guard Knight = a non-hereditary dignity conveying the title, Sir. Knight of Shire = mounted soldier, king's agent in the shire
Lord Warden of the Cinque ports = group of ports in southern England bound to supply ships and men

against invasion Member of Parliament = Member of either the House of Lords or Commons. Landed nobles were members of the House of Lords. Privy Councilor = sovereign's body of personal advisors Recorder = magistrate or judicial officer
sergeant-at-Arms = officer in charge of preserving order about the palace Sheriff = county chief law enforcement officer Squire = knight's assistant who was of aristocratic birth

I
CHENEYS WHO HELD THESE TITLES ARRANGED BY ENGLISH DYNASW

EDWARD

lll (1327) TO HENRY Vlll (1s48) to Elizabeth

l,

The Tudor dynasty of three generations that spanned the years 1485-1603, from Henry Vll

was proceeded by five generations of Edward

'1,46!-1,485, wh ite rose.

lll;

three generations of the House of Lancaster, Henry lV

to Henry Vl, t3gg-L471-, red rose, and two generations of the House of York, Edward lV and Richard lll,

During the reigns of these English monarchs all of these executive powers of authority, direct from the king, were reflections either of his belief in that persons ability, or to reflect favoritism. These

responsibilities, held by various members of the family Cheney or their spouses, were previously identified by family branch. Grouping these individuals by dynasty to reflect the interaction of these

family mem bers follows:

EDWARD nt (1327-1377) Sir Robert de Cheyne (1304-1362) of Shurland, Kent served in the King's Division at Battle of Crecy in

1346, and in the following years was the Knight of the Shire for Kent and Wiltshire. HENRY lV (1399-L413) and HENRY v (1,413-L427\ Richard de Cheyne (1-353- ) of Shurland was Squire to Edward the Black prince, son of Edward lll; Knight and Sheriff of KenU and Justice or Recorder of London.
HENRY Vt (t422-14711

-obL447) of Shurland was Knighted in 1424 for his services at the Battle of Verneuil against the French and Scotts. ln following years he served as Knight of Shire and Sheriff for Kent in 1416, in t417 asjustice or Recorder of London, and in 1428 Chief iustice of the King's Bench.
Sir William de Cheyne Sir Lawrence Cheyney (L396-1-461) of Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire was Escheator of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire counties in 1423; later Sheriff 1.431-1.442, and justice L437-t461' of Cambridgeshire;

and in 1459 Commissioner of Array during the Battle of Blore heath in 1459.

in 1'445. Later, he was Victualler for the garrison at Calais, France; Knight, Justice and Sheriff for Kent. During the Wars of the Roses John fought for Lancaster during the early battles.
Sir John Cheyne (L412-1468\ of West Woodhay, Berkshire was a Sergeant-at-Arms

of Fen Ditton was a Sergeant for the king in 1445 as well as the Escheator for Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire; and later in 1449 Knight and Justice for Cambridgeshire.
Sir John Cheyney (1423-1489)

Sir John Say of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, second husband

of Elizabeth Cheyney of Fen Ditton, was

member of Parliament during the years L447-1.468, first for Cambridgeshire in 1447, and thereafter
1453-68 for Hertfordshire, and was Speaker in L449, 1463-65 and 1457-68.
RTCHARD ilr (1483-1485)

William Cheney of Shurland (L423-14841was in 1484 Commissioner of Array for Lancastrian forces.
EDWARD rV (L461-1483)

Elizabeth Cheyney (e1479-1,473) was Godmother to Edward lV.

Sir William de Cheyne

-L486) of West Woodhay and Shurland was Sheriff of Kent, Surrey and Sussex

in turn; in 1,477 he was appointed by Edward lV Governor of the ancient Castle of Queensborough on the river Medway that guarded the river entrance to London. ln 1483, he was made a Knight of the Bath.

