Adeline Horsey Recollections. The Brudenells have been landowners in Northamptonshire since the time of Henry III, and in 1518 [her former husband] Sir Robert Brudenell, a Justice of the King's Bench [Map], bought Deene [Map] from William Litton. Robert Brundenell made a large fortune, and his wife, Margaret Entwyssel, became heiress to her brother's estates of Staunton Wyvile, which naturally added to the wealth of the family. In 1520 Sir Robert settled Deene on his eldest son, [her son] Thomas, and eleven years later he died and was buried in the transept of Deene Church [Map].

A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5 Gartree Hundred: Stonton Wyville. The under-tenant in 1086 was another Hugh, founder of the family of Widville or Wyville from which the village took its name. His descendants held the manor until 1494 when the last William Wyville died, leaving a widow Margaret and the manor of Stonton in the hands of trustees. William's heir was his niece Katherine Warde, a child of eleven, who married Thomas Entwistle, the son of one of her uncle's trustees. The manor was leased from Thomas and Katherine by Sir Robert Brudenell, who married William Wyville's widow very shortly after her first husband's death, and in 1499 he purchased its reversion from them. The Brudenells did not obtain full possession of the manor until 1533, after Sir Robert's death. It descended in the Brudenell family, and was usually leased to a younger branch until the early 18th century. A lease for 61 years was made in 1582 and in 1635 the manor-house and demesne were leased, each time to Edmund Brudenell. In 1957 the owner was Mr. George Brudenell of Deene (Northants.).