Gresley Baronets
Encyclopedia
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
who was later High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Newcastle under Lyme (UK Parliament constituency).
The Gresleys were an ancient Norman family, descended from Nigel de Stafford, the son of Robert de Stafford
Robert de Stafford
Robert de Stafford was a Norman nobleman, the builder of Stafford Castle in England. He may or may not be the same as Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir or of the Robert de Tosny who was son of Raoul II of Tosny ; primary evidence is lacking to determine his parentage, according to Cawley...
, scion of one of the most powerful Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
families in England. (His son Nigel de Stafford began calling himself after his holding of the castle at Gresley.) The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
recorded Nigel de Stafford holding the Manor of Drakelowe near the conclusion of the 11th century, and his descendants, the Gresleys, continued to hold it for nine hundred years – as long as any family in England is said to have owned the same manor. The family established the Priory of Gresley near their castle in Gresley before the year 1200. Drakelowe Hall, latterly the family seat, was a large Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
mansion. A subsidiary branch of the family had a seat at Netherseal Hall, Netherseal
Netherseal
Netherseal is the southernmost village of the English county of Derbyshire, less than 2 miles from the neighbouring county of Leicestershire, and is close to the A444 and the important M42 motorway, on the banks of the River Mease.It is the final resting place of Sir Nigel Gresley and the...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
.
The two branches of the family were reunited by the marriage of the sister of the 8th Baronet to Rev William Gresley, Rector of Netherseal, and the succession of their son William Nigel Gresley as 9th Baronet.
The last of the Gresley family vacated Drakelowe Hall in 1931 after 28 generations had lived there. The Hall was demolished three years later, in 1934, when the site was redeveloped as Drakelow Power Station
Drakelow Power Station
Drakelow Power Station refers to a series of three now demolished coal-fired power stations located south of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire in the West Midlands of England, on the River Trent. However, the station was actually located in the county of Derbyshire, in the East Midlands...
, which itself was later demolished. Netherseal Hall was demolished in 1933.
The Gresleys of Drakelowe, written by Falconer Madan
Falconer Madan
Falconer Madan was Librarian of the Bodleian Library of Oxford University.Falconer was the fifth son of George and Harriet Madan. He was educated at Marlborough College and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he took part in Oxford and Cambridge Chess matches in 1873 and 1874, and won the University...
, librarian of Oxford University's Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, was published in 1899 and is the accepted history of the family.
Gresley of DrakelowDrakelowDrakelow is a hamlet in the parish of Church Gresley in South Derbyshire, England. It is two and a half miles south-west of Burton on Trent. It is pleasantly situated on the east bank of the River Trent. Drakelowe Hall was the principal residence of the Gresley Baronets, but this has been replaced...
(1611)
- Sir George Gresley, 1st Baronet (c1580-1651)
- Sir Thomas Gresley, 2nd Baronet (c1628-1699) High Sheriff of DerbyshireHigh Sheriff of DerbyshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
1663 - Sir William Gresley, 3rd Baronet (1661-1710) High Sheriff of DerbyshireHigh Sheriff of DerbyshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
1704 - Sir Thomas Gresley, 4th Baronet (c1699-1746) High Sheriff of DerbyshireHigh Sheriff of DerbyshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
1724 - Sir Thomas Gresley, 5th Baronet (1722-1753) Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for LichfieldLichfield (UK Parliament constituency)Lichfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
1753. - Sir Nigel Gresley, 6th BaronetSir Nigel Gresley, 6th BaronetSir Nigel Gresley, 6th Baronet was an English land-owner, mine-owner and the builder of Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal.Gresley was the son of Sir Thomas Gresley, 4th Baronet and his first wife Dorothy Bowyer, daughter of Sir William Bowyer, 4th Baronet. He succeeded his brother who died of smallpox...
(c1727-1787) High Sheriff of StaffordshireHigh Sheriff of StaffordshireThis is a list of the High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
in 1759. - Sir Nigel Bowyer Gresley, 7th Baronet (d 1808) High Sheriff of DerbyshireHigh Sheriff of DerbyshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
1780 - Sir Roger Gresley, 8th BaronetSir Roger Gresley, 8th BaronetSir Roger Gresley, 8th Baronet was an English author and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1837....
(1799-1837) Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for South DerbyshireSouth Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:"-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1940s:-References:... - Sir William Nigel Gresley, 9th Baronet (1806-1847)
- Sir Thomas Gresley, 10th BaronetSir Thomas Gresley, 10th BaronetSir Thomas Gresley, 10th Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician who was elected to the constituency of South Derbyshire, but died before he took his seat....
(1832-1868) Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for South DerbyshireSouth Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:"-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1940s:-References:... - Sir Robert Gresley, 11th Baronet (1866-1936). High Sheriff of DerbyshireHigh Sheriff of DerbyshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
in 1906 - Sir Nigel Gresley, 12th Baronet (1894-1974) Extinct on demise
Other members of the family
- Sir Robert Gresley (1866-1936) married Lady Frances Spencer Churchill, eldest daughter of the George Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of MarlboroughGeorge Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of MarlboroughGeorge Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough DL , styled Earl of Sunderland until 1857 and Marquess of Blandford between 1857 and 1883, was a British peer.-Background and education:...
, and had four children, but only one grandchild Janet Gresley, (1934-1996) daughter of Antony Gresley. Following the death of Sir Robert's son Nigel the direct lineal descendants of the family are Paul Antony Davey (1961-), son of Janet Gresley, and his children. - Herbert Nigel GresleyNigel GresleySir Herbert Nigel Gresley was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway . He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4...
, born in 1876 at Netherseal, was a famous engineer of railroad steam locomotives. He designed the 'Flying Scotsman." - Wilmot Maria Gresley, daughter of Sir Nigel Bowyer Gresley, 7th Baronet, married Rev. Thomas LevettThomas Levett (rector)Rev. Thomas Levett served as rector of Whittington, Staffordshire, for 40 years, and as a large landowner in addition to being clergy, played a role in the development of Staffordshire's educational system. He was also a member of one of Staffordshire's longest-serving families in ecclesiastical...
of Packington HallPackington Hall (Staffordshire)Packington Hall in Staffordshire, England was a country mansion designed by architect James Wyatt in the 18th century that was the home of the Levett family for many generations...
in Staffordshire.