Church Gresley

Church Gresley

St George and St Mary's parish church
Church Gresley
 Church Gresley shown within Derbyshire
Population 6,881 Template:Ward of Swadlincote. 2011
OS grid referenceSK2918
DistrictSouth Derbyshire
Shire countyDerbyshire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Swadlincote
Postcode district DE11
Dialling code 01283
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentSouth Derbyshire
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire

Coordinates: 52°45′36″N 1°33′58″W / 52.760°N 1.566°W / 52.760; -1.566

Church Gresley is a village and former civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The village is situated between Castle Gresley and the town of Swadlincote, with which it is contiguous. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,805. By the time of the 2011 Census the village had been deemed a ward of Swadlincote. The population of this ward was 6,881.[1]

History

Gresele is recorded in the Domesday Book. Its first element is of uncertain origin, possibly the Old English grēosn meaning gravel and lēah meaning a woodland clearing. Churchegreseleye was first recorded in 1363 and distinguishes it from Castle Gresley.[2]

Priory and church

St George and St Mary's Church, drawn by Samuel Hieronymus Grimm (18th century)

Also See Gresley Priory
A priory of Augustinian canons was founded at Gresley in the reign of Henry I, by William de Gresley, son of Nigel de Stafford.[3] It was suppressed in 1536 in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[3]

The Church of England parish church of Saint George and Saint Mary was built early in the 12th century as the priory's conventual church.[4] Of the 12th century building only the lower part of the tower survives.[5] In about 1820 the church and the upper part of the tower were rebuilt.[5] The chancel was designed by A.W. Blomfield and built in 1872.[5] The tower has a ring of six bells, two of which were cast in 1639.[6]

Economic and social history

T G Green & Co Ltd back stamp showing St George & St Mary church

In about 1800 the Mason pottery was founded at Church Gresley. It was renamed Mason Cash in 1901.[7] Mason Cash became a well-known English pottery, producing many kinds of ceramic mixing and baking ware. T.G. (Thomas Goodwin) Green & Co Ltd were founded in 1864 and went on to produce the world famous Cornishware, both companies became part of The Tabletop Group in 2004. T.G. Green went into administration in 2007.

From 1882 the local football club was Gresley Rovers, which competed in the Northern Premier League First Division and played at The Moat Ground, one of Church Gresley's landmarks. The club was relegated in 2009 to the East Midlands Counties League and is now Gresley FC. Its training pitch is the main football pitch of Church Gresley's Maurice Lea Memorial Park, which is named after Maurice Lea, who died in France, the age of 19, during World War I. The most notable homegrown talent was goalkeeper Ted Clamp who played for the team before moving to teams such as Buxton, Bolton and Derby County. There are also football pitches near the Swadlincote Ski Centre.

Opposite the park is Gresley Common, the venue for annual bonfire nights until 2003 and the local Scouts. There are many newly planted woods nearby as part of the National Forest.

In the early-2010s, the extensive 'Highgrove' housing development effectively created an entirely new district contiguously north of the village.

Transport

Church Gresley is served by service 21 of the Midland Classic bus company.

Church Gresley is on National Cycle Route 63. The Sustrans National Cycle Network route passes through Maurice Lea Park and leaves the village via Thorpe Downs Road. Route 63 utilises the off-road and family-friendly Conkers Circuit to easily link Church Gresley with the heart of the National Forest then continues off road to Measham on the track of the old Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway and parts of the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail. An alternative branch of route 63 circles the lake at nearby Albert Village.

References

  1. ↑ "Swadlincote Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Key to English Placenames Church Gresley, Nottingham University, retrieved 16 December 2012
  3. 1 2 Page, 1907, pages 56–58
  4. ↑ Pevsner & Williamson, 1978, page 152
  5. 1 2 3 Pevsner & Williamson, 1978, page 153
  6. ↑ Dawson, George (25 October 2010). "Church Gresley S George & S Mary". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  7. ↑ potteryhistories.com, accessed November 2012

Sources

External links

Media related to Church Gresley at Wikimedia Commons

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