William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
Encyclopedia
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton KG,(1508/9 – 1562) was an English baron and military commander serving in France in the 1540s and 1550s, and in the Scottish wars
of the 1540s.
He was the thirteenth Baron Grey de Wilton
.
, and assisted in the siege of Montreuil. There seems to have been some jealousy between Grey and the Earl of Surrey
. Grey had been appointed chief captain of the army called 'the Crews,' and it was arranged in 1545 that this command should be transferred to Surrey, while Grey was to be appointed lieutenant of Boulogne under Lord Poynings
. Upon letters from Guînes
, however, the king, Henry VIII
, ordered Grey to remain in command of his army, while Surrey was sent to Boulogne. Secretary Paget
speaks of the sinister means constantly employed to set these noblemen at variance. Grey finally superseded Surrey as lieutenant of Boulogne in April 1546. During the French campaign Grey distinguished himself greatly, especially by his destruction of the Châtillon fortress, which he razed completely to the ground. The king took Grey into favour, and promised him rewards and preferment, but the promise failed in consequence of the king's death.
. He placed himself at the head of the army to make the first charge against the enemy at the battle of Pinkie Cleugh
, on 10 September 1547. His son described Grey's injuries in the battle:
Grey recovered, and twelve days later (22 September) was appointed to complete the delivery of Hume Castle
. On the 28th he was knighted by Protector Somerset
at Berwick
. The protector returned to England, and Grey was left as governor of Berwick, warden of the east marches, and general of the northern parts. On 18 April 1548 Grey and Sir Thomas Palmer
again crossed the border, and advanced to Haddington
, which they took and elaborately fortified
. After spending six weeks in improving the defences, they left a garrison of 2,500 men in charge and departed, burning Dalkeith
and laying waste to the country for six miles around Edinburgh
while making a leisurely withdrawal to Berwick.
, where he immediately restored order, though not without using considerable severity against the priests. He then marched into the West Country, and joining the Earl of Bedford
, rendered signal service in the pacification of Devon
and Cornwall
during the Prayer Book Rebellion
.
as one of the partisans of the Duke of Somerset
, but after the execution of the Protector was set at liberty. Having recovered the royal favour, Grey was appointed governor of the castle of Guisnes in the Pale of Calais
. Upon the death of Edward VI, Grey joined the Duke of Northumberland in his abortive attempt to place Lady Jane Grey
upon the throne. The movement in favour of Lady Jane collapsed, and on 21 and 22 July 1553 Grey and other compromised persons obtained pardon. Nevertheless an act of attainder was passed.
s in the counties of Middlesex and Kent, and the city of London, for the garrison of Guisnes. When war was formally declared by the French in 1557, Guisnes was so poorly garrisoned that Grey reported that unless he was reinforced he was at the mercy of the enemy. A small detachment was sent over; but although Grey had more than a thousand men, a part only of these were English, the rest being Burgundians and Spanish. By the middle of winter moreover there was a scarcity of food at Guisnes and Calais. On 1 Dec. Grey announced a successful expedition for the destruction of a French detachment. 'The commander of Guisnes was a fierce, stern man,' says Froude
, 'and his blood being hot he blew up the church of Bushing, with the steeple thereof, and all the French soldiers entrenched there perished.' A formidable French force having appeared at Abbeville
on 22 Dec., Grey and Wentworth wrote an urgent joint letter to the queen. Orders were at length given for reinforcements, but these were countermanded on a mistaken report that the alarm was ill-founded. The French appeared under the walls of Guisnes on the 31st; Calais was invested on 1 Jan. 1557-8.
Grey made a brave effort to save Guisnes. On the night of the 4th he sent a letter urgently begging for reinforcements. But Calais fell on 6 Jan. All the English counties were thereupon called on by proclamation to contribute their musters. Thirty thousand men were rapidly on their way to the coast, and on the 10th came the queen's command for the army to cross to Dunkirk, join the Duke of Savoy
, and save Guisnes. But severe weather was experienced in the Channel, and the fleet was either destroyed or dispersed. Meanwhile Guisnes was left to its fate. Grey, with his eleven hundred men, abandoned the town, burnt the houses, and withdrew into the castle. The French, under the Duke of Guise
, bombarded the place, and on the third day (19 Jan.) attempted a storm. Grey was wounded by accidentally treading on a sword, and the first line of defence was taken. His soldiers refused to fight longer, and Grey was soon forced to surrender.
