Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray (c. 1518 -1584) was a Scottish landowner and Sheriff of Angus, 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 the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

as a supporter of the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

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 (d. 1514). Patrick became Lord Gray 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 King James IV a ...

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

. Their daughter Elizabeth Gray married

Laurence Bruce Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie (20 January 1547 – August 1617) was a Scottish landowner and factor to the Earl of Orkney. He features in a number of traditional stories of Shetland. Background He was the son of John Bruce of Cultmalindie and Eu ...

of Cultmalindie, who moved to

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

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 ...

Unst Unst (; ) 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 Shetland Mainland, Mainland and Yell (island), Yell. It has an area o ...

. 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 (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Scotland, and they also lived as well at Castle Huntly, 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 the ...

. 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 Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation. Life David Beaton was said to be the fifth son of fourteen children born to John Beaton (Bethune) of Balf ...

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 ...

, Gray made a pledge to

Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

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

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, 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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

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 ...

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

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 adopte ...

, 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, 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 of N ...

. At the same time, the Master of Ruthven, 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 relig ...

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 Scotland, Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a Mark (currency), 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 1 ...

. 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 In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

and the other Scottish lords protested. Gray was imprisoned for a time at

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

. His wife Marion petitioned

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

for his release.

Later life

During the crisis of the

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, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. French troops arrived in Scotland by invitation in 1548. In 1560 the French soldiers opposed Scottish supporter ...

. In August 1560, Lord Gray attended the

Scottish Reformation Parliament The Scottish Reformation Parliament was the assembly elected in 1560 that passed legislation leading to the establishment of the Church of Scotland. These included the Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560; and Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560. The ...

, 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 ...

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, (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