Thomas Grey (of Heaton)

Sir Thomas Grey of Heaton, Northumberland was a soldier who served throughout the Wars of Scottish Independence. His experiences were recorded by his son Thomas and provide a rare picture of the day to day realities of the wars. His career was blemished by his suicidal charge at the Battle of Bannockburn, which was a contributing factor to the devastating English defeat, but is perhaps best known for his role in the tale of Sir William Marmion the chivalric knight of Norham Castle.

Early life
Thomas was serving under William de Hesilrig, Sheriff of Clydesdale as early as 1297. Following William Wallace's nighttime assassination of the Sheriff at Lanark, Gray was left for dead, stripped naked in the snow. He only survived because of the heat from the houses burning around him and was rescued the next day and his wounds healed.

Thomas was knighted before September 1301 and served with the King's Lieutenant for Scotland, Patrick IV, Earl of March at Ayr.

In May 1303 Sir Thomas found himself under the command of Hugh de Audley encamped at Melrose Abbey when they were attacked at night by a much larger force led by John Comyn. Grey was beaten to the floor and taken prisoner but most of his comrades were slain.

Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)
Edward I had captured most of Scotland by April 1304 and embarked upon a nineteen-week siege of the last significant uncaptured fortress at Stirling Castle using twelve siege engines which included the massive trebuchet called "Warwolf".

Thomas Grey fought at the siege under the command of Henry de Beaumont, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Buchan. A hook thrown from a siege machine ensnared de Beaumont one day, and was about to haul him to his death upon the castle walls, when Thomas freed him in the nick of time and dragged him to safety.

Just as Thomas had performed this act of bravery he was struck in the head by a large bolt fired from a springald (a large multi-man crossbow) just below his eyes. He collapsed to the ground lifeless and preparations for a quick burial were made. Just as the funeral ceremony started, Thomas suddenly stirred and opened his eyes, much to the astonishment of the funeral party. He subsequently staged a full recovery.

It is from this event that Thomas Grey perhaps adopted a ram's head as the crest of his coat of arms as a light-hearted reference to his thick skull.

Thomas became closer to the Beaumont family, who were kinsmen of both the King and Queen, and was drawn into court life. In 1305 Grey acted as attorney for Henry de Beaumont's sister Isabella de Vesci. In December 1307 Thomas took custody of Robert Bruce's sister Christina following the execution of her husband Christopher Seton for his part in the murder of John Comyn, Guardian of Scotland.

Ambush at Cupar Castle (1308)
Upon the death of Edward I he was succeeded by his son Edward II and Sir Thomas Grey attended the coronation at Westminster Palace in February 1308. As Thomas returned to Cupar Castle, of which he was the then Warden, he was ambushed by Walter de Bickerton, a supporter of Bruce.

Thomas was heavily outnumbered, having only twenty six men at arms compared to the four hundred men commanded by Bickerton. Deciding that he could not avoid the ambush he decided to charge the heart of Bickerton's men using lance and the shock of his horse to down many of the enemy. Seeing the success of his aggression he was joined by his men at arms and together they succeeded in overthrowing many of the enemy and stampeded their horses.

Before starting the charge, Thomas had instructed his grooms to follow at a distance carrying a battle standard. As they came into view of Bickerton's confused men they mistook the grooms for another formation of soldiers and took flight. Grey and his men drove one hundred and eighty of Bickerton's abandoned horses to his castle as booty.

Battle of Bannockburn (1314)
Sir Thomas' lack of discipline at the Battle of Bannockburn was undoubtedly the low point of his career but he was not alone and the English defeat is often recognised as being caused by both poor leadership by Edward II and hot-headedness. On the first day of the battle Thomas was in one of the two cavalry forces alongside Robert Clifford and Henry de Beaumont. The Scalacronica's account of events follows;

The next day the demoralised English were heavily defeated and King Edward was rushed from the scene by his bodyguard.

Norham Castle
Following their victory at Bannockburn, the Scottish attacked and raided the north of England repeatedly over the ensuing years. Sir Thomas was garrisoned at Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1318 which fell to Robert Bruce following an eleven-week siege. Grey was subsequently recompensed £179 arrears of wages for himself and fourteen men at arms and for horses he had lost.

In 1317 Grey's patron Henry de Beaumont and his brother, the newly appointed Bishop of Durham, Lewis de Beaumont were kidnapped by Gilbert de Middleton before being released. Middleton was executed and his lands confiscated. In May 1319, as reward for his services, Thomas was granted 108 acres at Howick, Northumberland that formerly belonged to a supporter of Gilbert de Middleton, John Mautulent.

Grey was appointed in 1319 as Sheriff of Norham and Islandshire and Constable of Norham Castle where he was to be based for eleven years. During this time Norham remained under a state of almost perpetual siege and it is Thomas' rescue of the chivalric knight Sir William Marmion that he is probably best known for.

A two year truce expired in 1322 and Thomas promised King Edward to recruit an extra twenty men at arms and fifty hobelars to reinforce Lewis de Beaumont's existing garrison to protect both Norham castle and the March. By September 17 Norham found itself besieged by one hundred Scottish men at arms and one hundred hobelars. The king sent Thomas money to pay his garrison and requested that he send frequent reports of the situation and reassured the people around the castle that any losses in crops and goods would be made up to them.

Edward II agreed to a thirteen-year truce with Robert Bruce in March 1323 and, three months later, Thomas was given permission to go to Scotland to resupply Norham Castle with corn and ammunition and to replace its ploughs and carts which had been destroyed in the preceding years. He imprisoned eighty Scots at Norham who had, coming from overseas, landed at Lindisfarne and attempted to reach Scotland and on 2 October was ordered to send them to the Sheriff of York at York Castle.

On 9 July 1325 Grey was ordered to accept back into the King's Peace all those of Northumberland who had joined the Scottish through poverty or other urgent needs.

Later career
During the buildup to the impending Invasion of England of 1326 Sir Thomas was first granted more land at Howyk and then in August ordered to join John de Sturmy, Admiral of the Fleet of the North, alongside other captains and their ships, to help defend the hugely unpopular Edward II from his wife Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Thomas was ordered to "compel" ships from Northumberland ports to join the fleet and to supervise their departure for Orwell, Suffolk in early September. No naval conflict occurred and, landing at Orwell on 24 September, Isabel and Mortimer seized control of England with virtually no opposition, with most of Edward's orders having been ignored. Edward II was imprisoned and replaced on the throne by Edward III.

Edward III resumed hostilities with the Scottish and, shortly after the defeat of the Scottish at Halidon Hill in July 1333, Thomas was appointed as Deputy Constable of Berwick.

In about 1334 Sir Thomas was granted Mitford Castle and the hamlet of Mollisdoun and in October 1335 he was granted custody of the lands and marriage of the heir of Andrew de Grey in Berwick.

Family and descendants
He married Agnes de Bayles and had the following issue:


 * Sir Thomas Grey, Soldier and Chronicler

Thomas is an ancestor of the Earl Greys of Tankerville, Baronet Grey of Chillingham, Baron Greys of Powis and Baron Greys of Werke.