Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, PC (31 January 1720) was an English politician.

Biography

Grey was the only son of Thomas, Lord Grey of Groby, and inherited his title from his

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...

. His mother was Lady Dorothy Bourchier, daughter of

Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath (baptised 1 March 1590Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', new edition, Vol II, p. 18 – died 31 March 1636). Origins He was born in Somerset, the eldest son and heir of William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Ba ...

. Grey took some part in resisting the arbitrary actions of James II, and was arrested in July 1685. After his release he took up arms on behalf of William of Orange in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

, after whose accession to the throne he was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

(1694) and

Lord Lieutenant of Devon The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriffs and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569 there was provision for the appointment of Dep ...

(1696). Politically he was described as an "unrepentant Whig", who reaffirmed his belief in the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

by voting against the motion to reverse the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

on William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford. In 1697 he became

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

, and in 1699

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...

, being dismissed from his office upon the accession of

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

in 1702. From 1707 to 1711, however, he was again President of the Board of Trade. He married twice: firstly in 1651, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Daniel Harvey (diplomat), ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (divorced), and secondly in 1691, Mary, daughter of Joseph Maynard, MP in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. On his death without surviving children, his titles and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

estate at Bradgate Park passed to his first cousin Henry Grey, 3rd Earl of Stamford (1685–1739), a grandson of the first earl, from whom the later earls were descended.

Arms

The arms of the head of the Grey family are

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed ''Barry of six argent and azure in chief three torteaux gules''.

Notes

References

* *Kenyon, J. P. ''The Popish Plot'' 2nd Edition Phoenix Press 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stamford, Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of 1650s births 1720 deaths Year of birth uncertain 17th-century English nobility 18th-century English nobility Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Lord-lieutenants of Devon Members of the Privy Council of England Fellows of the Royal Society People of the Rye House Plot

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Earls of Stamford Presidents of the Board of Trade Whig (British political party) politicians People of the Glorious Revolution Barons Grey of Groby