Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (c. 1240 – 5 April 1308) was an English nobleman after whom one of the four

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

is named. He was son of

Sir John de Grey Sir John de Grey (died 1266) was an English soldier and high sheriff. John was the second son of Henry de Grey of Grays Thurrock in Essex. He served as High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1238–39 and of High Sheriff of Herefords ...

and grandson of

Henry de Grey Sir Henry de Grey of Grays Thurrock, Essex (1155–1219) was a favourite courtier of King John of England. Family Sir Henry was the son of John de Grey (born Thurrock, Essex, c. 1140 and married c. 1157) and probably a great-grandson of Anche ...

. The property upon which

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 ...

sits was once

Portpool Portpool was a manor or soke in the district of Holborn, London. It is not recorded in the Domesday Book but references to it occur from the 12th century onwards. For many years it was owned by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral, who ...

e Manor held by Reginald de Grey. Reginald acquired Wilton barony through his marriage to the heiress, Matilda Cantilupe before 1252, although at the time he was a minor under the tutelage of his father, John de Grey. From his father he had inherited the Manors of Brogborough, Thurleigh and Wrest in Bedfordshire; Great Brickhill, Snellson and Water Hall, Buckinghamshire; Hemingford, Yelling, Toseland in Huntingdonshire; Kempleigh, Gloucestershire; Purleigh, Essex; Rushton, Cheshire; Ruthin, Denbighshire; Shirland and Wilton, Herefordshire. Later he was Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests and Constable of

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

, Constable of

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and o ...

(March 1265/6) and Constable of

Northampton Castle Northampton Castle at Northampton, was one of the most famous Norman castles in England. The castle site was outside the western city gate, and defended on three sides by deep trenches. A branch of the River Nene provided a natural barrier on t ...

(June 1267 – January 1267/8). He was Justice of Chester in 1270 and

Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

(1270–1274). In 1281 he was again Justice of Chester. In 1282, he was one of the three commanders appointed by

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

in his campaign against

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

, the rebellious

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. This resulted in his being granted the

Dyffryn Clwyd Dyffryn Clwyd was a cantref of Medieval Wales and from 1282 a marcher lordship. In 1536, it became part of the new county of Denbighshire. The name means Vale of Clwyd in English and is still the name for that region of north Wales in modern Welsh ...

with its castle of

Ruthin Castle Ruthin Castle ( cy, Castell Rhuthun) is a medieval castle fortification in Wales, near the town of Ruthin in the Vale of Clwyd. It was constructed during the late 13th century by Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the brother of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, ...

. This great lordship passed to his descendants, until Richard Grey, 6th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, 3rd Earl of Kent sold the lordship to the crown in 1508. He was summoned to Parliament from 1295 to 1307. The king demanded his presence at the English victory over the Scots at the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wal ...

. His younger grandson

Roger de Grey Sir Roger de Grey, (18 April 1918 – 14 February 1995) was a British landscape painter. From 1984 to 1993 he served as President of the Royal Academy. Early life and career De Grey was the second son (and youngest of three children) of ...

was summoned to Parliament thus becoming

Baron Grey de Ruthyn Baron Grey of Ruthin (or Ruthyn) was a noble title created in the Peerage of England by writ of summons in 1324 for Sir Roger de Grey, a son of John, 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton, and has been in abeyance since 1963. Historically, this branch of th ...

.Burke's Peerage (1999), p.1226

Family

Lord de Grey married Maud, daughter and heir of William FitzHugh, by Hawys, daughter and heir of

Henry de Longchamp Henry de Longchamp or Henry de Longo Campo (c1150–1212) was an Anglo-Norman administrator. He was born in Wilton Castle, near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, the son of Hugh de Longchamp. One of his brothers, William, was to become Chancellor of Eng ...

, of Wilton Castle, co. Hereford, by whom he inherited a large estate in the county. Lord de Grey died on 5 April 1308, leaving: *

John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Wilton John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton (died 28 October 1323) was an English nobleman and administrator. He was the son of Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton and his wife Maud de Verdun (or Maud daughter and heir of William Baron FitzHugh). ...

(c. 1268 – 28 October 1323)

References

;Bibliography 1240 births 1308 deaths 13th-century English people 14th-century English people

Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (c. 1240 – 5 April 1308) was an English nobleman after whom one of the four Inns of Court is named. He was son of Sir John de Grey and grandson of Henry de Grey. The property upon which Gray's Inn sits ...

High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire High Sheriffs of Cheshire Barons Grey de Wilton (1295) Year of birth uncertain {{England-baron-stub