Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre

Who was Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre?

Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre was an English courtier.

He was the son of Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre and Mary Neville. His father was convicted of the murder of a gamekeeper and hanged like a common criminal at Tyburn in 1541, and the aftermath the family was stripped of its lands and titles by Henry VIII.

In the following years, his mother battled to have the properties restored on behalf of her children, and on her ascension in 1558 Queen Elizabeth restored the title of Baron Dacre to Gregory, his elder brother Thomas having died of the plague at age 15.

In 1565, he married Anne Sackville, daughter of Sir Richard Sackville and Winifred Brydges. They had one daughter, Elizabeth, who died young. Fiennes, his wife, and daughter, are buried at Chelsea Old Church within a magnificent marble tomb.

Gregory Fiennes is a sitter with his mother in a significant portrait by Hans Eworth. He was succeeded by his sister Margaret Fiennes, 11th Baroness Dacre.