The Duke of Guise transferred Grey to Marshal Stozzy, who in turn passed his prisoner to Count Rouchefoucault, and he remained in captivity until ransomed by the payment of twenty thousand crowns, which considerably impaired his fortune, and entailed the selling of his ancient castle of Wilton-upon-Wye
. Grey was elected a knight of the Garter in April 1558; but being then a prisoner in France, Garter king-at-arms was sent to notify his election. He was installed on 19 April 1558 by his proxy, Sir Humphrey Ratclyffe. On an extension of the armistice with France in January 1559, Grey was sent over to England with proposals for a secret peace. Grey received summonses as a peer of parliament from Henry VIII
, Edward VI, Mary
, and Elizabeth
. But his honours, which were forfeited by the Act of Attainder of 1553, were not fully restored till after Elizabeth's accession (1558).
towards Scotland, and warden of Tynedale and Ryddesdale. He went down to the border with two thousand men nominally to reinforce the Berwick garrison, but at first with large latitude of action. After the Treaty of Berwick
was signed, he was soon made general of the English army sent 'in aid of the Scots against the French, who had made an invasion there with great forces.' On 28 March 1560 Grey, with Lord Scrope
, Sir Henry Percy
, and others, crossed the river Tweed
with six thousand foot and two thousand horse. He moved by easy marches, and on 4 April the Protestant lords of the congregation
joined him at Prestonpans
. He was annoyed to find that their men had been engaged for twenty days only, twelve of which had already expired; but finding Leith
too strong to be attacked without reinforcements, he proposed to utilise the Scotch force at once by seizing Edinburgh Castle
, where the queen-regent
had taken refuge with Erskine. The Scots were apathetic, and Grey referred to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
, for advice. Howard would not sanction the scheme for taking the castle without the knowledge of Elizabeth, and the queen, on being appealed to, forbade Grey to think of it. He was ordered either to compose matters without force or bloodshed, or else to finish the work at once, 'for the navy could not be suffered to remain.' Fighting began before Leith, but it was interrupted by an armistice, concluded in order to give time for Howard to go to London for instructions. Grey was incensed at being compelled to rest upon his arms. After conferences with the Duke of Châtellerault and the Scottish lords, the peace proposals fell through. The siege of Leith at once began, and on 30 April a third of the town was destroyed by fire. But there were complaints of Grey's dilatory action. The blockade failed. Grey resolved to take the place by assault. This took place on 7 May. The attack was repulsed with heavy loss, half the officers and eight hundred men being left dead and wounded in the trenches. Grey clung tenaciously to his ground, dreading only that he might be driven from it before assistance could arrive. Cecil wrote at this time, 'My Lord Grey is a noble, valiant, painful, and careful gentleman,' but his failure was patent. Negotiations were set on foot, and a treaty was concluded at Edinburgh, peace being proclaimed in Leith on Sunday, 7 July. Grey was left governor of Berwick and warden of both the marches, but afterwards Sir John Forster
took the middle marches with Grey's consent; the other two offices Grey kept until he died.
, fourth son of Sir Edmund de Grey, ninth baron (d. 1511). His three brothers, the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth barons, died in their minority. He was first summoned to parliament on 3 Nov. 1529, by Henry VIII
.
In about 1535, Grey married Lady Mary Somerset of Worcester
. They had three children:
Grey retired from active command in 1561 and left Berwick for the south. He died at Cheshunt
, near Waltham in Hertfordshire, on 14 Dec. 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.
The Rough Wooing
The War of the Rough Wooing was fought between Scotland and England. War was declared by Henry VIII of England, in an attempt to force the Scots to agree to a marriage between his son Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots. Scotland benefited from French military aid. Edward VI continued the war until...
of the 1540s.
He was the thirteenth Baron Grey de Wilton
Baron Grey de Wilton
Baron Grey de Wilton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 23 June 1295 when Reginald de Grey was summoned to the Model Parliament as Lord Grey de Wilton. This branch of the Grey family of aristocrats was based at the Wilton Castle on the Welsh border in Herefordshire...
.
Service in France, 1544-1547
During the Italian War of 1542–1546, Grey was a commander in the expedition against France in 1544, under John, lord RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, KG, PC, JP was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal....
