The crest of the Grays is an anchor with the motto ‘Anchor Fast Anchor’.


In the fifteenth century the crest of Andrew Gray of Boxmouth was a swan’s head issuing from a coronet, which was recorded in 1424. This was in turn used by his son, Andrew, the first Lord Grey. It is only in the Workman Manuscript of the 1560s we see the crest of Lord Gray depicted as a Anchor and the motto just ‘Fast’. This was the time of the 4th Lord Grey. He seems to have also experimented with a crest of a lady’s head with long hair, but the anchor ultimately won out (See Stoddart, Scottish Arms being a Collection of Armorial Bearings 1370-1678).


The anchor was a widely recognised symbol of hope, the idea of the anchor being a ship’s lifeline in times of trouble being central to this. Anchor Fast Anchor is thus a wish for the anchor to hold fast in troubled times. James Coats 1725 Dictionary of Heraldry describes it as a symbol of ‘Hope being, as it were, the Anchor which holds us firm to our Faith in all Adversities’.


Although the Lords Grey were not noted mariners, they held Broughty on the coast, and several of their number were noted ambassadors. As for troubled times, the 4th Lord Grey was successively captured by the English and French, and was close to execution on occasion, so was perhaps in need of more hope than most. 


MKP 9 September 2025