Grazeley
Grazeley is an area covering the small villages of Grazeley in the
Local government
Grazeley was historically divided between the parishes of Sulhamstead Abbots, Sulhamstead Bannister and Shinfield.[1] The part around Grazeley Village remains in the civil parish of Shinfield.[1] That part around Grazeley Green was a detached tithing of the ancient parish of Sulhamstead Bannister and another area was a detached part of Sulhamstead Abbots.[1] These formed into a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1860.[2] The latter became a separate civil parish in 1866.[3] Both the Sulhamstead parts of Grazeley were later absorbed by the parish of Wokefield.[1]
History
Agriculture was the dominant feature of the village and the surrounding areas is still seen in the fields of Grazeley, although there are a few farm animals to be seen. The name first appears as Grazeley around 1598 and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Graeg-Sol meaning Badgers' Wallowing Place.[1] It has also been known by the names of Greyshall, Greasull, Greyshull, Gresley and Graseley. Around the late 19th century, it was also referred to as Lambwood Hill.[1] In 1802, Dr. George Mitford, the flamboyant father of local author Mary Russell Mitford, moved to Grazeley Court Farm for the purpose of "being an English country gentleman with an estate and dignities accruing to the position".[1] His flamboyancy, self-importance and addiction to gambling at cards brought him and his family into debt and unhappiness.[1]
Grazeley Court served two purposes for the family – the house was used for the extravagant balls and parties and the outhouses and stables used to establish Dr. Mitford's greyhound kennels. During his time here, George renamed the property to Bertram House[1] after an ancestor, Sir Roger Bertram, Baron Mitford, who lived in Northumberland in the 13th century. William Isaac Palmer, a member of the local Palmer family of biscuit fame, lived at Grazeley Court from 1879 to 1895. A 2003 case study of Hartley Court Farm by the Museum of English Rural Life looked at the activities of local organisations and individuals in the local area, including Grazeley and Shinfield.
Local facilities
The village has never had a village shop or
Holy Trinity Church
Opened in 1850,
- Ye that live on in English Pastures Green,
- Remember us and think what might have been
The church closed in January 2006.
School
Grazeley Parochial
.Grazeley Village Memorial Hall
Opened in 1956 the village
AWE Burghfield
Within the Grazeley Green part of
Sources
- Kirkwood, Kerr (1992). Grazeley village 1800–1940: personnified [sic] by its farmers. Reading: Berkshire Local History Association.
References
- ^ ISBN 9781905191024.
- ^ P.H. Ditchfield and William Page (eds) (1923). "Parishes: Sulhamstead Abbots with Grazeley". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Vision of Britain website
External links
Media related to Grazeley at Wikimedia Commons- Grazeley Village Hall
- Royal Berkshire History: Grazeley
