Walter (Gray) de Gray (abt. 1180 - 1255)

Ancestors

Died 1 May 1255 at about age 75 in Fulham, Middlesex, England

Biography

This profile is part of the Gray Name Study.

Walter de Gray (d. 01 May 1255 York),^[1] was made Chancellor of England in 1205/7.^[1][2] He succeeded Henry Plantagenet (b. c. 1159), natural son of Henry II, as the Archbishop of York in 1215.^[3]

Parents

Dougdale's construction, which is followed by Cokayne (1910) and Burke (1938), makes Walter the son of:^[4]

• Henry de Grey,^[4]
• and Isolda.^[4]

Crabbe (1877), assembled a construction based on various antiquarian pedigrees and shows Walter as the son of Sir John Grey, a benefactor of Eynsham, seen as the brother of John, Bishop of Norwich, and the son of:

• Ancshetil de Grey
• and Eve, dau. of Baldwin, 2nd Earl of Devon.

Clarke (1922), states that Walter was the the son of:

• [. . .] Grey of Rotherfield, Sussex (d. bef. 1214),^[5]
• and Hawise [. . .] (living 1214).^[6]

Clarke's (1922) construction appears to be based on primary sources, showing that a woman named Hawise, was the archbishop's mother. He also said that the Walter's father was probably not named, "John."^[7]

Siblings

Based on the evidence shown in primary documentation, Walter was probably the brother of:

• Robert, son of Hawise.

Occupation

• 1205 (7 & 11 John): Chancellor of England.^[1][8]
• 1210: Bishop of Lichfield
• 1213: Ambassador to Emperor Otto
• 1214: Bishop of Worcestrer.^[1]
• 1215-55: Archbishop of York.^[9]

In 1207 Henry Plantagenet resigned from his role as Archbishop of York. King John intentionally delayed the election to choose a successor, until 1214. Then in June 1215, King John urged the Chapter to choose Walter Gray, Bishop of Worcester.^[10] It's also the case that the barons had forced King John to sign the Magna Carta on 15 June 1215.^[11]

In the same year (c. 1215), the York Chapter chose Simon Langton, brother of Stephen Langton of Canterbury, stating that Oxford educated,^[12] Walter was an, "illiterate person."^[13] King John countered and Pope Innocent followed-up by rejecting Simon Langton all together. The Chapter inevitably agreed to the selection of Walter.^[14]

Clarke (1922), gives us an idea of the timing by stating:

"The King's messengers brought home joyful news that the barons of England were excommunicated, the Archbishop of Canterbury suspended, his brother Simon rejected (casstum), and Walter Gray promoted."^[14]

Walter, who was Archbishop of York from 1215-55,^[9][15] began his pontificate during the First Baron's War, which lasted from c. 1215 to 1217. While his uncle was a favorite of King John's, the rebel barons opposed the English king in support of the son of the French king, Prince Louis.^[11]

"The first person to pay any great attention to Archbishop Gray's register was James Torre, the antiquary who died in 1699."^[16]

Events

9 March 1239/40 [24 Hen III]

An inspeximus in favour of Robert's descendants shows that by a charter dated at Windsor, 9 March 1239/40 [24 Hen III], there was a grant to Hawise, mother of the said Archbishop, that she and her heirs should be for ever quit of shires and hundreds, &c, and to Robert, her son, and his heirs, for the land of Rotherfield which the Archbishop had given to him, he having had it by the gift of Eve de Grey.^[17]

27 December 1241

Archbishop had a grant that he and his men of the land of Cogges [co Oxford] which he had acquired from the Arsic family should be quit of shires, hundreds &c.^[18]

12 June 1245

Walter de Grey, s. of Robert de Grey, nephew of Walter, Archbishop of York, had a grant of the land in Cogges, of the gift of the said Archbishop, of land in Somerton &c, of knoghts' fees pertaining to the custody of the castle of Dover, in co. Lincoln, Oxford, Kent and elsewhere in England, of the Arsic inheritance, and of land in Bristelmeston, Hardwick and Aylesford, which the Archbishop had the gift of the Prior of Sees in Normandy.

