George Gregory Fiennes

Gregory Fiennes was the 10th Baron Dacre, an English courtier and son of Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre, and Mary Neville. After his father’s 1541 execution and the loss of the family’s lands and title, the Dacre title was restored to Gregory by Queen Elizabeth I in 1558. He married Anne Sackville and was succeeded by his sister Margaret Fiennes. The supplied material contains conflicting dates for his birth, death, and marriage.

Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre, was the son of Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre, and Mary Neville. The supplied life-date heading gives his birth as 5 June 1539, while the family-tree notes state that he was baptized on 25 June 1539 at Hurstmonceaux, Sussex.

His father was convicted of the murder of a gamekeeper and was hanged at Tyburn in 1541. According to the notes, the family was subsequently stripped of its lands and titles by Henry VIII. In the years that followed, Gregory’s mother sought restoration of the family properties on behalf of her children.

The notes state that, following Queen Elizabeth I’s accession in 1558, she restored the title of Baron Dacre to Gregory. His elder brother Thomas had died of plague at age 15. Gregory is described as an English courtier.

The material gives differing information about his marriage to Anne Sackville, daughter of Sir Richard Sackville and Winifred Brydges. One account dates the marriage to 1565, while another states that he married before November 1558. Gregory and Anne had a daughter, Elizabeth, who died young during her father’s lifetime. The notes also report that Gregory had an illegitimate daughter named Mary about 1571. A later statement refers to a Mary Fiennes who married John Wheatley and had children, but the supplied material does not clearly establish whether this was the same Mary.

Gregory Fiennes, Anne Sackville, and their daughter Elizabeth are said to have been buried in Chelsea Old Church in a marble tomb. The notes further state that Gregory and his mother were sitters in a portrait by Hans Eworth.

The supplied life-date heading gives Gregory’s death as 25 September 1594, whereas the family-tree notes give 25 December 1594 at Chelsea, Middlesex, England. He was succeeded in the Dacre title by his sister, Margaret Fiennes, who became Baroness Dacre in her own right. The notes observe that the later succession through Margaret indicates that no surviving legitimate daughter of Gregory succeeded to the title.

Historical context

Gregory’s early life was shaped by the 1541 execution of his father, Thomas Fiennes, and the reported loss of the family’s lands and title. The restoration of the Dacre title under Queen Elizabeth I placed Gregory again within the English peerage. His succession by his sister Margaret is presented in the supplied notes as an example of the title passing through a woman when there was no surviving legitimate child with a prior claim.

Sources & research

The Complete Peerage, volume IV, page 11.
Unidentified citation “[1]” in the supplied family-tree notes; no bibliographic details were provided.
Original family-tree maker notes supplied for this biography.