Robert de Gresle
Encyclopedia
Robert de Gresle was the first Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 to live in Manchester. Initially the Gresle family, who were Normans, were not residents in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. Stewards had previously represented the lords of the manor.

Whilst Robert de Gresle was Baron his leadership led to an influx of skilled worker
Skilled worker
A skilled worker is any worker who has some special skill, knowledge, or ability in their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Or, a skilled worker may have learned their skills on the job...

s. In the early 13th century. Robert Gresle was one of the barons who made King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 sign the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...

. Gresle was excommunicated for his role in the rebellion and when King John later ignored the terms of the Magna Carta, Gresle forfeited his lands. King John died in 1216 and the land was returned to Robert Gresle on behalf of King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

.

In this period medieval Manchester was centered around the manor house and the church of St Mary mentioned in 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...

. The castle in Manchester overlooked the rivers Irk and Irwell where the Chethams School of Music stands today. The Gresle family directly leased land to tenants and created burgage tenements for indirect rent.
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