William married lsabel Boleyn, sister of Sir Thomas Boleyn and an aunt to Queen Anne Boleyn. William Cheney of Shurland

(1423-

) was a Justice

for Kent 1,461-1474, and in

'J.484 a Commissioner

of

Array for the Lancastrian forces.

to Edward lV in 1471, and fought beside his uncle, John Cheyne, for York at Barnet and Tewkesbury during these last battles of the Wars ofthe Roses.
Sir John Cheney -1-545) of West Woodhay, Berkshire was an Esquire

John Cheyne (1445-1499) of West Woodhay and Shurland was from 1471 to 1483 an Esquire to Edward
lV, on whose side he fought in the Yorkist victories at Barnet and Tewkesbury the last two battles of the

Wars of the Roses. ln 1475, he was serving with the army at Calais, France. From 1475 until the death of Edward lV in 1483 he was Knight of Shire for Wiltshire, and Master of the Horse to the King.
HENRY

Vil (148s-Lsoe)

Baron John de Cheyne (1445-1499) of West Woodhay and Shurland supported Henry Tudor in 1485 at

the Battle of Bosworth. For his bravery at Bosworth, John received numerous positions in the years that followed: Governor of the royal fortress at Christchurch and Southampton; Keeper of the New Forest, the area reserved for the King's hunting grounds; Knight of Wiltshire; Privy Councilor and Knight of the Garter in 1485; in 1487 at the Battle of Stoke made a Knight Banneret, the supreme honour of knighthood for services in the field; 1487 created Baron of Parliament as Lord Cheney; 1489-1492 he commanded a force in France. John was buried in Salisbury Cathedral where his brother, Edward, was Dean. A statue of Baron John is reported to exist at the Cathedral.

HENRYVilr (1s09-1547)
Sir Thomas Cheney K.G.

-1-558) of Shurland, Kent , a henchman

of Henry, served the king between

1512 and 1558 as: Ambassador to the Courts of Pope Leo X, Charles of Spain the Emperor of the Holy

Roman Empire, and the French.; Esquire to the King; Sheriff for Kent; Constable of Queenborough Castle; Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports; and Treasurer of the Royal Household 1520-1558.

William Cheyney

-1548) of Thorngumbald, York was a Burgess (representative) in Parliament from

the town of Boston, Lincolnshire. William married the daughter of Sir Thomas Cheyney K.G. of Shurland.
Sir Thomas Cheyney of Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire married Elizabeth Parr, aunt of Queen Catherine

Parr, 6th Queen of Henry Vlll. Elizabeth Cheyney (e1419-1473) of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire was a great-Grandmother to Queens

Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour

10

SUMMARY

Between Hastings and Domesday (1066 & 1086), the Cheney families were tenants in England of three of the overlords of the Conqueror (William l); Robert Count de Mortain, his half-brother; William de Warenne, his son-in-law; and de Saye, as they had been in Normandy. Of the two main Cheney families dating from Hastings, the first held lands in Sussex and Norfork under William de Warenne. Later they
also held lands in Kent under William de Saye at Patricksborn; at Shurland, Kent; West Woodhay, Berkshire; Milsted, Kent; Wableton, Sussex; Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire; Boston, Lincolnshire; and

Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. The second main branch held lands in Northamptonshire,
Bucklinghamshire, and Bedfordshire. Following the Norman invasion of England in 1066, the descendants of these Norman Knights

maintained their Viking/Norman heritage through the centuries by Norman intermarriage. Warfare during this period greatly reduced the male population, and produced many widows, many who quickly remarried, some two or three times. The population of these Norman descendants by the year 1500, considering the number of the wars, especially the Wars of the Roses which were said to have killed off
an entire generation of many families, is unknown, but likely diminished. However, their financial

prosperity, like their heritage, gained as the result of the Conquest in 1066, was also maintained by these Norman descendants, many unlanded knights marrying heiresses from noble families such as de
Vere, de Mandeville, de Say, Mochette, Pabenham, Engaine, Cockayne, Tilney, Shurland, Shottesbroke, Boleyn, Seymour ands Parr.
Sir Stanley Wyatt has revealed in his "Cheneys and Wyatts", from which document much of this present

