Greasley

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Greasley
Nottinghamshire
Church at Greasley - geograph.org.uk - 1934447.jpg
St Mary's Church, Greasley
Location
Grid reference: SK490471
Location: 53°1’10"N, 1°16’6"W
Data
Post town: Nottingham
Postcode: NG16
Dialling code: 0115 / 01773
Local Government
Council: Broxtowe
Parliamentary
constituency:
Broxtowe

Greasley is a parish in Nottinghamshire, with no village of the name left standing. It is thought there was once a village called Greasley, but it was destroyed by the Earl of Rutland, leaving only the name on the landscape.[1] The villages and hamlets of the parish are Beauvale, Giltbrook, Moorgreen (often called 'Greasley'), Newthorpe, Watnall and parts of Eastwood, Kimberley and Nuthall. There is also a small hamlet known as Bog-End. In the 2011 Census the Parish had a total population of 11,014.

History

Greasley appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Griseleia. It is recorded as belonging to William Peverel as and being worth ten shillings. The book includes reference to a church, a priest and woodland pasture.

The present church of St Mary was built in the mid-15th century, and parts of the building were restored in 1753, 1772, 1832 and 1882. The nave and chancel were rebuilt in 1896, and there are 20th century vestries. The building is Grade II listed.[2]

The remains of Greasley Castle, a mediæval fortified manor house, have been incorporated into a range of farm buildings.[3] To the north, on the edge of High Park Wood, are the remains of Beauvale Priory, founded in 1343, and one of only nine Carthusian monastic houses built in England. The prior and his predecessor were executed in 1535, following the passing of Henry VIII's Act of Succession, and the priory was dissolved in 1539. It was one of the first sites to be protected by its designation as a scheduled ancient monument on 10 April 1915, and in 1952, the buildings were individually given listed building protection.[4]

Nearby is Beauvale House, a small country house designed for Francis Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper by E. W. Godwin and built in 1871-73. It includes a service wing and stables, and is a grade II* listed building.[5]

To the west of the wood is Moorgreen Reservoir, built in 1794 to supply water for the Nottingham Canal, and still owned by the Canal and River Trust, as it now feeds the Erewash Canal. It is managed as a carp fishery by Greasley Estates, covers 38 acres and is up to 30 feet deep in places.[6] The local author D H Lawrence used it as a setting in two of his books, calling it Willey Water in Women in Love and Nethermere in The White Peacock.[7]

Outside links

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References

{{reflist|3}
  1. Lost Village of Greasley: Greasley Parish Council
  2. National Heritage List 1263847: Church of St Mary (Grade II listing)
  3. National Monuments Record: No. 315651 – Greasley Castle
  4. National Heritage List 1002920: Beauvale Carthusian Priory (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
  5. National Heritage List 1278051: Beauvale House (Grade II* listing)
  6. "Carp Fishing". Greasely Estate. http://www.greasley-estate.com/carp.html. Retrieved 21 June 2016. 
  7. "Lawrence in the East Midlands". Nottingham University. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/dhlawrence/study-materials/virtualtour.aspx. Retrieved 21 June 2016.