Gray

Gray

Clan Gray of Scotland; descended from Fulbert de Croy or Gray of Picardy. France, who was Great Chamberlain to Robert, Duke of Normandy. His daughter Arlotta is said to be the mother of the illegitimate William the Conqueror. Also descended from this family are the great families of Grey in England, which included the Dukes of Suffolk and Lady Jane Grey, the nine day Queen of England. The clan in Scotland descended from Lord Grey of Chillingham in Northumberland, Steward to the Earl of March. Although the Grays swore allegiance to Edward I of England in 1296, the clan soon followed Robert the Bruce in the fight for independence and Sir Andrew Gray was leader of the attack on Edinburgh Castle, when it was taken from the English in 1312. Sir Andrew Gray was created Lord Gray in 1444 after James I of Scotland was released from Durham. Patrick, Master of Gray, son of the second Lord Gray, was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to James II, and when the king stabbed the Earl of Douglas, Gray struck the next blow with a battleaxe. His son, the third Lord Gray, became Lord Justice General of Scotland in 1506. Master of Gray, the seventh Lord, was a favourite of James VI but became embroiled in the intrigues of the time, including the death of the king’s mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. He was eventually tried for treason but on the intercession of the Earl of Huntly and Lord Hamilton his life was sparred and he was exiled. Andrew, eighth Lord Gray, was lieutenant of the ‘Gens D’Armes’ in France under Lord Gordon and was excommunicated in 1649 by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for his Catholicism. During the Civil War, he fought for the Crown at the Battle or Worcester in 1651. He was killed in a duel by the Earl of Southesk in 1660.

Arms: Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed argent (Gray), overall a label of two points or, each point charged gyronny of eight or and sable (Campbell).

Crest: An anchor in pale or.

Motto: Anchor fast anchor.

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