01 Mar 1246,^[19]

Walter, son of Robert, nephew of the Archbishop, had a grant inter alia of land in Rotherfield and Cornwell which the Archbishop gave to Robert, his brother, father of the said Walter, and on

19 Apr 1252

inspeximus and confirmation of grants of Archbishop to the said Robert.^[20] This Robert may possibly have married Amice, as appears by a note of amercements made before the justices appointed to take an assize of novel disseisin between Robert de Grey and Amice his wife and John de Baiocis (Bayeux) and Ralph the reeve as to freeholds of the said Robert and Amice in Thore[s]way, co. Lincoln, John de Bayeux, the principal desseiser, being amerced coram Rege because he was a baron.^[21]

Death

Walter died at Fullham, Middlesex on 01 May 1255.^[1]

Research Notes

PARENTS

• Lewis (2020), is citing Dougdale's construction which makes Walter a son of Henry Grey & Isolda.[10]

Data from duplicate profiles

Simon Fairthorne:

"The father of the Archbishop of York is unknown, his mother was Hawise de Grey. For a discussion of the confusion between Walter and the Greys of Thurrock see:

• Complete Peerage under Grey of Codnor pages 150 / 151.
• There was also a discussion in the Gen-Medieval forum in 2010/11,^{[citation needed]} about this misidentification, It is unfortunate that the DNB also makes this error."

This is a common error which is reproduced almost everywhere. The Complete Peerage comments:

As pointed out in the note appended to the article on Grey of Codnor, Anschetil, whose origin is to be sought in Greye-sur-mer, had in Oxfordshire at the time of the Domesday Survey a considerable holding, which included Rotherfield. . . G. A. Moriarty, who has shown that Ralph Murdac of Broughton held lands in Standlake and Rotherfield in right of his wife, Eve de Grey, who appears to have been an heiress. She (who m., 2ndly, Andrew de Beauchamp) d. about 1242, leaving daughters and coheirs.

It is not the purpose of this work to trace the history of families to their origin, where no peerage as yet existed, but the persistent attempt to make Henry de Grey of Grays Thurrock father of all Greys necessitates some attempt to show that he had nothing to do with the paternity of Walter (de Grey), Archbishop of York, or of Robert de Grey of Rotherfield, who was the Archbishops brother. Their mother, Hawise de Grey, was living at the same time as Iseude de Grey, wife of the said Henry and mother of :

• Richard de Grey of Codnor and Grays Thurrock,
• of John de Grey of Shirland and Wilton,
• and of William de Grey of Sandiacre.

Nor does the relationship between Henry de Grey and the Archbishop become apparent, seeing that

1. Robert de Grey is distinctly mentioned as s. & h. of Hawise de Grey,
2. while descendants of Henry de Grey bore the undifferentiated arms and appear to have been regarded as the senior line.

During the lifetime of Eva de Grey,^{[citation needed]which one?} Rotherfield was aquired by Walter (de Grey) Archbishop of York, who settled it upon his brother Robert de Grey.

An inspeximus in favour of Robert's descendants shows that by a charter dated at Windsor, 9 March 1239/40 [24 Hen III], there was a grant to Hawise, mother of the said Archbishop, that she and her heirs should be for ever quit of shires and hundreds, &c, and to Robert, her son, and his heirs, for the land of Rotherfield which the Archbishop had given to him, he having had it by the gift of Eve de Grey.^[22] There is nothing to suggest any family arrangement: the Archbishop seems to have acquired land by purchase and passed it on to his brother Robert, and subsquently to his nephew Walter.

On 27 December 1241 the Archbishop had a grant that he and his men of the land of Cogges [co Oxford] which he had acquired from the Arsic family should be quit of shires, hundreds &c.^[23] And on 12 June 1245 Walter de Grey, s. of Robert de Grey, nephew of Walter, Archbishop of York, had a grant of the land in Cogges, of the gift of the said Archbishop, of land in Somerton &c, of knoghts' fees pertaining to the custody of the castle of Dover, in co. Lincoln, Oxford, Kent and elsewhere in England, of the Arsic inheritance, and of land in Bristelmeston, Hardwick and Aylesford, which the Archbishop had the gift of the Prior of Sees in Normandy.

