Croft, Leicestershire
Encyclopedia
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
of Blaby
Blaby (district)
Blaby is a local government district in Leicestershire, England.The district is named after the village of Blaby. It covers the civil parish of Blaby and 23 others. Among these are Cosby, Countesthorpe, Enderby, Huncote, Narborough , Sapcote, Stoney Stanton, and Wigston Parva...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, off the old Fosse Way
Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
and straddling the River Soar
River Soar
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
. Nearby places include Stoney Stanton
Stoney Stanton
Stoney Stanton is a village in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of over 3,454 in 2001. It constitutes a civil parish. The village is on a rocky outcrop and was the site of a quarry, which was closed in 1958...
, Broughton Astley
Broughton Astley
Broughton Astley is a large village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated in the south west of Leicestershire, about east of Hinckley and about from the centre of Leicester.- History :...
, Huncote
Huncote
Huncote is a village and civil parish in the district of Blaby in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is just west of Narborough, and is on the Thurlaston Brook....
and Narborough
Narborough, Leicestershire
Narborough is a village south of Leicester, England. It lies in the Blaby district of Leicestershire. Its name originally meant 'North Stronghold'.Surrounding villages include Enderby, Whetstone, Littlethorpe, Cosby, and Huncote.-Location:...
. The Hinckley to Leicester railway line
Birmingham to Peterborough Line
The Birmingham to Peterborough Line is a cross-country railway line in the United Kingdom, linking Birmingham to Peterborough, via Nuneaton and Leicester....
runs through the village.
Geography
The village of Croft is about 8 miles (12.9 km) south west of the City of Leicester in the District of Blaby in Leicestershire. The Civil Parish covers an area of 897 acres (3.6 km²).Arbor Road and Broughton Road run from the B4114 (Fosse Way) into the village and Huncote Road runs towards the village of Huncote which lies to the other side of Croft Hill. The village comprises a mix of house types of various ages, factories and shops. The village has a primary school, parish church and public house. Croft Quarry occupies a site at the end of the older part of the village.
Croft Hill stands 128m high rising up the Soar flood-plain, and stands out as an isolated landmark almost at the physical centre of England. The Hill provides a number of habitats including broad leaved woodland, scrub land, acidic grassland and two other distinct areas of grassland. It is an important area in view of the variety of flora, fauna, birds and butterflies which inhabit or visit at various times of the year.
The New Hill has been constructed to the East of Croft Hill out of quarry waste, and is being landscaped and planted to match the local flora.
Education
- Croft CoE Primary School (ages 5–11)
Children then attend
- Brockington Secondary School & Community College (ages 11–14)
- Lutterworth College (ages 14–18)
Industry & Business
Croft Quarry on Marions Way is the site of several Aggregate Industries businesses including Charcon Specialist Products.Aggregate Industries Regional offices are sited in some of the older buildings in the village including Croft House & Greystones.
The village has an industrial area on Winston Avenue with offices and manufacturing companies.
There are also a number of farms, a parade of shops on Pochin Street, and a new office compex, Riverside Court, yet to be occupied.
Transport
Croft is served by Arriva Leicester Services 50 (Mon - Sat peak) & 50A (Mon - Sat daytime).Croft Railway Station used to serve the village, but was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
.
Recreation
Croft Cricket Club play at the Recreation Ground, Winston Avenue. Their website has lots of statistics, history and photographs of old and new faces. 2007 was their centenary year. They run two Saturday teams, a Sunday team and junior teams.Croft F.C. also play at the recreation ground on the adjacent football pitch. A Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) was built at the Recreation Ground in 2009.
Croft Fun Park was opened in 2002 by Graham Rowntree
Graham Rowntree
Graham Christopher Rowntree is a former English rugby union player. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite having to compete for his position with the world's second most capped player, Jason Leonard.Rowntree was born in...
.
Croft Silver band will celebrate its 110th aniversary in 2011.
History
It is local tradition that the parish stone pit at Croft, known as the Clevis, was originally a first century Roman granite quarry used in the construction of the foundations and bridges of the Fosse Way.Fenn states that the place-name Croft was first recorded in 836, and is derived from the Old English cræft 'craft, a machine, engine'. The craft in question could perhaps be that of quarrying.
The occasion in 836 was an assembly at Croft when the King Wiglaf of Mercia
Wiglaf of Mercia
Wiglaf was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown...
was joined by Archbishop of Canterbury (Ceolnoth
Ceolnoth
-Biography:Gervase of Canterbury says that Ceolnoth was Dean of the see of Canterbury previous to being elected to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury, but this story has no confirmation in contemporary records. Ceolnoth was consecrated archbishop on 27 July 833...
) and eleven of his bishops and three abbots, besides twenty-two laymen of authority and influence. They gathered to witness the grant of land by Wiglaf to the monastery of Hanbury, Worcestershire.
In the 1920’s, Croft Hill was used as a picnic spot for Sunday School trips and was popular with Leicester people, it being a short train journey from the surrounding areas.
Notable residents
The Canadian politician and businessman Charles Avery DunningCharles Avery Dunning
Charles Avery Dunning, PC was born in Croft, Leicestershire, England. During his career, he was a successful businessman, a Canadian politician , and a university chancellor.-Early life:...
was born in Croft in 1885.
The children's novelist Monica Edwards
Monica Edwards
Monica Edwards was an English children's writer of the mid-twentieth century best known for her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series of children's novels.-Early life:...
lived in Croft 1938-1939.
Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway
Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway
Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway CBE, DStJ was a British suffragist and noblewoman. She was the daughter of Henry Davis Pochin, a noted industrialist and chemist.-Life:...
a suffragist and gardener who improved & expanded Bodnant Garden
Bodnant Garden
Bodnant Garden is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. Bodnant Garden is situated above the River Conwy and overlooks the Conwy valley towards the Carneddau range of mountains.- History :...
.
She was the daughter of Henry Davis Pochin
Henry Davis Pochin
Henry Davis Pochin was an English industrial chemist. He was the son of a yeoman farmer of Leicestershire who served an apprenticeship to James Woolley , a manufacturing chemist in Manchester, and in course of time became his partner. Woolley died in 1858 and Pochin kept a manuscript diary of...
, a member of the local quarrying family, and noted industrialist and chemist.
The controversial writer David Icke
David Icke
David Vaughan Icke is an English writer and public speaker, best known for his views on what he calls "who and what is really controlling the world." Describing himself as the most controversial speaker in the world, he has written 18 books explaining his position, and has attracted a substantial...
lived in Croft for a time in the 1970s.