writing is taken, that of the 190 Parliaments for which there are full Returns in existence, in 81 there were at least one Cheney or Cheyne, either as Knight of the Shire, or as a Member for City or Borough, or as a Baron of Parliament; in other words a Cheney was in Parliament in fourteen of the twenty-two reigns covering the period 1066-1603. The record of the High Sheriffs was even more extraordinary, for more than thirty Cheneys served as Sheriffs of fifteen counties. As Knights of Shire and High Sheriffs of the Counties when Sheriffs were very important men wielding executive powers direct from the king, Cheneys administered and governed. During these times the Cheneys were members of the propertied
classes, and were therefore important men in their Counties who had what was almost a hereditary

right to be nominated Knights of Parliament and Sheriffs, yet it was extraordinary that the Cheney family maintained for so long their property and social status. lt only needed for one of them, the head of the family or the heir, to be attainted for his lands to be confiscated without subsequent pardon or restoration.
During research for the genealogy of the English Cheney family, several individuals contacted for

information commented that this was not a large family as far as numbers. Never-the-less, this 'small' Cheney family left their mark on the history of England by contributing substantially to the administration of the English society in which they lived. ln the sixteenth century three English Queens and one English King carried Cheney blood in their veins, and yet, 'Newbury'John and his immediate ancestors managed to survive outside the notice of Henry Vlll; not bad for so 'small' a family.
11

EITffi

miW

ii

ii

U
,t

20 Dmwilg of the bras ar the toxtb tf jbbn ad Eli4aheti: SalJ/on lltstory of Hertfordshirgf E. Curans, uoL2, p.1 E-f

@ert4.

1874-1378.

t^l.i,?

^l/.L.AiltfA Jl..t

OI Cd'ERIDG:: -' N MS?OCBTIC ENGLISE ?-.;J'Y

THE CEEYNEYS
&

TEEIR MBTIONSEIP AO

RoY& FNILY oF ENGND

EE .:.:il.i:":).{::{ tsenry = cheyney I 1340-13?7 i

I

KING EDI{BD

IIl (ptiltageneE) 1312-77

Ed$ari the = Joan oi Black prince I xent 1330-75 I rr:e-es

RICflMD II

l-------------.----:---l-:-:-:-L--ri--:------------:---i
,-------llt-------------------l
I ?lantagenet = Eleanor de D*e of Gloucesler I Bohs d. 1399 1355-92 I
Thonas

= Philippa of | Hainault d.136e |

Joan uuschet 1344: I |

Sir lasrence = Elizabes de Pabenhan I rnqaine

i

Sir Eilliam cheyney 1368-1399

catherine
Pabenhan

r372-1a36

!367-es {2) Eu qount riiirii" e""'.ui.' d- 7420

I I

gohn,'Lord = xarerine or Bour.hier I carherine Ho!,ard d.r4l3 o.rq:s I (1) = Humphrey eouicnilr d- 1471

i---l

------l

i::-----------.--l ll = Lady anne = (1) Edmwd, Earl oi stattora I prairtugn"t d. 1403 I

sir LaDrence = Etizabeth chevnev | .cockayne 1396-146r I l4oo-

* Eillian

ancesEor of-s;

fanilies

Cheyney aas the cheney of York & Li;cs.

- (2) Thomas Howard = (2) Agnes Tt1nev I Earl of surev & | DuEch;ss ot 'l 2nd Duke.of Norrork I Norfork I .. ---. , d.14ai I I r----------l--l t I ililiiam sir Thomas Boleyn = rady Eiizabelh = HargarEt HoDard I cilage Eart of Hilrshiie it""".o I 1477-1s39 r486-Isl3 | I I catherire EoEard Anne Boteyn 5th oueeh of Zhd Oueen of VUI Eenry Henry Err d. !542 d. 1536 ---------l -----------EBt: lts47lIIIZSETH I EliiabeEh Tilney

{tlt ------i Ilt"l.lr (1) sir

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