Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Encyclopedia
Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn (c. 1362 – 30 September 1440), a powerful Welsh marcher lord, succeeded to the title on his father Reginald's death in July 1388.
and Eleanor Le Strange of Blackmere. His paternal grandparents were Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn
and Elizabeth de Hastings. His maternal grandparents were John Le Strange, 2nd Baron Strange of Blackmere and Ankaret Le Botiller. His youngest sister Ida de Grey
, who married Sir John Cockayne, was an ancestress of Anne Boleyn
and Mary Boleyn
.
and Beatrice Stafford. By her he had six children:
Grey married secondly on 7 February 1415, Joan de Astley, daughter of Sir William de Astley, 5th Baron Astley and Catherine de Willoughby. By her he had another six children, including:
and Henry IV
, and his chief military exploits were against the Welsh, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
.
Glyndŵr responded in law early in 1400 but his case was not granted a hearing, instead it was asked of Glyndŵr that he grant Lord Grey further concessions. De Grey also delayed summoning Glyndŵr's quota or levy of men for service in Scotland until the last moment, making it impossible for Glyndŵr to respond as requested or even send an explanation for his absence and the lack of his levy. Such an act as refusal or failure to respond to an order of the King was deemed a treasonous act. Glyndŵr's estates were deemed forfeit until he could prove his loyalty or receive due punishment. On 16 September Owain and brothers had taken up arms and burned Grey's property, for three days the Welsh band ravaged the coutryside of Flintshire and Denbighshire. On 24 September, Glyndwr's forces were encircled at Welshpool and defeated.
De Grey now invited Glyndŵr to a reconciliation meeting, but arrived with a large force, attempting to surround Glyndŵr and clearly showing his intent. Glyndŵr escaped with his life and went into hiding, confirming himself a traitor in English eyes. King Henry confiscated the estates of Glyndŵr's supporters, and granted them to John Beaufort, his half-brother.
The rebellion spread after initial successes for the Welsh and by 1402 it was gathering momentum. Lord Grey was captured by Glyndŵr's forces in an ambush near Ruthin
in January. A ransom of 10,000 marks was asked for him and Lord Grey was asked to swear an oath never to bear arms against Glyndŵr again. King Henry IV sent eleven knights to treat with Glyndŵr and then complied with the ransom, ordering the selling of a manor in Kent to raise the monies in mid 1402. On 22 June Glyndwr had captured another important hostage, Edmund Mortimer.
Lord Grey then would have been expected to repay the amount over time as best he could and any outstanding debt would be borne by his family. In August, Glyndwr went south into the Marches. The King however held Grey in better view than Mortimer, whom he considered a troublemaker. Whilst Grey and Earl of Northumberland were loyal; it was clear that Hotspur intended to join Glyndwr's rebellion. Hotspur had refused to surrender the scots prisoner, earl of Douglas to the King, and had demanded that Edmund Mortimer be purchased his freedom. Henry was furious that his power should be challenged in this way.
The King wrote to Grey and other leading nobles on 23 November 1409, demanding that all officers who were entreating with Glyndwr should cease forthwith. The rebellion had failed after the re-capture of Harlech, and release of Mortimer's family.
The Grey family did in fact sell the Ruthin Lordship to King Henry VII in 1508 when their fortunes and favour had declined.
in France in 1415; he later fought against the French in the Hundred Years War in 1420 and 1421. He had been previously a Governor of Ireland.
Lineage
Reginald was the eldest son of Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de RuthynReginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn was the son of Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Elizabeth de Hastings. He was summoned to Parliament from 1354 to 1388.-Marriage and children:...
and Eleanor Le Strange of Blackmere. His paternal grandparents were Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn was summoned to parliament in 1324. He saw much service as a soldier.He was the son of John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Wilton, by his second marriage, to Maud Bassett, a daughter of Ralph Bassett, 1st Baron Bassett...
and Elizabeth de Hastings. His maternal grandparents were John Le Strange, 2nd Baron Strange of Blackmere and Ankaret Le Botiller. His youngest sister Ida de Grey
Ida de Grey
Ida, Lady Cockayne , born Ida or Edith de Grey, was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, and the daughter of Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, a powerful Welsh Marcher lord. The Greys of Ruthyn were the chief Marcher barons in the northern region of the Welsh Marches.Ida married Sir John Cockayne,...
, who married Sir John Cockayne, was an ancestress of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
and Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
.
Marriage
Grey married firstly in 1378, Margaret de Ros, daughter of Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de RosThomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros
Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros of Helmsley was the son of William de Ros, 3rd Baron de Ros, and the brother of William de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros....
and Beatrice Stafford. By her he had six children:
- Sir John GreySir John GreySir John Grey KG , English nobleman and soldier, was the eldest son of Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Margaret Roos. He was a 13th generation descendant of King Stephen of England....
(c. 1387 – 1439), who predeceased his father. He married Constance Holland, the daughter of Elizabeth Plantagenet and John Holland, 1st Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 1st Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter KG , also 1st Earl of Huntingdon, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester and then for conspiring against Henry IV.He was the third son of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent and Joan...
by whom he had issue. - Margaret Grey (d. aft. May 1426), married William Bonville, 1st Baron BonvilleWilliam Bonville, 1st Baron BonvilleWilliam Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville, KG was an English nobleman, soldier, and administrator. He was a staunch Yorkist supporter during the Wars of the Roses, and he was executed following the Yorkist defeat at the Second Battle of St Albans, by the orders of Queen consort Margaret of Anjou...
