of that year had livery of the family manor of Heaton. According to King, Grey also acquired a great deal of additional land, and left his estate much better than he found it, and was likely the builder of Heaton Castle. In 1345 Grey received letters of protection to accompany an expedition to Sluys, which ultimately came to nothing, and in October 1346 fought at the Battle of Neville's Cross, for which he and others received personal letters of thanks from King Edward III. In August 1355, during a sally from Norham Castle, Grey and one of his sons were ambushed and captured at Nesbit by the Scots. As is this case with most military encounters, this clash of arms did not meet the definition of a "battle", though it is frequently referred to as one Battle of Nesbit Muir. Grey was held captive at Edinburgh Castle, and before 25 November 1356 wrote to King Edward III pleading for help in paying his ransom. He had been released by 15 August 1357, and in October 1357 was given custody of John Gray, one of the hostages for the ransom of King David of Scotland. According to Archer, in August 1359 Grey is thought to have accompanied King Edward's eldest son and heir, Edward, the Black Prince, to France. Grey was made Warden of the East Marches in October 1367, and is thought to have died sometime before 22 October 1369. Writings While in captivity at Edinburgh, Grey started to write the Scalacronica, a chronicle in Anglo-Norman French in five parts, which relates both universal and English history from the earliest times. He was released in 1356 and continued to work on it back in England up until the year 1362. The chief historical value of the work is in the parts dealing with the reigns of King Edward I, King Edward II, and King Edward III which draw on the personal experience of both the author and his father as soldiers in the Anglo-Scottish and French wars during those reigns. Marriage and issue In about 1353 Grey married Margaret de Presson, the daughter and heiress of William de Presson of Presson, Northumberland. They had at least one son and three daughters: Ivetta Grey (born 1350 Wark-on-Tweed) of Heaton, who married William Clopton of Wickhambrook(d.1377), [Buckenham Castle records] Sir Thomas Grey (1359 – 26 November 1400) of Heaton, who married Joan