Sir Thomas Grey, born 30 November 1384 in 'le Midyllgathouse’ at
Alnwick Castle,[2] seat of the Percys,
Earls of Northumberland, came from a family long prominent among the nobility in the border region of Northumberland.[3]
Grey was the eldest son and heir of Sir Thomas Grey (1359 – 26 November 1400) of Heton near
Norham,
Northumberland, by his wife, Joan Mowbray (d. 1410). Grey's mother Joan Mowbray was sister of
Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk,[4] and daughter of
John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray (d. 17 June 1368), and Elizabeth de Segrave, daughter and heiress of John de Segrave,
4th Baron Segrave. Through his mother, a granddaughter of
Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (d. 1399), Sir Thomas Grey was a descendant of King
Edward I. His paternal grandparents were the soldier and chronicler
Sir Thomas Grey of Heton, and Margaret, daughter and heiress of William de Pressene of Presson.[5]
Sir Henry Grey of Ketteringham, Norfolk, who married Emme Appleyard.[8]
William Grey, Dean of York and Bishop of London (1426) (d. 1436).[9]
Matilda Grey (1382 – 22 August 1451), who married
Sir Robert Ogle (d. 12 August 1436) of Ogle, Northumberland, by whom she had children.[10]
Life
Grey's father, Sir Thomas Grey (1359–1400), and
Sir Thomas Erpingham, were among those chosen allies of Henry Bolingbroke to witness the abdication of King
Richard II in Westminster Hall on 29 September 1399.[11]
Grey was only 16 years of age when he succeeded his father in 1400, and was shown great favour in the early years of the reign of
Henry IV, including the grant of the wardship of his own inheritance while he was under age.[11] By August 1404 he had been retained for life by
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, but by May 1408 was in the service of
Henry, Prince of Wales.[11]
In 1412, Grey betrothed his 12-year-old son and heir, Thomas Grey, to
Isabel, the 3-year-old daughter of
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge. The marriage took place on 18 February 1413. As part of the marriage settlement, Grey acquired the lordship of Wark-in-Tyndale at a 'bargain price', which was nonetheless more than he could afford, leading Pugh to conclude that Grey was Cambridge's 'dupe', 'whose intrigues brought them both to disaster'.[13]
Elizabeth Grey, who married firstly, Sir William Whitchester, and secondly, Sir Roger Widdrington.[22]
Margaret Grey, who married Gerard Widdrington.[citation needed]
After Grey's execution, his widow, Alice, married Sir Gilbert Lancaster, by whom she had one son, Sir Gilbert Lancaster. Alice was still living on 22 August 1453.[22]
^The historian Pugh contends that "there was no plot in 1415 to assassinate Henry V and his three brothers and that heinous charge, by far the most sensational in the indictment, was fabricated to ensure that Cambridge, Gray and Scrope did not escape the death penalty as a well-deserved punishment for the various other offences that they undoubtedly had committed".
Pugh 1988, p. xii.
^The Visitations of the County of Cornwall, 'Arundell of Lanherne,' with additions by Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. Vivian, Exeter: William Pollard & Co. 1887 pp. 2–5
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)ISBN1449966381
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Vol. III (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)ISBN144996639X
Tout, Thomas Frederick (1885–1890).
Mortimer, Edmund de (1391–1425). Vol. 39. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1890. pp. 123–125. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
Dodds, Madeleine H. (1935). A History of Northumberland, volume XIV: The Parishes of Alnham, Chatton, Chillingham, Eglingham, Ilderton, Ingram and Whittingham, the chapelries of Lowick and Doddington.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Andrew Reid & Co.