Croft Village Leicestershire

| General | Croft Hill | Education | Community Life |
| Religion | Shopping | Transport | Help for Community Groups/Volunteering |

Where is Croft? - Map page

Croft Parish Council

Croft Village Web Site

General

The village of Croft is about 8 miles south west of the City of Leicester in the District of Blaby in Leicestershire. The Civil Parish covers an area of 897 acres or 363 hectares. Relevant local councils are Croft Parish Council, Blaby District Council and Leicestershire County Council.

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 (situated on Winston Avenue) 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. There are also two homes providing long and short term accommodation for the elderly.
 

Croft Hill

Croft Hill stands 128m high in a largely flat area of Leicestershire. 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.

Ancient civilisations lacking modern aids to navigation established a vast network of straight tracks which enabled the traveller to navigate his way to anywhere in Britain. At a very important site of Antiquity three Ley-lines often cross on the site. At Croft Hill there are at least fourteen tracks passing exactly through the summit. There is some evidence to suggest that the whole layout of Leicestershire and the position of its towns and villages is dependent on the exact position and height of Croft Hill.

Evidence of life around Croft Hill has been found which dates back 300,000 to 500,000 years. Artifacts authenticated as dating from Lower Palaeolithic through Mesolithic - Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron age (Celtic), Corieltauvian (Coritani), Roman, Saxon, Viking, Norman, Mediaeval, Tudor and Jacobean eras to the present day have been recorded and photographed.

Parish history and Croft Parish Council

Click here for Croft Parish Council

The Domesday Book records that Leicestershire was divided into four Hundreds for the purposes of administration, public finance and justice. The Guthlaxton Hundred was later divided and Croft may have been a meeting place for the Sparkenhoe Hundred and had certainly been a place of assembly since before the Norman Conquest. In the 14th century local government was based around the manorial court. During the late 18th century each parish vestry was responsible for administering to the poor.

TRAVEL TO LEICESTER The only site that tells you How to get to Leicester Where to stay What to see Where to eat Places of interest Lookiong for somewhere to stay Check our Leicester and Leicestershire Hotels page.

In 1834 the New Poor Law Commission was set up to reform this provision and as a result approximately 15,000 parishes were formed into 600 Poor Law Unions. In 1836 Croft was one of the southernmost of twenty two parishes which formed the Blaby Union, the basis for the current Blaby District Council and its area of responsibility. The first recorded meeting of Croft Parish Council, attended by seven gentlemen, commenced at 7 pm in the Coffee Room on 17th December, 1894. During the meeting Mr. S. D. Pochin was elected Chairman and Rev. Brookes elected Vice Chairman. Mr. C. H. Robottom was appointed Clerk and Collector of Taxes. The meeting closed at 8.30 pm. Meetings were held at irregular intervals during World War II. The May 1945 meeting was held on VE Day. Celebrations for VE Day cost the Parish 9 pounds 1 shilling and two pennies. In January 1950 the Council agreed to support a campaign to prevent the City of Leicester from taking over Braunstone, Glenfield, Glen Parva, Kirby Muxloe and Lubbesthorpe.

In 1989 records show that the Pavillion on the Playing Field was opened and in the same year the decision was taken to purchase the Childrens Play Area for the village. In July 1990 the Croft Best Garden competition was introduced and has since been a regular item on the village calendar. Croft Parish Council marked its centenary, in December 1984, with the presentation of a young tree which was planted in the grounds of the Primary School. The Council has responsibility for a Parish with an area of 897 acres (327 hectares.

Top of Page | Next Page