On 1 Mar 1246 (Charter Roll, 30 Hen III m. 8) Walter, s of Robert, nephew of the Archbishop, had a grant inte alia of land in Rotherfield and Cornwell which the Archbishop gave to Robert, his brother, father of the said Walter, and on 19 Apr 1252 there was an inspeximus and confirmation of the grants of the Archbishop to the said Robert (Idem, 36 Hen III m 13). This Robert may possibly have m. Amice, as appears by a note of amercements made before the justices appointed to take an assize of novel disseisin between Robert de Grey and Amice his wife and John de ! Baiocis (Bayeux) and Ralph the reeve as to freeholds of the said Robert and Amice in Thore[s]way, co. Lincoln, John de Bayeux, the principal desseiser, being amerced coram Rege because he was a baron (Excerpta Rot. Finium, 1223)

The pedigree of the Greys of Rotherfield is abundantly clear back to Hawise de Grey, who for the soul of John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, her brother, with assent of her s. and h. Robert de Grey, gave the church of Cornwell to Osney Abbey, her charter being witnessed by Walter de Grey, Bishop of Worcester [afterwards Archbishop of York], her son (B.M. Cott. MS., Vitellius, E xv, fol. 85). From Close Roll (9 Hen. III, m. 1) it might appear that Hawise was mother of John, Bishop of Norwich; but "mother [if mater was the word used, and it is now undecipherable] of the said John" seems to be an error for "mother of the said Walter."

I have summaries of some of the documents mentioned in this and another which says that Walter's father was buried in Reading Abbey.

Regards

Simon Fairthorne"

from duplicate Grey-1666

"Gray, Walter de (d. 1255), archbishop of York, was the son of John de Gray of Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire, and his wife, Hawisia.

His uncle, another John de Gray, was bishop of Norwich (1200–14), and a favourite of King John. In the event Walter became the most important member of an influential clerical family. His nephews, the brothers Henry and Walter de Gray, were to be promoted by him to canonries of York, and a third nephew, William de Langton of Rotherfield Greys became first dean of York from about 1260 to 1279, and then archbishop-elect, though papal opposition deprived him of the see. Walter was also connected to the Giffards of Boyton, Wiltshire, one of whom, Walter Giffard, brother of Godfrey, bishop of Worcester, became bishop of Bath and Wells (1265–6) and subsequently archbishop of York (1266–79)."^[24]

"He was son of John and Hawisia de Grey of Rotherfield Greys, Oxon (Pat. Rolls 1225-32 p. 454; see also Comp. Peer. VI 150-1 n.); for his career, see Biog. Ox. II 807-8; DNB."^[25]

"Bp. of Worcester, cons. 5 Oct. 1214 (1 Fasti II 101). Pope orders chapter to send representative cans. to Lateran council to el. or postulate an abp., letter dated 20 Aug. 1215 (Letters of Innocent III no. 1017). Papal conf. of transl. to York 10 Nov. 1215 (Reg. Gray p. xxxvii). Temps. 19 Feb. 1216 (Rot. Litt. Claus. I 248b). D. at Fulham 1 May 1255 (Chron. Maj. V 495; Ann. Burton p. 336). Buried in Minster (H. G. Ramm et al. 'The tombs of archbishops Walter de Gray and Godfrey de Ludham in York Minster and their contents', Archaeologia ciii (1971) 101-47, at pp. 102-31, 140-6). Commem. at Durham 6 May (Liber Vitae Dunelm. p. 150). Nephew of John de Grey, bp. of Norwich (1200-14) (Cart. of Oseney Abbey IV, ed. H. E. Salter (Oxfords. Hist. Soc. xcvii) p. 332)."^[26]

"There is record of a grant by King Henry III in which the Archbishop's mother is named, and which also indicates that Rotherfield came from Eva de Grey (relationship not stated) to the Archbishop, who then granted it to his brother Robert. From the Calendar of Charter Rolls, dated at Windsor, 9 Mar 1239/40:

" 'Grant to Hawise, mother of W. archbishop of York, that she and her heirs and her men, and the men of her heirs, shall be quit of shires and hundreds and suit of shires and hundreds, aids of sheriffs, reeves, and bailiffs, of view of frank-pledge and of murder, all which the king has also granted to Robert de Gray and his heirs for the land of Rutherefeld, which the said archbishop had of the gift of Eve de Gray, and gave to the said Robert.' [Cal. Charter Rolls, 11 Hen III, p. 18, mem. 20] "^[27]

Clerical Celibacy? Not so much ...

"IV. A subject of the highest historical importance must now be touched upon, I mean the traces which remain in Archbishop Gray's time of the old Celtic customs in regard to clerical marriages and the ownership and descent of ecclesiastical property.

Clerical celibacy in the North seems to have been the exception for a long while after the Norman Conquest. This may be traced in many ways.

