Grazeley
Grazeley is an area covering the small villages of Grazeley in the civil parish of Shinfield and Grazeley Green in the civil parish of Wokefield, south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. To the east is the village of Spencers Wood, to the west is Wokefield and to the south is Beech Hill.
Local government
Grazeley was historically divided between the parishes of Sulhamstead Abbots, Sulhamstead Bannister and Shinfield. The part around Grazeley Village remains in the civil parish of Shinfield. 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. These formed into a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1860. The latter became a separate civil parish in 1866. Both the Sulhamstead parts of Grazeley were later absorbed by the parish of Wokefield.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. 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. 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". His flamboyancy, self-importance and addiction to gambling at cards brought him and his family into debt and unhappiness.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 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 post office. In the early 20th century, letters were received via Reading with collection boxes outside the church and outside Grazeley Court farm. Money orders could be sent from the nearest office in Three Mile Cross and the nearest Telegraph Office was at Spencers Wood.Holy Trinity Church
Opened in 1850, the 14th century style Church of England parish church of the Holy Trinity was a gift from the Bishop of Oxford. Built in flint and stone, it consists of a chancel, nave, south porch and belfry with a single bell. Inside the Church an oak tablet on the north wall remembers the local men who lost their lives during the two World Wars, with the inscription:The church closed in January 2006.