, and assisted in the siege of Montreuil. There seems to have been some jealousy between Grey and the Earl of Surrey
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Henry Howard, KG, , known as The Earl of Surrey although he never was a peer, was an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry.-Life:...
. Grey had been appointed chief captain of the army called 'the Crews,' and it was arranged in 1545 that this command should be transferred to Surrey, while Grey was to be appointed lieutenant of Boulogne under Lord Poynings
Thomas Poynings, Baron Poynings
Thomas Poynings, 1st Baron Poynings was an English soldier and courtier.He was one of the three illegitimate sons of Sir Edward Poynings of Westenhanger, Kent, England...
. Upon letters from Guînes
Guînes
Guînes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:Guînes is located on the border of the two territories of the Boulonnais and Calaisis, at the edge of the now-drained marshes, which extend from here to the coast. The Guînes canal connects with...
, however, the king, Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, ordered Grey to remain in command of his army, while Surrey was sent to Boulogne. Secretary Paget
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert , was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.-Early life:...
speaks of the sinister means constantly employed to set these noblemen at variance. Grey finally superseded Surrey as lieutenant of Boulogne in April 1546. During the French campaign Grey distinguished himself greatly, especially by his destruction of the Châtillon fortress, which he razed completely to the ground. The king took Grey into favour, and promised him rewards and preferment, but the promise failed in consequence of the king's death.
Military service in Scotland
In the first year of Edward VI, Grey, then a field-marshal and captain-general of horse, was sent into ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He placed himself at the head of the army to make the first charge against the enemy at the battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...
, on 10 September 1547. His son described Grey's injuries in the battle:
Grey recovered, and twelve days later (22 September) was appointed to complete the delivery of Hume Castle
Hume Castle
Hume Castle is the heavily modified remnants of a late 12th or early 13th century "Castle of enceinte".The village of Hume is located between Greenlaw and Kelso, two miles north of the village of Stichill, in Berwickshire, Scotland....
. On the 28th he was knighted by Protector Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
at Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
. The protector returned to England, and Grey was left as governor of Berwick, warden of the east marches, and general of the northern parts. On 18 April 1548 Grey and Sir Thomas Palmer
Sir Thomas Palmer (died 1553)
Sir Thomas Palmer was an English soldier and courtier. His testimony was crucial in the final downfall of the Duke of Somerset in 1551–1552...
again crossed the border, and advanced to Haddington
Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
, which they took and elaborately fortified
Sieges of Haddington
The Sieges of Haddington were a series of sieges staged at the Royal Burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, as part of the War of the Rough Wooing one the last Anglo-Scottish Wars...
. After spending six weeks in improving the defences, they left a garrison of 2,500 men in charge and departed, burning Dalkeith
Dalkeith
Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
and laying waste to the country for six miles around Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
while making a leisurely withdrawal to Berwick.
"the commotion time"
There were disturbances throughout England during the summer of 1549, a period that came to be known as "the commotion time." In July 1549, Grey was despatched at the head of fifteen hundred horse and foot into OxfordshireOxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, where he immediately restored order, though not without using considerable severity against the priests. He then marched into the West Country, and joining the Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, KG, PC, JP was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal....
, rendered signal service in the pacification of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
during the Prayer Book Rebellion
Prayer Book Rebellion
The Prayer Book Rebellion, Prayer Book Revolt, Prayer Book Rising, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549. In 1549 the Book of Common Prayer, presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced...
.
Politics during the succession
In 1551 Grey was held in the TowerTower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
as one of the partisans of the Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, it is particularly associated with two families; the Beauforts who held the title from the creation of 1448 and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547 and in whose name the title is...
, but after the execution of the Protector was set at liberty. Having recovered the royal favour, Grey was appointed governor of the castle of Guisnes in the Pale of Calais
Pale of Calais
The Pale of Calais is a historical region of France that was controlled by the Kingdom of England until 1558.- History :After the Battle of Crécy in 1346, Edward III of England, having renounced the throne of France, kept some territory within France, namely Aquitaine and the area around Calais,...
. Upon the death of Edward VI, Grey joined the Duke of Northumberland in his abortive attempt to place Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
upon the throne. The movement in favour of Lady Jane collapsed, and on 21 and 22 July 1553 Grey and other compromised persons obtained pardon. Nevertheless an act of attainder was passed.
