Precarious Ruins of Dunbar Castle - geograph

Ralph de Greystoke, 3rd Baron Greystoke, (18 October 1353 – 6 April 1418) was an English peer and landowner.

Life

Greystoke was the son of William de Greystoke, 2nd Baron Greystoke, and Joane, daughter of Lord Fitzhugh, his second wife. He was born on 18 October 1353 at Ravensworth Castle, North Yorkshire, the home of his maternal uncle Henry. As he was still a child when his father died, his estates were placed under the guardianship of

Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford, 9th Lord Clifford, 5th Baron of Westmoreland (10 July 1333 – 13 July 1389), was the son of Robert de Clifford, 3rd Baron de Clifford (d. 20 May 1344), second son of Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clif ...

. He was summoned to Parliament between 28 November 1375 and 5 October 1417, and, in the 1370s and 1380s, served as a warden of the

Scottish Marches Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern era, characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17 ...

. In 1384, he led an English force that was defeated by the Scots, under the command of George I, Earl of March, while they were travelling to

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...

. Greystoke was captured and taken to

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the Dunbar Harbour, harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near th ...

, where he was provided with a meal in the great hall, served upon his own dining-ware, which had been seized from his baggage train along with hangings that now decorated the walls of the great hall.D. Laing (ed.), ''Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'', 3 vols (William Paterson, Edinburgh 1872-1879), III (''The Historians of Scotland'', Vol. IX)
pp. 19-20
(Book IX, Chapter 5). Greystoke's ransom was 3,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

, and his younger brother William was his

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

in the exchange. While at Dunbar, William took ill with fever and died. William was buried at the castle, but two years later his remains were moved to

Newminster Abbey Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter ...

in Northumberland, where his grandfather

Ralph de Greystoke, 1st Baron Greystoke Ralph de Greystoke, 1st Baron Greystoke, (15 August 1299 – 14 July 1323) was an peerage of England, English peer and landed gentry, landowner. Descent and title Greystoke was the son of Robert fitz Ralph (heir and second son of Ralph Fitzwill ...

, was buried. Greystoke returned to fight the Scots in 1402 at the Battle of Humbleton Hill in Northumberland. In the 1390s, "disillusioned" with the reign of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

, Greystoke backed the return of the exiled Henry of Bolingbroke, son of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

and grandson of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

. Greystoke brought his own men to join those of the exile at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in 1399 and, after Richard II was deposed, with other northern English lords he remained loyal to Bolingbroke, who succeeded to the crown as Henry IV.

Personal

Greystoke married Katherine, the daughter of his former guardian

. They had two children: John de Greystoke, 4th Baron Greystoke, his heir, and Maude, who married Eudo de Welles, son of John de Welles, 5th Baron Welles. They had 11 children according to GENI: Maud de Greystoke, Lady Gainsby; John de Greystoke, 4th Baron Greystoke; Anna de Greystoke; Thomas de Greystoke; Henry de Greystoke; Catharine Greystoke; William Greystoke; Alionora de Greystoke; Joan Bowes; Elizabeth de Greystoke and Ralph de Greystoke. Geni - Ralph de Greystoke (1353-1418)- Ravensworth Brother of Alice de Greystoke, Lady Harrington; William de Greystoke; Robert de Greystoke and John Greystoke Greystoke died on 6 April 1418. At inquisitions following his death, his estate was assessed to include

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

s, or "dwelling-houses", and land holdings in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, Northumberland, and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, as well as the manors and castles of Greystoke and Morpeth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greystoke, Ralph, 3rd Baron Greystoke 1353 births 1418 deaths Burials at Newminster Abbey Barons Greystoke

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...