• Aldune, bishop of Durham, had a daughter, Ecgfrida, who actually received as a dowry three of the manors belonging to the see.

• Ranulf Flambard, another bishop of the same diocese, had a son bearing his name who became archdeacon of Durham.

• Geoffrey Rufus, his successor, had a daughter.

• A fourth, Hugh de Puiset, had a wife, Adeliza de Percy.

And so it was at York.

• Thomas, the second Norman archbishop, nephew of Thomas the first, was a son of Sampson, who became bishop of Worcester.

• Thurstan was a son of a prebendary of St. Paul's;

• and there is a person towards the end of the 12th century who witnesses several charters as Willelmus filius Archiepiscopi, who probably had Archbishop Roger for his sire.

With such examples among the rulers of the Church we may expect to find a similar laxity, to say the least, among the clergy beneath them. The old canons of Durbam who were displaced by William of St. Carileph were all married men, as Symeon affirms. So were the reformed canons of York. In a remarkable letter which Gerard of York wrote to his brother archbishop, Anselm of Canterbury, he complains bitterly of the officers of his cathedral because they would not give up their wives,^[28] — nay, so common was the marriage of the clergy that in 1107 Pope Paschal, writing to Anselm, states that the sons of priests are so numerous

"ut major pæne et melior clericorum pars in hac specie censeatur"

and allows him, therefore, to use his own discretion as to the immediate carrying out of the papal Constitution against the promotion of such persons to sacred offices.f .

At the same time that we find a married clergy so general, we observe, as a kind of natural consequence, that livings and offices in the Church were given away by their tenants and handed down from father to son. In the seventh century it seems to have been in the power of the retiring archbishop of York to nominate his successor,* and immediately after the Conquest there seems to have been something very like an hereditary succession in the same high dignity. In the church of Durham the son regularly succeeded his father.f I have printed elsewhere a pedigree of the priests and provosts of Hexham, showing a similar descent of their offices,f and Aelred of Rievaux did not cease to be regarded as a Saint because his father, and grandfather, and great-grandfather were priests. Similar tables of the descent of the ancient deans of Whalley and Kettelwell, who were persons of great influence and authority, might be drawn up. The tendency of this system was to secularise the Church, and its endowments were treated as family property, to be cut and carved as their possessors chose. I

On the side of strict discipline there was a vigorous struggle against all this laxity. Hildebrand first denounced it, and in England Anselm arrayed himself on the same side with all his energy and power. In 1102, in a national council held at London, Anselm and Gerard of York denounced priestly marriage and hereditary succession. So did William of Canterbury and Thurstan of York in two other Councils holden at London and Westminster in 1126 and 1127, and throughout the century a fierce warfare was waged by the reforming party in the Church, but the evil was too deeply seated to be easily or quickly removed. The Register of Archbishop Gray shows that it continued for a longer time than has been previously supposed. In 1221 Honorius III. wrote to the archbishop of York desiring him to remove from their livings the married clergy, and all who had succeeded their fathers in their preferments, a similar order being directed to the bishops of Lincoln and Worcester, two dioceses in which the York influence was more or less strong.S Unfortunately the Register of Archbishop Gray between 1221 and 1225 has been lost, so that we cannot see how he carried out the papal mandate in its freshness; but among the records of the succeeding years there are several cases mentioned in which a reformation was attempted or made.^[29] The custom, no doubt, was on the wane, but the evident timidity with which the successor of one of these deprived persons regarded his own tenure of his post, shows what doubt there was as to the propriety of the reform and its permanence. Everyone must be struck by the tenacity with which the ejected ecclesiastics clung to their old possessions. It is evident that these papal and archiepiscopal orders were considered an invasion of long-established and salutary privileges and rights.