Service in France, 1553-1558
A few days after his submission Grey received a commission to array 350 footmen and fifty demi-lancerDemi-lancer
The "Demi-lancer" or demilancer was a type of heavy cavalryman found in Western Europe in the 16th and early 17th centuries.-Characteristics:...
s in the counties of Middlesex and Kent, and the city of London, for the garrison of Guisnes. When war was formally declared by the French in 1557, Guisnes was so poorly garrisoned that Grey reported that unless he was reinforced he was at the mercy of the enemy. A small detachment was sent over; but although Grey had more than a thousand men, a part only of these were English, the rest being Burgundians and Spanish. By the middle of winter moreover there was a scarcity of food at Guisnes and Calais. On 1 Dec. Grey announced a successful expedition for the destruction of a French detachment. 'The commander of Guisnes was a fierce, stern man,' says Froude
James Anthony Froude
James Anthony Froude , 23 April 1818–20 October 1894, was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clergyman, but doubts about the doctrines of the Anglican church,...
, 'and his blood being hot he blew up the church of Bushing, with the steeple thereof, and all the French soldiers entrenched there perished.' A formidable French force having appeared at Abbeville
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
on 22 Dec., Grey and Wentworth wrote an urgent joint letter to the queen. Orders were at length given for reinforcements, but these were countermanded on a mistaken report that the alarm was ill-founded. The French appeared under the walls of Guisnes on the 31st; Calais was invested on 1 Jan. 1557-8.
Grey made a brave effort to save Guisnes. On the night of the 4th he sent a letter urgently begging for reinforcements. But Calais fell on 6 Jan. All the English counties were thereupon called on by proclamation to contribute their musters. Thirty thousand men were rapidly on their way to the coast, and on the 10th came the queen's command for the army to cross to Dunkirk, join the Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580....
, and save Guisnes. But severe weather was experienced in the Channel, and the fleet was either destroyed or dispersed. Meanwhile Guisnes was left to its fate. Grey, with his eleven hundred men, abandoned the town, burnt the houses, and withdrew into the castle. The French, under the Duke of Guise
Francis, Duke of Guise
Francis de Lorraine II, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Duke of Aumale , called Balafré , was a French soldier and politician.-Early life:...
, bombarded the place, and on the third day (19 Jan.) attempted a storm. Grey was wounded by accidentally treading on a sword, and the first line of defence was taken. His soldiers refused to fight longer, and Grey was soon forced to surrender.
The Duke of Guise transferred Grey to Marshal Stozzy, who in turn passed his prisoner to Count Rouchefoucault, and he remained in captivity until ransomed by the payment of twenty thousand crowns, which considerably impaired his fortune, and entailed the selling of his ancient castle of Wilton-upon-Wye
Wilton Castle
Wilton Castle is a 12th-century Norman castle fortification located in southeastern Herefordshire, England on the River Wye adjacent to the town of Ross-on-Wye. The castle is named for the manor associated with it....
. Grey was elected a knight of the Garter in April 1558; but being then a prisoner in France, Garter king-at-arms was sent to notify his election. He was installed on 19 April 1558 by his proxy, Sir Humphrey Ratclyffe. On an extension of the armistice with France in January 1559, Grey was sent over to England with proposals for a secret peace. Grey received summonses as a peer of parliament from Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, Edward VI, Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, and Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. But his honours, which were forfeited by the Act of Attainder of 1553, were not fully restored till after Elizabeth's accession (1558).
Warden of the Marches
In December 1559 Grey was constituted governor of Berwick, warden of the middle marchesScottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras—from the late 13th century, with the creation by Edward I of England of the first Lord Warden of the Marches to the early 17th century and the creation of the Middle Shires, promulgated...
towards Scotland, and warden of Tynedale and Ryddesdale. He went down to the border with two thousand men nominally to reinforce the Berwick garrison, but at first with large latitude of action. After the Treaty of Berwick
Treaty of Berwick (1560)
The Treaty of Berwick was negotiated on 27 February 1560 at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was an agreement made by the representative of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Scottish Lords of the Congregation...
was signed, he was soon made general of the English army sent 'in aid of the Scots against the French, who had made an invasion there with great forces.' On 28 March 1560 Grey, with Lord Scrope
Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton
Sir Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton, KG was the son and heir of John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton and Catherine Clifford, daughter of Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland....
