A fine alabaster tomb of
a Henry Grey of Bradgate House.
Bradgate House is open for public viewing across a number of weekends throughout the year.
Bradgate House Ruins Viewing Days - (visit link) There are conflicting data as to which Henry Grey the tomb is to.
Historic England lists the tomb to be that of Henry Baron Grey of Groby, (d. 1614), and his wife Ann. Whereas, Wikipedia states it is of Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford (d. 1673) and his wife.
Henry Baron Grey of Groby -
"Henry Grey, 1st Lord Grey of Groby (1547 – 26 July 1614) was an English courtier, administrator and local politician.
He was the only surviving son of Lord John Grey, son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and Mary Browne, daughter of Sir Anthony Browne and his first wife, Alice Gage. It is believed he was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where a Henry Grey graduated first with a Bachelor of Arts on 1 February 1565, followed by a Master of Arts on 18 June 1568. He was knighted on 11 November 1587.
Grey's main ambition was to re-establish his family's position in Leicestershire lost by his father's attainder. Henry succeeded to his father's estate at Pirgo near Havering Essex when aged 17. Five years later he was appointed one of the Queen's Gentlemen Pensioners and was lieutenant of the band — head personal bodyguard — from 1589 to 1603. He attended on the Queen six months of each year. Otherwise based 20 miles away at Pirgo in Essex he filled many local and county duties, was appointed deputy lieutenant of the county from 1586-1590 and was elected knight of the shire (MP) for the county of Essex in 1589. He was made Master of the Buckhounds in 1596.
He had been put on the commission of the peace for Essex about 1569 and in 1600 was described as the county's senior justice. His efforts for Queen and county were recognised and the completion of his court duties noted when another cousin, James I, four days before his coronation, raised him to the peerage on 21 July 1603 as Baron Grey of Groby, Leicestershire.
By this time, 1603, he had managed to reacquire most of his family's estates lost by his father's attainder. Those in Leicestershire centred on Bradgate House in its manor of Groby, a few miles from Leicester. As the new Lord Grey of Groby, aged 58, he took up residence at Bradgate and devoted most of his energies to strengthening his family's position in the County. This included reviving the feud and intense competition between the Greys and the Hastings earls of Huntingdon which had enlivened and divided Leicestershire for much of the early sixteenth century.
Grey married Anne (1542–1613/14), daughter of William, 2nd Lord Windsor of Bradenham, Buckinghamshire."
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Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford -
"Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford (c. 1599 – 21 August 1673), known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill. His mother was probably a daughter of Edward Nevill, 8th Baron Bergavenny (died 1622) and his wife Rachel Lennard.
Henry succeeded his paternal grandfather, Henry Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Groby, as second Baron Grey of Groby in July 1614. His paternal grandmother was Anne Windsor, youngest daughter of William Windsor, 2nd Baron Windsor and his first wife Margaret Sambourne.
His great-grandfather Lord John Grey of Pirgo was son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset and younger brother of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
Henry Grey matriculated at Trinity College in 1615, and was granted an M.A. that year, during the visit of King James I of England. He married Lady Anne Cecil, daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter by his second wife, Elizabeth Drury. Lady Anne Cecil was the heiress of the borough and manor of Stamford. In March 1628, Henry was created Earl of Stamford. Just before the outbreak of the English Civil War, he was included as one of the opponents of King Charles I of England, and was made lord lieutenant of Leicestershire. After some operations around Leicester, he occupied Hereford, and when compelled to abandon the city, marched to Cornwall.
At the Battle of Stratton, on 16 May 1643, his troops were beaten by the Royalists; driven into Exeter, the Earl of Stamford was forced to surrender the city after a siege of three months. He was certainly no general, and was charged with cowardice. He took no further part in the military operations of the war, although once or twice he was employed on other businesses. The ravages of the Royalists had reduced him to poverty, and distrusted by the House of Commons, he had great difficulty in getting any compensation from Parliament. After a period of retirement, he declared for King Charles II of England during a rising in August 1659, and was arrested, but was soon released. Henry Grey died on 21 August 1673; his earldom passed to his grandson, Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford."
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