. These were the great-grandparents of wealthy heiress Cecily Bonville who married Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of DorsetThomas Grey, 1st Marquess of DorsetThomas Grey, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and 1st Marquess of Dorset, KG , was an English nobleman, courtier and a man of mediocre abilities pushed into prominence by his mother Elizabeth Woodville's second marriage to the king, Edward IV.-Family:Thomas was born about 1455,...
, a descendant of Reginald Grey by his second marriage. - Edmund Grey (born 1389)
- Thomas Grey (born 1391)
- Catherine Grey (born 1392), married George Lucy, Baron Lucy
- Elizabeth Grey (born 1393), married firstly Robert Poynings, 5th Baron Poynings, by whom she had two sons, and secondly Sir George Browne, by whom she had five children.
Grey married secondly on 7 February 1415, Joan de Astley, daughter of Sir William de Astley, 5th Baron Astley and Catherine de Willoughby. By her he had another six children, including:
- Sir Edward Grey, Baron Ferrers of Groby (c.1415/1416- 18 December 1457), married Elizabeth Ferrers of Groby and had five children including Sir John Grey of GrobyJohn Grey of GrobySir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire was a Lancastrian knight, the great-great-grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.-Titles:...
, the first husband of Elizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
. - Alice Grey, married Sir John Knyvett
- Elizabeth Grey, married Sir William Calthorpe, by whom she had issue.
- Reginald Grey (died after 24 January 1485).
- John Grey [given manor of Kempston]
- Robert Grey (born 1419), married Eleanor Lowe, by whom he had issue
Early career
In 1410 after a long dispute, the younger Reginald won the right to bear the arms of the Hastings family. He enjoyed the favour both of Richard IIRichard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
and Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, and his chief military exploits were against the Welsh, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
.
Rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
Reginald de Grey was responsible for issuing and enforcing royal demands in the Northern March, such as calling the local nobility and gentry and their men to Royal and military service, for example against the Scots as at this time. He was already in a long running legal dispute with Glyndŵr, claiming a tranche of Glyndwr's land as his own. Under King Richard II the case had been found in favour of Glyndŵr, but on the usurpation of King Henry IV of England Lord Grey seized the land. Early in September 1400, Henry IV left Newcastle and traveled south to Northampton, which he reached by 19th. There news reached the King of the quarrel that had broken out between Grey and Glyndwr. Grey was a member of the King's Council.Glyndŵr responded in law early in 1400 but his case was not granted a hearing, instead it was asked of Glyndŵr that he grant Lord Grey further concessions. De Grey also delayed summoning Glyndŵr's quota or levy of men for service in Scotland until the last moment, making it impossible for Glyndŵr to respond as requested or even send an explanation for his absence and the lack of his levy. Such an act as refusal or failure to respond to an order of the King was deemed a treasonous act. Glyndŵr's estates were deemed forfeit until he could prove his loyalty or receive due punishment. On 16 September Owain and brothers had taken up arms and burned Grey's property, for three days the Welsh band ravaged the coutryside of Flintshire and Denbighshire. On 24 September, Glyndwr's forces were encircled at Welshpool and defeated.
De Grey now invited Glyndŵr to a reconciliation meeting, but arrived with a large force, attempting to surround Glyndŵr and clearly showing his intent. Glyndŵr escaped with his life and went into hiding, confirming himself a traitor in English eyes. King Henry confiscated the estates of Glyndŵr's supporters, and granted them to John Beaufort, his half-brother.
The rebellion spread after initial successes for the Welsh and by 1402 it was gathering momentum. Lord Grey was captured by Glyndŵr's forces in an ambush near Ruthin
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
in January. A ransom of 10,000 marks was asked for him and Lord Grey was asked to swear an oath never to bear arms against Glyndŵr again. King Henry IV sent eleven knights to treat with Glyndŵr and then complied with the ransom, ordering the selling of a manor in Kent to raise the monies in mid 1402. On 22 June Glyndwr had captured another important hostage, Edmund Mortimer.
Lord Grey then would have been expected to repay the amount over time as best he could and any outstanding debt would be borne by his family. In August, Glyndwr went south into the Marches. The King however held Grey in better view than Mortimer, whom he considered a troublemaker. Whilst Grey and Earl of Northumberland were loyal; it was clear that Hotspur intended to join Glyndwr's rebellion. Hotspur had refused to surrender the scots prisoner, earl of Douglas to the King, and had demanded that Edmund Mortimer be purchased his freedom. Henry was furious that his power should be challenged in this way.
The King wrote to Grey and other leading nobles on 23 November 1409, demanding that all officers who were entreating with Glyndwr should cease forthwith. The rebellion had failed after the re-capture of Harlech, and release of Mortimer's family.
The Grey family did in fact sell the Ruthin Lordship to King Henry VII in 1508 when their fortunes and favour had declined.
Hundred Years War
Grey was a member of the Council which governed England during the absence of Henry VHenry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
in France in 1415; he later fought against the French in the Hundred Years War in 1420 and 1421. He had been previously a Governor of Ireland.