The name Grini is a variant of Granvin (a placename used elsewhere), and stems from spruce trees in the area. The Old Norse form was Grǫnin. The farm Grini is known at least since 1348, when it was parted into a northern and a southern part. Both farms belonged to the Church of Norway, but the crown usurped the property following the Protestant Reformation. The dwelling house was erected in 1658, three years before the property was sold from the crown to a private person. Between the mid-seventeenth century and the mid-nineteenth century the property was owned by the Leuch, Anker and Wedel-Jarlsberg families. It was bought by Ole Ellefsen Gjedsø in 1854; he later became mayor of Bærum. Grini was the easternmost farm in Bærum municipality, which at the time bordered Aker. (now: Oslo, following a 1948 municipal merger)
