Misc. Notes
Being the younger son of Robert of Adlington, he received Lyme Hanley from his mother whose father, Thomas Danyers of Bradley in Appleton, when the flower of Cheshire chivalry were engaged under their Earl of Chester, the Black Prince (Edward, son of Edward III, who died before his father) at the Battle of Cressy, was pre-eminently distinguished above the rest of that chosen phalanx; and that in the most hazardous part of the battle, most probably when King Edward refused his succors and bade "his boy win his spurs and the honour of the Day" for himself, the said Thomas Danyers relieved the banner of his Earl and took prisoner the Chamberlain of France, Tankerville. For this service Edward the Black Prince, Earl of Chester, settled on him an annuity of 40 marks per annum, issuing out of his manor of Frodsham, until a convenient grant of land of the value of œ20 per annum could be made. In 21st of Richard II it was finally settled that this estate should be the lands of Hanley in Macclesfield Forest, which that sovereign, who in this year assumed the title of Earl of Chester, accordingly granted to the daughter of Sir Thomas Danyers, and her third husband, this Piers Legh. With this daughter, Margaret Danyers Legh, the account of Lyme must commence. Hanley subsequently assumed the additional name of Lyme from the antient designation of the forest of which it formed a part--placed on the Limes or border of Cheshire, and is now ordinarily known by the name of Lyme only. The Hall of Lyme is situated within an extensive park, which partakes much of the varied surface and lonely character of the neighboring moors, and gives a fine effect of contrast to the magnificence and antique stateliness of the mansion itself, built with dark stone, screened by woods on the northwest and high grounds of the park in the other directions. The park of Lyme, which is very extensive, is celebrated for the fine flavor of its venison and contains a herd of wild cattle, and is situated near the road from Manchester to London, adjacent to the picturesque Village of Disley. Piers Legh was knighted about the time of this grant, but he lived only two years to enjoy it. In 1399, when the insurgent forces of the Duke of Lancaster advanced into Cheshire, piers was seized upon by that nobleman, and in consequence of this well-known attachment to his unfortunate sovereign Richard II was beheaded at Chester August 1, 1399. His wife Margaret long survived him.
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