William Grey KG (abt. 1509 - 1562)

Born about 1509 in Wilton Castle, Herefordshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 14 Dec 1562 at about age 53 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England

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Biography

Sir William Grey was a member of the aristocracy in England.

This profile is part of the Gray Name Study.

William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton, was the 4th, and youngest, son of Sir Edmund Grey and Florence Hastings. He was a notable person of England in his day and appears on Wikipedia.

His son, Arthur, wrote a publication; A Commentary of the Services and Charges of William Lord Grey of Wilton, K.G. which is available on google books.

William became heir to the estates of Wilton after his older brothers all died young. According to his son he appears to have taken possession of the estates by special livery, in 20th Henry VIII which likely places it in 1528.^[1] He was first summoned to parliament, by Henry VIII, on 3 November 1529. The notice of "special livery" seems spurious as he likely had come of age. It seems likely he actually had possession, although under guardianship, from the death of his older brother, Richard, in 1520.

Burke and Arthur Grey notice that he was one of the English Commanders in the army of John, Lord Russell (known as John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford in 36 Henry VIII.^[2] This would have been the Italian War of 1542–46. William appears against France in 1544, under John, lord Russell, at the siege of Montreuil.

His actions in France had made him popular with Henry VIII although Henry died before William was rewarded. He had risen within the command structure and when [Edward VI of England Edward VI] came to the throne he was a Field Marshall. Edward invaded Scotland and William was in command of the English horse at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, where he was wounded in the mouth by a pike.

Grey recovered and was appointed, on 22 September 1547, to complete the delivery of Hume Castle into English hands.

He was knighted at Berwick on 28 September 1547 and left, on the departure of the English Army, as Governor of Berwick Castle, Warden of the Northern Marches and General in the North.

In the period between 1551 and 1553, Grey seems to have been in and out of Royal favour and, at the death of Edward VI was one of the supporters in the abortive attempt to place Lady Jane Grey upon the throne. This action resulted in an act of attainder being passed against him, resulting in loss of property and title for treason, albeit Grey was pardoned from wrong doing.

Between 1553 and 1560 Grey spent much of his time in the Army, firstly in France and then in Scotland. Grey was the English commander at the unsuccessful attempt to take Leith from Scottish and French forces Grey retired from military service in 1561.

He died at Cheshunt, near Waltham, in Hertfordshire, on 14 December 1562, in the house of his daughter and son-in-law, Henry Denny (son of Sir Anthony Denny), and was buried in the parish church there, near to the communion-table.

Family

In about 1535, Grey married Lady Mary Somerset of Worcester. ^[3]They had three children:

• Arthur Grey, later 14th Baron Grey de Wilton; b. 1536, d. 1593.

• Honora Grey, b. 1540. She married Henry Denny, Dean of Chester. It is in her house that he died.

• William Grey.

Sources

• Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson Vol. V. page 378

1. ↑ Source of material is actually Dugdale's work but available in A Commentary of the Services and Charges of William Lord Grey of Wilton, K.G., Introduction, page vii. Henry VIII Regnal years were from April to April and his 20th was from 22 April 1528 to 21 April 1529
2. ↑ Source of material is actually Dugdale's work but available in A Commentary of the Services and Charges of William Lord Grey of Wilton, K.G., Introduction, page vii. Henry VIII Regnal years were from April to April and his 36th was from 22 April 1544 to 21 April 1545
3. ↑ The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant.; Cokayne, George Edward; vol.VI. Gloucester: A. Sutton. pp. 183–186

See Also...

• Wikipedia.Sir William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
• A Commentary of the Services and Charges of William Lord Grey of Wilton, K.G.; Arthur Grey, Lord Grey of Wilton, 1847; available google books
• Lundy, D. ThePeerage.[1]
• Lewis, M. ORTNCA.
• Burke (n.d.). A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance. England; Burke, page 231