Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray (c. 1518 -1584) was a Scottish landowner and

Sheriff of Angus The Sheriff of Angus (alternatively the Sheriff of Forfar) was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Angus, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms, was held on a hereditary ...

, active during the war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

as a supporter of the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

Family

Patrick Gray was the son of Egidia Mercer and Gilbert Gray of Buttergask (half-brother of Patrick Gray, 3rd Lord Gray), and the grandson of

Andrew Gray, 2nd Lord Gray Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

(d. 1514). Patrick became

Lord Gray Lord Gray is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The Barony of Gray was created circa July 1445 for the Scottish diplomat and politician Sir Andrew Gray. The first Lord Gray was a hostage in England for the good conduct of James I of Scotland ...

in April 1541, after the death of his uncle. In order to succeed to the Gray lands, as heir of his grandfather, he had to pay 10,000 marks to the Treasury of King

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of James IV of Sco ...

, and was confirmed Lord Gray on 14 September 1542. He was still paying James Hamilton, Regent Arran, in 1543. Patrick Gray firstly married Marion Ogilvy in 1537. Their son was

Patrick Gray, 5th Lord Gray Patrick Gray, 5th Lord Gray (d. 1608), was a Scottish landowner He was a son of Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray and Marion Ogilvy. He became Lord High Sheriff of Forfar. However he was unable to join in public life. In 1596 his son Patrick, Master of G ...

(1538–1608). They also had another son, James Gray, who was the second husband of

Elizabeth Bethune Elizabeth Bethune, or Beaton (died after 1581), was one of the mistresses of King James V of Scotland. Their daughter, Lady Jean Stewart, married Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll. Elizabeth was the daughter of Sir David Beaton of Creich, a ...

, a mistress of King

. Their daughter Elizabeth Gray married

Laurence Bruce Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie (20 January 1547 – August 1617) was the son of John Bruce of Cultmalindie and Eupheme Elphinstone. Easter Cultmalindie is a small hamlet or "fermtoun" in Tibbermore parish, Perthshire, Scotland. Laurence Bruce fe ...

of Cultmalindie, who moved to

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

and built

Muness Castle Muness Castle is located on Unst, which is one of the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The castle is east of the village of Uyeasound. Unst is Scotland's most northerly inhabited island, and Muness is the most northerly fortalice in the British Is ...

Unst Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of . Unst ...

. Patrick secondly married Margaret Ker, daughter of Sir Walter Ker of Cessford, in 1557. The chief residence of the Grays was Fowlis Castle, near

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Scotland, and they also lived as well at

Castle Huntly Castle Huntly is a castle in Scotland, now used as a prison under the name '' HMP Castle Huntly''. It is located approximately west of Dundee in the Carse of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, close to the shore of the Firth of Tay, and can be seen f ...

, nearby. In 1583, an English list of the Scottish nobility described Patrick with an interesting but inaccurate English pedigree;

"an aged man, esteemed to come of English bloode, that came into Scotlande with the Lady Somerset, wyef to King James the Firste. In religion suspected; of no greate power or frendes. His eldest sonne married th'erle of Gowrie's father's sister, and his other the daughter of Lord Glamis."

Rough Wooing

Lord Gray was captured by the English at the

Battle of Solway Moss The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish border in November 1542 between English and Scottish forces. The Scottish King James V had refused to break from the Catholic Chu ...

and was held by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

. When he returned to Scotland he made a band of friendship or 'manrent' with Cardinal

David Beaton David Beaton (also Beton or Bethune; 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scotland, Scottish Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal prior to the Scottish Reformation, Reformation. Career Cardinal Beaton was the sixth and youngest ...

at St Andrews on 22 October 1544. On 11 March 1547, during the siege at

St Andrews Castle St Andrews Castle is a ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing a ...

, Gray made a pledge to

Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first En ...

. This contract stated that for English assistance in re-instating his rights over

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and the return of his brother, who was a hostage (called a "pledge" in the language of the time) in England; Patrick Gray would further the marriage of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

to Edward VI, and deliver

Broughty Castle Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the River Tay in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454, when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, received permission t ...

and the Spey Tower at Perth to the English army. This instrument was witnessed by Norman Leslie,

James Kirkcaldy of Grange James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Henry Balnaves Henry Balnaves (1512? – February 1570) was a Scottish politician, Lord Justice Clerk, and religious reformer. Biography Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, around 1512, he was educated at the University of St Andrews and on the continent, where he ado ...

, and Alexander Whitelaw of Newgrange. Gray asked to be compensated for his fishing rights at Broughty; he was duly paid £1000 on 14 November 1547 by Sir

Andrew Dudley Sir Andrew Dudley, KG (c. 1507 – 1559) was an English soldier, courtier, and diplomat. A younger brother of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, he served in Henry VIII's navy and obtained court offices under Edward VI. In 1547&n ...

, an English soldier and brother of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

. At the same time, the

Master of Ruthven Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans * Grandmaster (chess), National Maste ...

, whose father was Provost of Perth and Gray's rival, offered to deliver Perth to the English. In June 1548, Thomas Fisher brought him the Lord Protector's thanks, a gold chain, a pension of 1000 crowns and a gift of 300 crowns. In January 1548, an English commander, Thomas Wyndham, placed a garrison of 20 "tall men" in the

Steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

at Dundee, with the help and advice of Andrew Dudley and Lord Gray. Their armaments included cannon described as "a saker and a falcon and four double bases" and small guns called "hackbuts of crook". Gray made a compromise with Mary of Guise in March 1548, promising to serve her and

and accepting a pension of 500

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

. Gray was captured by French troops in November 1548 and summoned for treason on 18 December 1548. D'Essé, the French commander, wanted him executed, but

Regent Arran A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

and the other Scottish lords protested.

Later life

During the crisis of the

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

wrote to Lord Gray on 11 May 1560 to inform him of the defeat of an English assault at the

Siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after an English force arrived to attempt to assist in removing the ...

. In August 1560, Lord Gray attended the

Scottish Reformation Parliament The Scottish Reformation Parliament was the assembly commencing in 1560 that claimed to pass major pieces of legislation establishing the Scottish Reformation, most importantly the Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560; and Papal Jurisdiction ...

, and signed the commission for the marriage of

James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (1537–1609) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who opposed the French-dominated regency during the Scottish Reformation. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, sometime regent of S ...

Elizabeth I of England 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 ...

, (which had no effect). Some years before, Gray had been captured by the English at a border incident called the Raid of Swinton. In 1562 he was detained in England, on account of his old bail conditions – he had been, "lattin hame upoun ane band." Mary, Queen of Scots, wrote to Elizabeth to complain at his ill-treatment.''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 1 (1898), 617–8.

Family

Rough Wooing

Later life

References

Further reading