Hugh had occupied the closest position to the king of all the courtiers, and was highly trusted by the old king. The new King, Henry's son, had not continued Hugh Denys in his post of Groom of the Stool, which was one of considerable personal intimacy, having appointed his own favourite Sir William Compton (died 1528), but perhaps out of respect, and indeed affection, for his father's loyal old servant had kept him on as a standard Esquire of the Body for the first 2 years of his reign until Hugh's death in 1511. It was perhaps as a replacement for old Hugh that the king appointed his half-nephew William Denys in his place. At about the time of William's appointment as an Esquire of the Body the King granted him the honour of the licence to empark 500 acres of Dyrham, which is to say to enclose the land with a wall or hedgebank and to establish a captive herd of deer within, with exclusive hunting rights. This grant is witnessed by a charter on parchment, to which is affixed a rare example of a perfect great seal of Henry VIII, now hanging in a frame at Dyrham Park. It clearly was handed down with the deeds of the manor on the termination of the Denys era at Dyrham in 1571. The charter is of exceptional interest as it is witnessed by men of the greatest importance in the state, who were at the King's side at that moment, at the Palace of Westminster. The text of the document, translated from Latin is as follows:  "Henry by the grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland sends greetings to his archbishops, bishops, abbotts, priors, dukes, marquises, earls, barons, judges, sheriffs, reeves, ministers and all our bailiffs and faithful subjects. Let it be known that we, motivated by our especial grace and certain knowledge of him, have granted for us and our heirs to our faithful servant William Denys, Esquire of the Royal Body, to him, his heirs and assigns, the right to empark 500 acres of land, meadow, pasture and wood together with appurtenance at Le Worthy within the manor of "Dereham" in the county of Gloucestershire and enclose them with fences and hedges in order to make a park there. Also that they may have free warren in all their demesne lands within the said manor.