Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby

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Lord Grey of Groby.
Lord Grey of Groby.

Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby (c. 1623–1657), was the Member of Parliament for Leicester during the English Long Parliament, an active member of the Parliamentary party and a regicide. He was the eldest son of Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford and Anne Cecil, daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter[1].

In January 1643, during the First English Civil War he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the Parliament in the Midland Counties and Governor of Leicester[2]. In 1648 he won some credit for his share in the pursuit and capture of the Duke of Hamilton; he assisted Colonel Pride in purging the Parliament by helping to identify members to be excluded[3]. Later in 1648, he was made commissioner of the court which tried King Charles I[4]. His signature on the death warrant indicates that he was a strong advocate for the execution of the King, because he signed after the President of the court John Bradshaw and before Oliver Cromwell, who was third to sign out of a total of fifty nine commissioners (judges).

A member of the Council of State under the Commonwealth, Lord Grey of Groby fought against the Scots in 1651 during the Third English Civil War. A supporter of the Good Old Cause, in February 1655 during the Protectorate he was arrested on suspicion of conspiring against Cromwell who was by now Lord Protector. He was, however, soon released, but he predeceased his father in April or May 1657. On June 4, 1646, at the age of 23, Lord Grey marries Lady Dorothy Bourchier (daughter to the Earl of Bath). In 1654, his only son and eventual successor the 2nd Earl of Stamford is born.

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[edit] Early life

Thomas Grey was born in 1623 to Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby and Anne Cecil daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter. He Spend most of his youth in the Bradgate House., construction of which was begun by a late ancestor of his; Sir John Grey of Groby, and in Groby Manor. In 1928 Thomas at the age of five became the 3rd Lord of Groby, the same year in which his father was appointed the 1st Earl of Stamford. At the age of either 10 or 11, his family in the Bradgate House. entertained Charles I and his wife Henrietta Maria of France. The royal visit was an event that marked a rise within the family fortune. Yet fortune would soon turn on the Grey household. The family, having issues with failed business aspirations and also with both local and national policy, began to turn against the king in 1634. Furthering the riff to the Monarchy was the family’s Puritan history. By 1640 a 17 year old Thomas Grey was in a world were tensions were growing rapidly at a national scale. With the English Civil War looming, in 1641 Grey became a Member of Parliament for Leicester and was admitted to Grey’s Inn like his father before him. He was also later that same year selected among twelve other members of the same committee to present the Grand Remonstrance and petition to the Monarchy. The petition was in protest to the King for “Oppressions in Religion, Church Government and Discipline.” For his actions in the committee he was referred to as “a Lord dear to the House of Commons”[5].

[edit] Military career

On January 16, 1643, Lord Thomas Grey of Groby was appointed commander-in-chief of the midland counties association and then ordered to take special care of Nottingham during the second Civil War [6]. He took up headquarters there in June of 1643, with a force of approximately 6,000 men. In a letter to his son Thomas, dated March 5, 1643, Henry Grey (Thomas’ father) describes a battle to sweep the country, going through such towns as Litterworth, Hinkley, Barwell, Litchfield, and Newark.[7] On August 29, 1643, at Aylesburg, he joined Essex on the march to relieve Gloucester. After the siege was raised, he fought at the first battle of Newbury for which he received thanks. In 1644, he received more appreciation for the reduction of places in Derbyshire. He then left Leicester due to a misunderstanding but was, in 1645, petitioned back to meet a royalist attack. In 1648, Lord Grey raised troops in Leicestershire. After the defeat of the Scots at Preston, he pursued the Duke of Hamilton and his horse to Uttoxeter and took credit for his capture, though Duke Hamilton claimed he surrendered. Until August, Grey held various commands in the militia. In 1651, he was sent to raise volunteers with the commission commander-in-chief in counties of Leicester, Nottingham, Northampton and Rutland, to meet the Scottish invasion. In September, Massey surrendered to Lord Grey after the Battle of Worcester[8].

[edit] Regicide

By end of the year 1643, Grey's views began to diverge from his fathers moderate ideas and in 1644 he left Leicester because of misunderstanding with the county[9]. In 1645 Lord Grey was forced to give up command by the [Self-Denying Ordinance] of April 1645 and it was after that that he entered a political alliance with radical and republican politicians, also petitioning to meet the royalist attack. On December 6, 1648 Lord Grey assisted with Pride's Purge (pointing out 'obnoxious' members who were to be removed from the house), he was also a supporter of the Leveller Cause. On Feb 16, 1649 he served as one of the Judges against King Charles I, after which he gained notoriety as regicide[10]. Grey was the second to sign and the only aristocrat to sign the death warrant which resulted in King Charles execution on 30 January 1649[11].

[edit] Imprisonment and death

In 1649 he became the Counselor of State and was nominated for Council of State until an ambiguous disgrace. In 1653, he became disenchanted with Oliver Cromwell because he dissolved the Rump and on February 12, 1655 Grey joined the Fifth Monarchy Men. He was arrested on suspicion by Colonel Hacker, acting on Protector's orders, and despite being “much distempered with gout” was taken prisoner at Windsor Castle. In July of 1655 he was released following an application to the Protector. However, from his release until his death in 1657 he took no active part in politics.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Glover & Harriott, eds."Grey, Thomas, Baron Grey of Groby (1623?-1657)” The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. VIII. Oxford University Press,1921. 649-650
  2. ^ Glove & Harriot, eds."Grey, Thomas, Baron Grey of Groby (1623?-1657)” The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. VIII. Oxford University Press,1921. 649-650
  3. ^ Underdown, David. Pride's Purge : politics in the Puritan revolution. Great Briton: Clarendon Press,1971.</
  4. ^ Glover & Harriott, eds."Grey, Thomas, Baron Grey of Groby (1623?-1657)” The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. VIII. Oxford University Press,1921. 649-650
  5. ^ Glover & Harriott, eds."Grey, Thomas, Baron Grey of Groby (1623?-1657)” The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. VIII. Oxford University Press,1921. 649-650
  6. ^ Richards, Jeff, Aristocrat and Regicide: The Life and Times of Thomas, Lord Grey of Groby, the Ermine Unicorn (1623-1657) Review author[s]: Peter wards “The English Historical Review”,Vol. 116, No. 467. (Jun., 2001), pp. 724-725. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sicisici=0013-8266%28200106%29116%3A467%3C72?4%3AAARTLA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9
  7. ^ Grey, Henry. A Letter to the Lord Grey of Grooby. “Early English Books”. 1648
  8. ^ Glover & Harriott, eds."Grey, Thomas, Baron Grey of Groby (1623?-1657)” The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. VIII. Oxford University Press,1921. 649-650
  9. ^ Underdown, David. Pride's Purge : politics in the Puritan revolution. Great Briton: Clarendon Press, 1971.
  10. ^ Glove & Harriot, eds."Grey, Thomas, Baron Grey of Groby (1623?-1657)” The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. VIII. Oxford University Press,1921. 649-650
  11. ^ Underdown, David. Pride's Purge: politics in the Puritan revolution. Great Briton: Clarendon Press,1971.