Charles Gray FRS (baptised 20 September 1696 in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, Essex, England – 12 December 1782) was a lawyer,

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Member of Parliament for

. Gray was baptised in 1696, the only son of George Gray, a glazier and local landowner, and his wife Elizabeth. He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School from 1702, before possibly spending some time at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and entering

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

to become a lawyer in 1724. He was called to the bar in 1729 and became a bencher in 1737. Finally, he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1754. In 1726 he married Sarah Creffield, née Webster, the well-off widow of Ralph Creffield, and after her death in 1751, in 1755 Gray married Mary, the daughter of

Randle Wilbraham Randle, as a surname or a given name, may refer to: Surname: * Betsy Randle (born 1955), American actress * Bill Randle (1923–2004), American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor * Brian Randle (born 1985), American NBA coach and basketba ...

, Member of Parliament for

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

, Lancashire. Gray's political career was a long one; he served in five parliaments from 1742 to 1755 and 1761–1780, during the reigns of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

and

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. By the end of his term, however, Gray was too ill to attend, being, in 1780, "too infirm and too ill to stand". "A

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

as well as a reformer, he was one of the original trustees of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Locally, Gray is now most remembered for being given

Colchester Castle Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being built ...

as part of his marriage settlement, and subsequently making a number of efforts to preserve it for future generations. Likewise, he also purchased a great part of the surrounding land, which was, a hundred and fifty years later, given to the town to become Castle Park. In the castle itself he constructed the Italianate domed tower and the library, and founded in the latter, in 1750, the Castle Society Book Club: among the club's members was

Philip Morant Philip Morant (6 October 1700 – 25 November 1770) was an English clergyman, author and historian. Education He was educated at John Roysse's Free School in Abingdon (now Abingdon School) and Pembroke College, Oxford, eventually taking his m ...

. The library was to contain the books of Samuel Harsnett, bequeathed to the town, and tended to and documented by Morant. He also roofed the castle in red tile, which survives. He was also responsible for management of a house, also part of his marriage settlement, which now forms

Hollytrees museum Hollytrees Museum is a free to visit, publicly owned museum in the centre of Colchester and close to Colchester Castle. It is situated in an eighteenth-century house ("Hollytrees"), which was used as a private residence until 1929, when it becam ...

, named after holly trees that Gray planted during his ownership of the building. The bulk of his estate was left to his friend

James Round James Round (6 April 1842 – 25 December 1916) was a British Conservative politician and first-class cricketer. Round was born at Colchester, the son of Rev. James Thomas Round and his wife Louisa Barlow. His father was Rector of St. Runwald' ...

of Little Birch and his wife, Tamar, who was the daughter and heir of Gray's stepson,

Peter Creffeild Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Charles 1696 births 1782 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 People from Colchester Members of Gray's Inn Fellows of the Royal Society Tory MPs (pre-1834) People educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School