Robert GRAY, Bishop of Bristol

[arthurk]

Wikepedia (not always reliable) says of Robert Gray, Bishop of Bristol "Soon after 1790 he was presented to the vicarage of Faringdon, Berkshire"

I mentioned the date above:

The earliest one mentioned is Vicar of Faringdon, Berks, which was then in the Diocese of Salisbury; the Clergy Database gives the date of his appointment as 3 Mar 1794.

Looking at this again, it seems the Clergy Database has multiple entries for him and hasn't linked them all together. There are separate entries for him as Vicar of Faringdon and as Bishop of Bristol, and there are several other entries for a Robert Gray in that period which may or may not be the same person.

To see them all I went to https://db.theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/search/index.jsp
and in the Basic Search put in Gray, Robert with the date range 1760-1840 (nothing for Diocese or Location), and this gave 8 results.

[almach]

I think this is the baptism of Charles Gray, co-founder of the Architectural Ass.

I don't have time just now to go into detail, but I believe the Charles Gray, architect, is NOT the son of William Gray and his wife Eleanor but son of a James Gray, florist. If I'm correct, it is doubtful he fits into your close ancestry.

[almach]

Ancestry has the will of Robert Gray, father of the Bishop of Bristol. Probate 1789

"England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"

He mentions his wife, Ann; five children Sarah; Ann; Robert and William plus one whose name I cannot decipher (maybe Polly). Also mentioned is his brother Charles. Robert Gray, his son, inherited two thousand pounds, a considerable amount of money in 1789. It is too much of a strain for my old eyes to transcribe any more. You can read it yourself on Ancestry.

Memorials for a few of the family
https://www.
findagrave.com/memorial/27747770

There's a lot of info about this family, if you don't have subscriptions to Ancestry and FMP you should be able to get access at your local library. Also, a Google search will find some information.

[FalcoCinereus]

Hello,

I am trying to find whether Charles Gray, founder of the Architectural Association alongside Robert Kerr is a relative

3x Great granddaughter Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert Gray, Bishop of Bristol here. I can't pin down the Charles Gray. We have lots of Charles' but the dates don't match anything we have that I can see. Interestingly, Robert Bishop of Cape Town, son of Robert Bishop of Bristol, was married to Sophy Wharton Gray (nee Myddleton), who is renowned for her design of up to 40 churches in South Africa. Her son, Charles Norris Gray (1840 - 1913) had an interest in architecture in churches, but his dates don't match the Charles Gray (1827/28 - 1881) you are looking for. The Charles in question is Robert (Bish of Cape Town)'s generation, but not a son of his father, Robert, (Bish of Bristol). Robert, (Bish of Bristol) had two brothers (William and Thomas) but I can't place a Charles of that generation in our current records. Going beyond this generation it gets even more patchy, although from what I read in letters and journals our ancestors certainly kept in touch with cousins.

By the way, we have a full transcript of Robert's will (father of Robert, Bish of Bristol).If anyone wants to read it, without squinting, I can locate it. There were two daughters, Polly and Sarah, who died at an elderly age and unmarried. I hadn't picked up on the brother, Charles before (thank you almach). There was an elder son, Thomas, to a previous wife (a brother to the 1st bish). Thomas set up a jewellery/cutler's store near his father Robert Gray's store on Bond Street. They may have become estranged, or Robert left him out of the will because Thomas was older and already established. We can't really tell, except that Thomas took out an ad in the newspaper distancing his business from that of his father. Thomas does not appear to have had a son named Charles.

Jenna Gray

[helachau]

A Web article re. the setting up of the Architectural Association, gives Robert Kerr's age as 23 and Charles Gray's age as 18 when they had correspondence published in The Builder in 1846. Charles born c. 1828

London Evening Standard, 10 Sep 1881
Deaths
Gray - Sep 1, aged 53, Charles Gray, architect, son of the late James Gray, of Kensington Gore.

FindMyPast has the Nonconformist birth declaration, dated 3 May 1832 of "Charles Gore, son of James Gray, Middlesex, seed and nurseryman, and Mary Sambrook, his wife, daughter of Richard Blush, of Warrington, farmer, County of Salop, born in the house of the said james Gray, No.4, Kensington Gore, 4 May 1828.
Signed by James and Mary Sambrook Gray in the presence of witnesses _______ ? of Brompton, Surgeon and Phoebe Dark, Dartford?.

Brother Alexander Gray was registered same day.

1851 Census - ref HO107 1469 249 44
Charles Gray, Brother**, unm, 22, Architect and Surveyor, born Kensington
Alexander Gray, Brother**, 19, Architect and Surveyor, born Kensington
Address, 5 The Grange, Kensington, London

Is this the Charles Gray of Architectural Association fame?

** - relationship to Head of Household looks odd - since no Head is identified

[helachau]

Charles' marriage cert. to Elizabeth Capener (FMP image) Nov 13, 1852, gives his address as "Conduit Street" and a newspaper item, 13 Sep 1853, has the birth of a daughter at 5 Conduit Street.

The Web article already referred to has the Architectural Association moving to 9 Conduit St in 1859.

[jgyp1991]

@almach, thank you so much for this information! I apologise for the length of time it's taken me to come back, I didn't receive any notifications anywhere that anyone had replied at all! Thank you for all the work you put into finding this out for me, I've picked back up having a look at the family tree and re-found this thread, and whilst looking through, saw my usual online username!