, Sir Henry Percy
Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, 2nd Baron Percy was an English aristocrat and conspirator.-Life:He was born at Newburn Manor about 1532, was second of the two sons of Sir Thomas Percy, who was executed in 1537 as a chief actor in the Pilgrimage of Grace, and Eleanor Harbottle...
, and others, crossed the river Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
with six thousand foot and two thousand horse. He moved by easy marches, and on 4 April the Protestant lords of the congregation
Lords of the Congregation
The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...
joined him at Prestonpans
Prestonpans
Prestonpans is a small town to the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian. It has a population of 7,153 . It is the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, and has a history dating back to the 11th century...
. He was annoyed to find that their men had been engaged for twenty days only, twelve of which had already expired; but finding Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
too strong to be attacked without reinforcements, he proposed to utilise the Scotch force at once by seizing Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
, where the queen-regent
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
had taken refuge with Erskine. The Scots were apathetic, and Grey referred to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...
, for advice. Howard would not sanction the scheme for taking the castle without the knowledge of Elizabeth, and the queen, on being appealed to, forbade Grey to think of it. He was ordered either to compose matters without force or bloodshed, or else to finish the work at once, 'for the navy could not be suffered to remain.' Fighting began before Leith, but it was interrupted by an armistice, concluded in order to give time for Howard to go to London for instructions. Grey was incensed at being compelled to rest upon his arms. After conferences with the Duke of Châtellerault and the Scottish lords, the peace proposals fell through. The siege of Leith at once began, and on 30 April a third of the town was destroyed by fire. But there were complaints of Grey's dilatory action. The blockade failed. Grey resolved to take the place by assault. This took place on 7 May. The attack was repulsed with heavy loss, half the officers and eight hundred men being left dead and wounded in the trenches. Grey clung tenaciously to his ground, dreading only that he might be driven from it before assistance could arrive. Cecil wrote at this time, 'My Lord Grey is a noble, valiant, painful, and careful gentleman,' but his failure was patent. Negotiations were set on foot, and a treaty was concluded at Edinburgh, peace being proclaimed in Leith on Sunday, 7 July. Grey was left governor of Berwick and warden of both the marches, but afterwards Sir John Forster
Sir John Forster
Sir John Forster was an English military commander and Warden of the Middle Marches.-Life:Born about 1501, he was son of Sir Thomas Forster of Etherston, Northumberland, marshal of Berwick, and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Robert Ogle, 4th Baron Ogle...
took the middle marches with Grey's consent; the other two offices Grey kept until he died.
Personal
Grey was the thirteenth Baron Grey de WiltonBaron Grey de Wilton
Baron Grey de Wilton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 23 June 1295 when Reginald de Grey was summoned to the Model Parliament as Lord Grey de Wilton. This branch of the Grey family of aristocrats was based at the Wilton Castle on the Welsh border in Herefordshire...
, fourth son of Sir Edmund de Grey, ninth baron (d. 1511). His three brothers, the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth barons, died in their minority. He was first summoned to parliament on 3 Nov. 1529, by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
In about 1535, Grey married Lady Mary Somerset of Worcester
Lady Mary Somerset of Worcester
Mary Somerset, Baroness Grey de Wilton was born in 1497 to Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, and his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh Mortimer of Mortimer's Hall...
. They had three children:
- Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de WiltonArthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de WiltonArthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton was a baron in the Peerage of England, remembered mainly for his memoir of his father, and for participating in the last defence of Calais.-Life:...
(1536–1593) - Honora Grey de Wilton (Born 1540)
- William Grey de Wilton
Grey retired from active command in 1561 and left Berwick for the south. He died at Cheshunt
Cheshunt
Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
, near Waltham in Hertfordshire, on 14 Dec. 1562, in the house of his daughter and son-in-law, Henry Denny (son of Sir Anthony Denny
Anthony Denny
Sir Anthony Denny was a confidant of Henry VIII of England. Denny was the most prominent member of the Privy chamber in Henry's last years having, together with his brother-in-law John Gates, charge of the "dry stamp" of Henry's signature, and attended Henry on his deathbed. He also served as...
), and was buried in the parish church there, near to the communion-table.