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Gringley on the Hill
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"Gringley-on-the-Hill is a delightful village and parish, on the highest part of the road from Bawtry to Gainsborough, six miles east-south-east of the former, and the same distance west by north of the latter town. From its situation on the loftiest of the promontories which overlook the wide extent of Misson and Misterton Cars, it commands such extensive prospects, that the minsters of York, Lincoln and Beverley may be seen from it on a clear day, across the vales of the Trent and the Idle, whilst in the nearer distance, the Chesterfield Canal appears emerging from the tunnel at Drakeholes, and winding under the long ridge of hills which extends eastward to the Trent.
Near the village are several swelling mounds, which were it not for their size, might be supposed artificial from their very bases. On them, however, there have been thrown up three others in ancient times, a small one to the west of the church, and two large ones on its eastern side, one of which is called Beacon Hill. These are evidently the remains of Saxon or Danish works, and the land, which is still called The Parks, is traditionally said to have belonged to a Saxon lord. As the sites of several Roman stations in the adjacent counties may be distinctly seen from this place, it has, no doubt, been used as an exploratory camp. A great annual fair is held here on December 13th for sheep, cattle, cloth, blankets &c. A hiring for servants on November 1s, and a feast on the nearest Sunday to St Peter's Day."
[WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]
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The Library at East Retford will prove useful in your research.
- Gringley has a new Cemetery on the west end of the village, opened circa 1907. This cemetery contains the village War Memorial.
- Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the New Cemetery in on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014.
- John SUTTON has a photograph of the Cemetery mortuary on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2016.
- Gringley Cemetery was administered by a burial board in the Parish Council.
- The parish was in the Gringley sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
| Census Year | Piece No. |
|---|---|
| 1841 | H.O. 107 / 849 |
| 1851 | H.O. 107 / 2121 |
| 1861 | R.G. 9 / 2412 |
| 1871 | R.G. 10 / 3450 |
| 1891 | R.G. 12 / 2638 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter. Some give the dedicationas "Saints Peter and Paul".
- The church was built in the 12th century.
- The church was re-roofed in 1867.
- The church was restored and enlarged in 1912.
- Michael SMITH has a photograph of Gringley Church on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2007.
- Steven RUSSELLS has a photograph of Gringley on the hill church on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2010.
- The Anglican parish register dates from about 1600.
- The parish was in the rural deanery of Retford.
- The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built here in 1836.
- Michael SMITH has a photograph of the Gringley Methodist Church on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2007.
- The Primitive Methodists had a chapel here in 1838.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Primitive Methodist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2007.
- The parish was in the Gringley sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
- Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
Gringley on the Hill is a village and a parish 6 miles west of Gainsborough, 8 miles north of East Retford and 146 miles north of the city of London. The parish covers 4,280 acres.
Beacon Hill, near the church, commands a very extensive view of the whole countryside, including Lincoln Cathedral. If you are planning a visit:
- The A631 trunk road from Gainsborough runs along the south edge of the village.
- The nearest railway station is at Beckingham, 3 miles to the east.
- The Chesterfield Canal passes through the parish just north of the village.
- Near the Beacon are the remains of a Roman camp.
- Cattle Fair day is 13 December.
- Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of Gringley Village Hall on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2011. Stop in and ask for a schedule of forth-coming events.
- We have an extract from White's 1853 Directory relating to this parish.
- Ask for a calculation of the distance from Gringley on the Hill to another place.
Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of Gringley Hall behind the wall on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014. The Hall and wall are Grade II rated with British Heritage.
Graham HOGG also has a photograph of Gringley Hall (without the wall) on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2013.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK736905 (Lat/Lon: 53.406195, -0.894359), Gringley on the Hill which are provided by:
- OpenStreetMap
- Google Maps
- StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
- Bing (was Multimap)
- Old Maps Online
- National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
- Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
- English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
- Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
- GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)
- All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Great War memorial window in the parish church on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2007. The window was dedicated in 1920.
- The War Memorial cross was unveiled 20th November 1920 by the Duke of Portland and dedicated by Rev. S. Howard HAYWARD, vicar of Gringley on the Hill.
- J. THOMAS has a photograph of the War Memorial in the new cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2014.
- Alan MURRAY-RUST also has a photograph of the War Memorial in the new cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014.
These are the names on the War Memorial Cross is the churchyard:
- George Henry Antcliff
- Arthur Henry Beech
- William Ruyal Brown
- Neville Wilburn Dixon
- Percy William Drakes
- James Edward Goodacre
- James Arthur Green
- William Henry Hardy
- George Harborough Lill
- George Lindley
- Albert Girken Marriott
- George Milner
- Clarence James Moody
- John William Nelson
- George North
- Fred Riley
- Alfred Ernest Scrafield
- William John Scruton
- Charles Henry Smith
- Thomas Styring
- William Edmund Taylor
- Frank Thompson
- Charles Henry Wagstaff
- Thomas Garner Walker
There are two Commonwealth War Graves in Gringley on the Hill cemetery. One is for World War One and the other for World War Two:
- Shoeing Smith Albert Girken MARRIOTT, RFA, died 23 Feb. 1917
- Aircraftman 2nd Class Gordon HEXTALL, RAF Vol. Rsrv., died 23 July 1947
- This place was an ancient parish in Nottingham county and it became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the North Clay division of the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
- You may contact the Gringley Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT funded to assist you with family history searches.
- District governance is provided by the Bassetlaw District Council.
- Bastardy cases would be heard at the Retford petty session hearings held in West Retford.
- The Common Land was enclosed here in 1801.
- After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the East Retford Poor Law Union.
- A National School was built here in 1855 on land provided by the Duke of Portland.
- Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of St Peter's School, Gringley on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014.