CHURCH GRESLEY, Derbyshire

Census

• The parish was in the Gesley sub-district of the Burton on Trent Registration District.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint George and is in Church Gresley township.
  
  
• The church was built in the reign of Henry I (early 12th century).
  
  
• Originally a priory was constructed with the church, but no trace of that structure remains.
  
  
• Most of the church was rebuilt in 1820.
  
  
• The present chancel was built in 1872.
  
  
• St. John's Church was built in the township of Donisthorpe. See Donisthorpe for information on that church.
  
  
• A church was also built in the township of Swadlincote in 1847. See Swadlincote for information on that church.

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1568 for baptisms.
  
  
• Transcripts of the Parish Registers for 1574 - 1984 are available at the Church Gresley Parish Page.
  
  
• The church was in the rural deanery of Repton.
  
  
• The Primitive Methodists built a chapel here in 1831 and rebuilt it in 1850.
  
  
• The Latter Day Saints had a chapel here before 1857.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists both had small chapels in Linton township before 1857.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists both also had small chapels in Oakthorpe township before 1857.
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had small chapel in Swandlincote township before 1857.
  

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Civil Registration

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
  
  
• The parish was in the Gesley sub-district of the Burton on Trent Registration District.
  

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Description and Travel

"CHURCH GRESLEY is a parish, in the hundred of Repton and Gresley, 13 miles S. from Derby, 6 W. from Ashby-de-la- Zouch, and 5½ S.E. from Burton-upon-Trent - the last-named being the nearest post town. The coal works and potteries of this parish and neighbourhood are rapidly rising im importance, and from discoveries recently made in the mines hereabout, highly beneficial results are anticipated. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Sir Roger Gresley, Bart. whose remote ancestor founded a priory of canons of the order of St. Augustine, in the reign of Henry I, and dedicated it to St. Mary and St. George. The parish contained, at the last census, 2,543 inhabitants, and the township 671 of that number."

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

The parish covers about 5,510 acres and abuts the Leicestershire border.

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Directories

• Ann Andrews provides a transcription of the Church Gresley entry from Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland (1891).

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Gazetteers

• The transcription of the section for Church Gresley from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

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History

• In the 1800s the parish had extensive collieries and made considerable pottery. Fire bricks were also made here from local clay.
  
  
• The BBC has some World War II memories of Church Gresley from Maisie MILLER.
  

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Military Records

The War Memorial dedication is pictured at the Roll of Honour site. Names have not yet been transcribed.

A more recent view of he War Memorial is at Geograph.

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Politics and Government

• This place was an ancient parish in Derbyshire and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
  
  
• This parish was in the ancient Repton and Gresley Hundred (or Wapentake).
  
  
• The parish at one time contained the townships of Chruch Gresley, Castle Gresley, Donisthorpe (with Oakthorpe), Drakelow, Linton and Swadlincote.
  
  
• Swadlincote became its own separate modern Civil Parish before 1841.
  

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Population

Year	Inhabitants
1831	2,543
1851	3,300

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