Anthony Denny

Sir Anthony Denny was Groom of the Stool to King Henry VIII of England, thus his closest courtier and confidant. In 1539 he was appointed a gentleman of the privy chamber and was its most prominent member in King Henry's last years, having together with his brother-in-law, John Gates, charge of the "dry stamp" of the King's signature, and attended the King on his deathbed. He was a member of the Reformist circle that offset the conservative religious influence of Bishop Gardiner. He was a wealthy man, having acquired several manors and former religious sites distributed by the Court of Augmentations after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.