Church Gresley

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.

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.

Priory and church

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. It was suppressed in 1536 in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

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. Of the 12th century building only the lower part of the tower survives. In about 1820 the church and the upper part of the tower were rebuilt. The chancel was designed by A.W. Blomfield and built in 1872. The tower has a ring of six bells, two of which were cast in 1639.