William Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Werke (1593 - 1674) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1621 to 1622. He supported the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Early life

Grey was the son of Sir Ralph Grey, of Chillingham, Northumberland and his wife Jane, daughter of WilIiam Ardlington, of Ardlington, Berkshire. He was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 15 June 1619. In 1621, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

.Browne Willis ''Notitia parliamentaria, or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales: ... The whole extracted from mss. and printed evidences'' 1750 pp176-239
/ref> He succeeded to the estates of Chillingham and Werke on the death of his father and was created

Baron Grey of Werke Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight ...

on 11 February 1624.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Volume 1''
/ref>

Career

Grey was commander of parliamentarian forces in the east in 1642. He was imprisoned for refusing to go as commissioner to Scotland in 1643. He was speaker of House of Lords in 1643 and was one of the Lay Assessors at the Westminster Assembly from 1643 to 1649. In 1648 he was appointed a commissioner of great seal but refused the engagement in 1649. He was pardoned at Restoration.

Personal life

Grey married Cecilia Wentworth, eldest daughter of

Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, of Gosfield Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet ( – October 1631), of Gosfield, Essex, was an English aristocrat. Early life He was the eldest of two sons born of John Wentworth of Gosfield Hall, and the former Cicely Unton.Cokayne, George Edward, editor, ''Th ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke. His daughter Katherine married Sir Edward Mosley, 2nd Baronet. George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage Volume 2'' 1900
Mosley

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, William 1593 births 1674 deaths 17th-century English nobility English MPs 1621–1622 Roundheads 1 Lay members of the Westminster Assembly Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Grey baronets