Ralph de Dene, Lord of Buckhurst in Sussex, possessed large estates in Sussex and Kent. Living: during the reign of William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087) -------------------- Birthplace: Buckhurst, Sussex, England Ralph de Dene, Lord of Buckhurst in Sussex, possessed large estates in Sussex and Kent. Living: during the reign of William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087) Married: Sybella de Gatton, sister of Robert de Gatton. Ralph de Dene and Sybella de Gatton had the following children: · Robert de Dene. · Ella de Dene who married Sir Jordan Sackville, ancestor of the Dukes of Dorset. Ella inherited Buckhurst and other estates in Surrey. In her widowhood, she endowed Bayham Abbey.

______________________________ Bayham abbey is situated on the Sussex-Kent border near Polegate. It was the first of twenty seven houses of the Premonstratensian order founded in England. The Premonstratensians also also know as the white canons due to the their white habits.

The abbey was founded and endowed by Ralph de Dene, a wealthy Norman early in the thirteenth century. The abbey received additional endowments from the Sackville family and thrived until the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII. Henry granted the income from the monastery to Cardinal Wolsey, who used the money to found colleges in Oxford and Ipswich. The income at that time was £4 9s 4½d.

Additional Source: "Ancestral File v4.19," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MZMS-W9L : accessed 10 September 2012), entry for Ralph De DENE.