Cicely (Grey) Sutton (abt. 1488 - bef. 1554)

Born about 1488 in Groby, Leicestershire, England

Ancestors

Wife of John Sutton — married [date unknown] in England

Descendants

Died before 28 Apr 1554 before about age 66 in Westminster, Middlesex, England

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Biography

Lady Cicely Grey was the daughter of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset and Cecily Bonville, suo jure Baroness Harington and Bonville, and granddaughter of Elizabeth (Woodville) York, Queen Consort of England.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Arranged Marriage

Lady Cicely was betrothed in the will of her father at a very young age to John VII Sutton, her 3rd cousin,RC before 30 Oct 1501.^{[1][2][3][4][6]}

Her father could not have known that her husband would become a "half-wit" who would sell the family estate, come to be known as "Lord Quandam," ("Lord Has-been" or "Lord Formerly") and die destitute as a pauper.^[7] The marriage was probably not a happy one, given that she was buried under her maiden name of Grey.^[1]

Edward left Issued Iohn* his Son and Heir, who took to Wifee Cecelie one of the Daughters of Thomas Grey, Marquess Dorset.

It is reported, by credible Tradition, of this Iohn Lord Dudley; that, being a weak man of understanding, whereby he had exposed himself to some wants, and so became entangled in the Usurers Bonds: Iohn Dudley, then Viscont L'isle, and Earl of Warwick (afterwards Duke of Nor∣thumberland) thirsting after Dudley-Castle (the chief seat of this Family) made those Money-Mer∣chants his Instruments, to work him out of it; which by some Mortgage, being at length effect∣ed; this poor Lord became exposed to the Cha∣rity of his Friends for a subsistence; and spending the remainder of his life in Visits amongst them, was commonly called the Lord Quondam.^[8]

In a letter to Oliver Cromwell dated 24 Feb 1538, she describes being destitute and undone financially by her husband and asking him to take pity on her. She describes living on a small amount provided by her mother and living on the food of the prioress of Nuneaton, adjacent to Astley Castle in Warwickshire. How long she resided there is unknown.^[4]

Astley Castle

"John Sutton was buried with elaborate Roman Catholic ceremonies at St. Margaret's, Westminster 18 Sept. 1553. ^[7]

Known Sons:

1. Edward (Sutton) Dudley, became the 4th Baron Dudley and had Dudley Castle restored to him in 1554.^[5][7][9]
2. Henry Dudley^[5][9]
3. Thomas (Sutton) Dudley^[5]
4. George (Sutton) Dudley^[10][9]

Death and Burial

She was buried, using her maiden name as Lady Cysslye Gray, 28 April 1554 in St. Margaret's, Westminster, Middlesex, England.^[1][2][3][6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Cokayne, George E. (George Edward), 1825-1911. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain And the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant. Volume III. D. to F. London: G. Bell & sons. 1890. pg 184
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Douglas Richardson. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Volume I. ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Grey pg 116
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Richardson, Douglas. Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Volume II. (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. 2011. pg 304-306
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Twamley, Charles. History of Dudley Castle And Priory: Including a Genealogical Account of the Families of Suttuon And Ward. London: J.R. Smith, 1867. See Footnote pg 26, 27
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Staffordshire Record Society, and William Salt Archaeological Society. Collections for a History of Staffordshire. Volume IX. Birmingham: William Salt Archaeological Society, 1880. pg 96
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A Prosopography of Medieval European Noble and Royal Families, Online at Foundation for Medieval Genealogy Website (accessed 15 Jul 2020). [1]
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Stephen, Leslie, Sir, 1832-1904. Dictionary of National Biography. Volume XVI. New York. Macmillan and Co. London. Smith, Elder & Co.1888.pg 108
8. ↑ Dugdale, William, Sir, 1605-1686. The baronage of England, or, An historical account of the lives and most memorable actions of our English nobility in the Saxons time to the Norman conquest, and from thence, of those who had their rise before the end of King Henry the Third's reign deduced from publick records, antient historians, and other authorities. pg 216
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Twamley, Charles. History of Dudley Castle And Priory: Including a Genealogical Account of the Families of Suttuon And Ward. London: J.R. Smith, 1867. Free Ancestry Image
10. ↑ Staffordshire Record Society, and William Salt Archaeological Society. Collections for a History of Staffordshire. Volume IX. Birmingham: William Salt Archaeological Society, 1880. pg 98

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, in 5 vols. (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013). Vol. V page 106
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, in 5 vols. (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013). Vol. III page 161 and 164

See also:

• our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors [2]