Some
two or three miles away from Nottingham, in a well-wooded
and picturesque locality, is Strelley, with its fine old ivy-covered
church and stately Hall, forming a pleasing picture. Within
the church are some splendid monuments of the ancient family
of Stradlegh or Strelley, who took their name from the village,
and were associated with it for several centuries. As far
back as the reign of Henry I. (A.D. 1100-1135), Walter de
Stradlegh or Strelley was the principal owner of the parish,
and from him it descended to his son Samson, one of the warlike
Nottinghamshire gentry who took up arms in behalf of Earl
John. This conduct of the representative of the Strelleys,
as may be imagined, did not meet with the approval of King
Richard, and Strelley was seized by that monarch, but when
John came to the throne his adherent was abundantly recompensed
for the exactions which Richard had insisted upon.
Successive members of the family
took part in most of the national events and baronial conflicts
of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Strelleys
were called to perform military service against Wallace in
Scotland, and one of them, Robert, was made a leader of levies
in Notts in 1313, and in 1324 represented the county at a
great council at Westminster. After being in the hands of
a family whose proud boast it was to have had twelve generations
honoured with knighthood, the manor was at length disposed
of.
Strelley Hall is situated near
the church, which was erected about 1356. It occupies the
site of the old mansion, and is the seat of Mr. J. T. Edge,
J.P., whose ancestor purchased the estate in 1678.
Source: Cornelius Brown, History
of Nottinghamshire, London 1896.
Some
two or three miles away from Nottingham, in a well-wooded
and picturesque locality, is Strelley, with its fine old ivy-covered
church and stately Hall, forming a pleasing picture. Within
the church are some splendid monuments of the ancient family
of Stradlegh or Strelley, who took their name from the village,
and were associated with it for several centuries. As far
back as the reign of Henry I. (A.D. 1100-1135), Walter de
Stradlegh or Strelley was the principal owner of the parish,
and from him it descended to his son Samson, one of the warlike
Nottinghamshire gentry who took up arms in behalf of Earl
John. This conduct of the representative of the Strelleys,
as may be imagined, did not meet with the approval of King
Richard, and Strelley was seized by that monarch, but when
John came to the throne his adherent was abundantly recompensed
for the exactions which Richard had insisted upon. 