Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey De Wilton
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The Rt Hon. Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton, KG (1536–1593), was a
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
in the
Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...
. Lord Grey de Wilton is now largely remembered for his memoir of his father, for participating in the last defence of Calais (1558), and for his involvement in the massacre after the
Siege of Smerwick The siege of Smerwick took place at (known in English as Smerwick) in November 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland. A force of between 400 and 700 Papal freelance soldiers, mostly of Spanish and Italian origin, landed at Smer ...
(1580) on ''
Corca Dhuibhne The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point o ...
'' in County Kerry. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1580 until 1582.


Life

Arthur Grey was the eldest son of The 13th Baron Grey de Wilton and Mary, daughter of The 1st Earl of Worcester. He was a
Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
and he was recorded as being
Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire There has been a Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire almost continuously since the position was created by King Henry VIII in 1535. The only exception to this was the English Civil War and English Interregnum between 1643 and 1660 when there wa ...
on two separate occasions, in both 1569 and 1587, though it is not recorded if he held that title for all the years in between. He probably went with his father to Guisnes in 1553; certainly, he was there when the French declared war in 1557; his eyewitness account of his father's last desperate defence of Guisnes, after Calais itself has fallen, remains the best source for the episode. Like his father he became a hostage but was ransomed a year later. He succeeded his father as 14th Baron in 1562; the family fortune was by then much reduced by the heavy ransom required to free his father.
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
, however, restored the property forfeited by his father for his part in the Lady Jane Grey affair. In 1580, he recruited a force of 6,000 and was sent as Lord Deputy of Ireland to quell the
Second Desmond Rebellion The Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583) was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions in Ireland launched by the FitzGerald Dynasty of Desmond in Munster against English rule. The second rebellion began in July 1579 whe ...
, replacing the notoriously brutal Sir William Pelham. His first main encounter was when he led an army of about 3,000 in the
Battle of Glenmalure The Battle of Glenmalure ( ga, Cath Ghleann Molúra) took place in Ireland on 25 August 1580 during the Desmond Rebellions. A Catholic army of united Irish clans from the Wicklow Mountains led by Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne and James Eustace, 3rd Vis ...
, County Wicklow in August, where his army was routed by
Fiach McHugh O'Byrne Fiach Mac Aodha Ó Broin (anglicised as Feagh or Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne) (1534 – 8 May, 1597) was Chief of the Name of Clann Uí Bhroin (Clan O'Byrne) and Lord of Ranelagh during the Elizabethan wars against the Irish clans. Arms Backg ...
, with casualties of 800. Later in the same year, he led a force of 800 to ''
Ard na Caithne Ard na Caithne (; meaning "height of the arbutus/ strawberry tree"), sometimes known in English as Smerwick, is a bay and townland in County Kerry in Ireland. One of the principal bays of Corca Dhuibhne, it is located at the foot of an Triúr ...
'' (Smerwick) in County Kerry where he massacred 600 Irish, Italian and Spanish troops who had already surrendered, a notorious incident known as the
Siege of Smerwick The siege of Smerwick took place at (known in English as Smerwick) in November 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland. A force of between 400 and 700 Papal freelance soldiers, mostly of Spanish and Italian origin, landed at Smer ...
. According to some versions of this event, Lord Grey de Wilton promised the garrison their lives in return for their surrender, a promise which he broke – this resulted in the Irish proverb 'Grey's faith'. By 1582, the rebellion was in its last throes and he was recalled to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, leaving Munster devastated by famine. He had been largely successful in restoring order, but the justice of some of his actions was criticised, including the Smerwick massacre, and the hanging of the former Chief Justice,
Nicholas Nugent Nicholas Nugent (c. 1525–1582) was an Anglo-Irish judge, who was hanged for treason by the government that appointed him. He had, before his downfall, enjoyed a highly successful career, holding office as Solicitor General for Ireland, Baron of ...
, on what seems to have been no more than a suggestion that he had been complicit in the Desmond Rebellion.


Marriage and issue

Lord Grey first married Dorothy, daughter of Richard, Lord Zouche.DNB He secondly married, after 1572, Jane Sibella Morrison, who died in July 1615 and whose last
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
was dated of 6 March 1614/1615 and probated on 14 July 1615. She naturalized as an English subject in 1575/1576, and was the widow of Edward Russell, Baron Russell, whom she married c. 1571; he died before June 1572 without issue and
intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
(his estate was administered on 30 June 1572) and was buried at
Chenies Chenies is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Hertfordshire, east of Amersham and north of Chorleywood. History Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead. There were two ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, son of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford and Margaret St John. Jane's parents were
Sir Richard Morrison Sir Richard Morrison (1767 – 31 October 1849 / 1844Philip Smith (writer), ''An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow'' (Dublin: Wordwell Press / Government of Ireland, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Gov ...
of Cashiobury,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
(d.
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, 17 March 1556), and Bridget Hussey (c. 1526 – 13 January 1600/1601, bur.
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
,
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
dated 2 June 1600, probated 12 January 1600/1601), who married secondly before 1563
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, 13th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (23 September 152617 September 1563) was an English nobleman. Origins He was the son and heir of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland and his wife Eleanor Paston. Career Li ...
, without issue, and thirdly, as his second wife Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford on 25 June 1566, also without issue. Bridget was a daughter of
John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
by his second wife, Lady Anne Grey. Arthur and Jane were the parents of
Thomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey de Wilton Thomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey de Wilton (died 1614) was an English aristocrat, soldier and conspirator. He was convicted of involvement in the Bye Plot against James I of England. Early life The son of Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton, by ...
, attainted for
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
in 1603. Bridget, Lady Egerton was their only surviving daughter.


Grey as author

Not long after his father's death, Lord Grey de Wilton wrote an affectionate memoir of him, ''Commentary on the Services and Charges of William Lord Grey de Wilton'', which was not published until the nineteenth century. It deals mainly with his father's military campaigns in Scotland and France, and has been highly praised by historians for the vivid first-hand account of the last days of English rule in Calais and Guisnes.Prescott, H.F.M. ''Mary Tudor - the Spanish Tudor'', Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1952


References

Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey De Wilton, Arthur Grey, 14th Baron 1536 births 1593 deaths 16th-century English nobility People of the Second Desmond Rebellion Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Lord-Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire English knights
Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
Barons Grey de Wilton (1295)