Fourth Generation  

11. Lord Anchitil de GRAI of Rotherfield [122770] (Lady Adeliza FITZOSBERN de Croy³, Countess Adeliza de TOENI of Hereford², Roger II de Conches (Seigneur)¹) was born about 1052 in Graye-sur-Mer Calvados Lower Normandy France and died in 1087 in Rotherfield Greys Oxfordshire England aged about 35.

General Notes: Wikipedia says,
Anchetil de Greye (c. 1052 \endash after 1086) was a Norman chevalier and vassal of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, one of the great magnates of early Norman England and one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

He is regarded as the ancestor of the noble House of Grey, branches of which held many peerage and other titles in England, including Baron Grey de Wilton (1295), Baron Ferrers of Groby (1299), Baron Grey of Codnor (1299, 1397), Baron Grey de Ruthyn (1324), Earl of Tankerville (1419, 1695), Earl of Huntingdon (1471), Marquess of Dorset (1475), Baron Grey of Powis (1482), Duke of Suffolk (1551), Baronet Grey of Chillingham (1619); Baron Grey of Werke (1623/4), Earl of Stamford (1628), Viscount Glendale (1695), Baronet Grey of Howick (1746), Baron Walsingham (1780), Baron Grey of Howick (1801); Viscount Howick (1806), Earl Grey (1806), Baronet Grey of Fallodon (1814), etc., which married into the royal family and which continues to this day. Lady Jane Grey (c. 1537-1554) "the Nine Days' Queen", was a member of this family.

Wikipedia also says,
Greye's origins in Normandy are unclear, although it is believed he came from the vicinity of today's Graye-sur-Mer (Calvados, Graieum 1086, Graia 1172, Gray 1183[6]) which would have been within the domain of William I. There is also a possible connection to the eastern French town of Gray.[7]

It is likely that Anchetil de Greye was of Norse ancestry in whole or in part since the given name Anchetil (from Ásketíll "God-Cauldron") was a fairly common Norse-origin name in Normandy. The "Greye" in his name then was either simply a reference to his estate, or to his mixed Scandinavian-Frankish ancestry which was also common in Normandy by the time of the invasion of England. His immediate ancestry is uncertain, but some researchers believe he was the son of a certain Hugh Fitz Turgis,[8] that means "Turgis' son" (from Thorgisl "hostage of Thor"), another clue he was from Normandy.

More than 20 superficially distinct instances of Anschitil, Anschil, Anschetil, etc. in early Norman documents must refer to a far smaller number of distinct individuals. Particularly interesting is Anschitil de Ros. According to Domesday Monachorum he was the feudal landlord, under the Bishop of Bayeux, of Craie, another Craie, and Croctune (or Crawton). These three places are in the Cray valley of Kent, which was in Norman times the foremost site of chalk mining from deneholes, on a scale rivalled only by the Hangman's Wood cluster of deneholes on the other side of the Thames in Grays.

Cray and Grey seem to be almost interchangeable in Kent place names. Cray passed from Anglo-Norman French into English as a word for "chalk", while greye is one of the wide range of French regional dialect words for "chalk". In Normandy, Grai is modern Graye-sur-Mer, and Ros is modern Rots, on the outskirts of Caen about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) away. Between them, on the river Seulles, at Orival near Creully, lies an ancient quarry where building stone is said to have been dug and lime burned since Gallo-Roman times. One of the key resources found in chalk mines is flint, which was used for tools, construction and making fire.

Whether Anschetil de Grai and Anschitil de Ros were two persons or one, they/he must have known about and profited from the digging and shipping of limestone in Normandy, so it is at least curious that they/he picked chalk-digging areas for their new feudal domains in England.

Anchitil married Lady Joan of Rotherfield [122771]. Joan was born about 1050 in Pont-de-l'Arche Eure Upper Normandy France and died after 1099 in Rotherfield Greys Oxfordshire England.

Children from this marriage were:

   14    i. William de GRAI [123348] was born about 1070 in Rotherfield Greys Oxfordshire England and died after 1100.

   15    ii. Richard de GRAI [123349] was born about 1075 in Rotherfield Greys Oxfordshire England.

+ 16    iii. Anchitel de GRAI of Rotherfield [122768] was born about 1085 in Rotherfield Greys Oxfordshire England and died on 7 Mar 1138 in Rotherfield Greys Oxfordshire England aged about 53.