-
Gorham case], 8vo, London, 1850.
- ‘Distinctive Tenets of the Church of England,’ 4th edit., 8vo, London, 1851.
- ‘A Second Word of Remonstrance with the Evangelicals,’ 8vo, London, 1851.
- ‘A Letter to the Dean of Bristol [G. Elliott] on what he considers the “Fundamental Error” of Tractarianism,’ 8vo, London, 1851.
- ‘A Letter on Confession and Absolution … in reply to a Letter and Speeches of the Rev. R. J. McGhee,’ 8vo, London, 1852.
- ‘The Present State of the Controversy with Rome. Three Sermons,’ 12mo, London, 1855.
- ‘Answer to a Letter of the Rev. E. B. Elliott addressed to the Rev. W. Gresley on the “Delusion of the Tractarian Clergy as to the Validity of their Ministerial Orders,”’ 8vo, London, 1856.
- ‘Position of the Church and the Duty of her Members in regard to the Denison Case,’ 8vo, London, 1856.
- ‘Sermons preached at Brighton,’ 12mo, London, 1858.
- ‘Boyne Hill Tracts. By W. G.,’ 8vo, London, 1858.
- ‘Idealism considered; chiefly with reference to a volume of “Essays and Reviews” lately published,’ 8vo, London, 1860.
- ‘The Prayer-Book as it is,’ 8vo, London, 1865.
[Burke's Peerage, 1889, p. 626; Welch's Alumni Westmon. 1852, pp. 485, 486; Austen's Memoir cited above; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
GRESSE, JOHN ALEXANDER (1741–1794), painter and drawing-master, was born in London in 1741. His father was a native of Rolle, on the Lake of Geneva, and owned a small property close to Oxford Street, on which the present streets, Stephen Street and Gresse Street, Rathbone Place, were built about 1771. Gresse studied drawing under Gerard Scotin, the engraver, and was one of the first students to work in the gallery of casts founded by the Duke of Richmond. In 1755 he obtained a premium at the Society of Arts for a drawing by a student under the age of fourteen years, and in 1759 he gained three premiums for drawings and studies from the human figure. He was successful again in 1761 and 1762, obtaining in all nine premiums before attaining the age of twenty-one. He was for a short time pupil of Major the engraver, and worked for several years under Cipriani, profiting at the same time by the instruction of Zuccarelli. He was employed by John Boydell to make drawings. Gresse lacked the industry and application necessary to succeed in the higher branches of his art, and as he inherited a sufficient income from his father, he did not exert his full powers. In 1763 he exhibited a landscape at the Free Society of Artists, and in 1764 two miniatures and a Madonna. In 1765 he became a member of the rival Incorporated Society of Artists, and exhibited with them for four years, chiefly miniatures. In 1768 he sent a stained drawing of the Earl of Bessborough's seat at Roehampton. Gresse excelled in this branch of water-colour painting, and some of his views were engraved. He became one of the most fashionable drawing-masters of his day. In 1777 he was appointed drawing-master to the royal princesses, and was soon a favourite at court. His corpulence obtained for him the nickname of ‘Jack Grease.’ He occasionally practised etching, and etched the plates for Kennedy's ‘Account of the Statues and Pictures at Wilton House’ (1769). He published a few other etchings, including one of ‘St. Jerome’ after Guido, and ‘A Satyr Sleeping’ after N. Poussin. Gresse died on 19 Feb. 1794, in his fifty-third year, and was buried at St. Anne's, Soho. He was a great collector of works of art, which were sold by auction shortly after his death, the sale occupying six days.
[Edwards's Anecd. of Painters; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Dodd's MS. Hist. of English Engravers, Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 33401; exhibition catalogues.]
GRESSWELL, DAN (1819–1883), veterinary surgeon, was born 13 May 1819 at Kelsey Hall, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. He became in 1840 member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; and in the same year was elected fellow of the Veterinary Medical Association in recognition of an essay upon ‘Lactiferous Glands.’ He settled in Louth about the same time, and became widely known as a veterinary surgeon. On 20 Feb. 1877 he was elected fellow of the College of Veterinary Surgeons as a reward for original research. He wrote many original papers on ‘Paralysis in the Horse,’ ‘Excision of the Uterus in the Cow,’ ‘Treatment and Ætiology of Splenic Apoplexy or Anthrax,’ ‘Tetanus,’ ‘Arsenical Poisoning,’ and other subjects. His sons have, since his death, published several works upon veterinary science, partly embodying his manuscripts and verbal instructions. He took an active part in local politics as a strong conservative, and did much to improve the sanitary arrangements of Louth. He was elected to the town council 1 Nov. 1862, alderman in April 1871, and mayor 9 Nov. of the same year. He continued to be an alderman until his death at Kelsey House, Louth, 13 March 1883. He married, 18 Dec. 1845, Anne Beastall of Reston, near Louth, by whom he had eight sons and seven daughters. They all survived him.
[Information from the family.]