V. It is easy to trace in Archbishop Gray's Register the existence, in other ways, of an amount of lay interference with church property which it is difficult in these days to realise. Portions and medieties of livings were common enough, pointing, I believe, to a division between heiresses or different proprietors. It had been in the power of a lay patron to detach fragments from his livings and present to them, which took the form of pensions or portions. He had been able also to allot the tithes pretty much as he liked among the ministers of the church, reserving, no doubt, at times a share in them for himself. Such at least was the case in the twelfth century, when Anselm and Gerard denounced it. It was not unusual in Archbishop Gray's time for three or four persons to have a pecuniary interest in one and the same living, a state of things which would lead to pauperise the benefice and lessen the responsibility of each person connected with it. The rector was frequently non-resident, the vicar taking the place of the modern curate, and, like him, being at times most inadequately remunerated. We find occasionally vicars appointed by the rectors and approved by the archbishop, with the sanction of the lay patron. Lay influence is observable everywhere. In one instance we find it reaching to a monastery in a very remarkable way. "^[30]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} "Walter de Gray English clergyman." Britannica Encyclopedia. Web.
2. ↑ Clarke, 1922, p. 12.[1]
3. ↑ Clarke, 1922, p. 5.Google Books.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Lewis (2020), is citing Dougdale's construction which makes Walter a son of Henry Grey & Isolda.[2]
   Lundy, D. (2008), shows Walter as s/o Henry Grey & Isolda, citing Cokayne (1910, as well as Pine (1972).[3]
5. ↑ Clarke, 1922
6. ↑ Clarke, 1922
7. ↑ Clarke, 1922
8. ↑ for Chancellor of England see, Google Books.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} The Register, 1872, p. vii.[4]
10. ↑ Clarke, 1922, p. 8.[5]
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} see Timeline of King John on WikiTree.com at Plantagenet-143.
12. ↑ Clarke, 1922, p. 11.[6]
13. ↑ Clarke, 1922, p. 9.[7]
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Clarke, 1922,, p. 10.[8]
15. ↑ Wikipedia: Walter de Gray
16. ↑ The Register, 1872, p. ix.[9]
17. ↑ (Cal Patent Rolls, 14 Nov 1385 and Charter Rolls 24 Hen III m 3
    redundant citation:

    "There is record of a grant by King Henry III in which the Archbishop's mother is named, and which also indicates that Rotherfield came from Eva de Grey (relationship not stated) to the Archbishop, who then granted it to his brother Robert. From the

    Calendar of Charter Rolls, dated at Windsor, 9 Mar 1239/40:

    " 'Grant to Hawise, mother of W. archbishop of York, that she and her heirs and her men, and the men of her heirs, shall be quit of shires and hundreds and suit of shires and hundreds, aids of sheriffs, reeves, and bailiffs, of view of frank-pledge and of murder, all which the king has also granted to Robert de Gray and his heirs for the land of Rutherefeld, which the said archbishop had of the gift of Eve de Gray, and gave to the said Robert.' [Cal. Charter Rolls, 11 Hen III, p. 18, mem. 20]

    Dec. 2010 gen-medieval post by John Ravilious

18. ↑ Cal Charter rolls
19. ↑ Charter Roll, 30 Hen III m. 8
20. ↑ Idem, 36 Hen III m 13
21. ↑ Excerpta Rot. Finium, 1223
22. ↑ (Cal Patent Rolls, 14 Nov 1385 and Charter Rolls 24 Hen III m 3
23. ↑ Cal Charter rolls
24. ↑ Roy Martin Haines, ‘Gray, Walter de (d. 1255)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, quoted in this Dec. 2010 gen-medieval post by John Watson.
25. ↑ Archbishops of York, Walter Grey, at footnote #12.
26. ↑ Archbishops of York, Walter Grey
27. ↑ Dec. 2010 gen-medieval post by John Ravilious
28. ↑ This is printed in a very rare volume of letters on clerical celibacy, published at London in 1569.
29. ↑ This is shown in Alcuin's poen, De Sanctis et Pontificibus eccl. Ebor. + Symeon's preface to bis History of the Church of Durham. I See Preface to Memorials of Hexham, vol. i. $ See pp. 140, 141.
30. ↑ The Register, 1872, p. xxvii - xxxi

• Collins, A. (1756). The Peerage of England: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the Peers of that Kingdom, Now Existing, Either by Tenure, Summons, Or Creation, Their Descents and Collateral Lines, Their Births, Marriages and Issues. W. Strahan, J. F and C. Rivington. Google Books.[11]
• Lipscomb, G. (1847). "Pedigree of de Grey of Rotherfield." The history and antiquities of the county of Buckingham, Volume 1. J. & W. Robins. Google Books.[12]

See Also...

• Eva de Grey Grey-515, wife of Ralph Mudac & Andrew Beauchamp.
• The Register or Rolls of Walter Gray, Lord Archbishop of York. Surtees Society, 1872, LVI. Google Books.
• Space: The Publications of the Surtees Society, vol. 56.