Though there is a modern parish of Grazeley, it has always historically been part of Shinfield, and the main village still is. The new parish was once a detatched part of Sulhamstead Abbots. It only covers the area around Grazeley Manor Farm and the eastern half of the Royal Ordnance Factory (generally thought of as being in Burghfield).

Mary Russell Mitford's father, a manic gambler, bought Grazeley Court for himself and his family with the winnings from an Irish Lottery ticket. He totally rebuilt the house, renaming it Bertram House. Sadly his betting continued and Mary had to turn to writing to support the family. She wrote:
Miscellaneous Verses (1810)
Christine (1811)
& Blanche (1813)
at Bertram, but eventually they were forced to sell up. The house has now been demolished. The family fortunes had a slight up turn only with the weekly publication of her most famous work, Our Village after 1824.