Croxton Kerrial (pronounced �kroʊsən ˈkɛrɨl is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Melton borough of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, England, south-west of

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

, north-east of

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

, and west of Leicestershire's border with

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. The civil parish includes the village of Branston and had a population of 530 at the 2011 census.

History

The village's name means "farm/settlement of Krok" or "farm/settlement of a crook". In medieval times, Croxton Abbey, a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

house, lay within the locality. The manor of Croxton was granted (in part-exchange for the manor of Kettleburgh, Suffolk) by King Henry III in May 1242 to

Bertram de Criol Sir Bertram de Criol (Criel, Crioill, Cyroyl, or Kerrial; died 1256) was a senior and trusted Steward and diplomat to King Henry III of England, Henry III. He served as Constable and Keeper of Dover Castle, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Keeper ...

or Crioill,

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is the name of a ceremonial post in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but it may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the ...

His seat was at Ostenhanger in

Stanford, Kent Stanford is a village and civil parish in Kent, England. It is part of the Folkestone and Hythe district. The village developed along the ancient Roman Stone Street and was divided by the construction of the M20 motorway into Stanford North ...

.) The name "Kerrial" derives from him.

Nicholas de Crioll Nicholas de Crioll (Cryoyll, Kerrial or Kyriel) (died c. February 1272), of a family seated in Kent, was Warden of the Cinque Ports, Constable of Dover Castle and Keeper of the Coast during the early 1260s. His kinsman Bertram de Criol (died 1256 ...

, a successor to Bertram as Warden of the Cinque Ports, married the heiress of William de Auberville the younger, whose grandfather in 1192 founded the Premonstratensian abbey of Langdon, near West Langdon, Kent;

Leiston Abbey Leiston Abbey outside the town of Leiston, Suffolk, England, was a religious house of Canons Regular following the Premonstratensian rule (White canons), dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, St Mary. Founded in c. 1183 by Ranulf de Glanville (c. 1 ...

in Suffolk had been founded by his father-in-law Ranulf de Glanville in 1183. On 28 December 1246 the king granted a Monday weekly market to Nicholas de Crioll and his heirs, at his manor of Croxton, and a yearly fair on the vigil, feast and morrow of St Barnabas (June 10–12). The manor was later in the ownership of the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

Governance

Lying across the historical county boundaries of

and

from very early times, Croxton Kerrial once formed an ancient parish within the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Framland Framland was a hundred in north-east Leicestershire, England, roughly corresponding to today's borough of Melton. It was recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' as one of Leicestershire's four wapentakes. The name remains in use as a deanery of the Dio ...

. From 1894, Croxton Kerrial formed part of the

Belvoir Rural District Belvoir was a rural district in Leicestershire, England from 1894 to 1935. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Grantham Rural Sanitary District that was in Leicestershire. It was a small district, named afte ...

, until it was amalgamated in 1935 into

Melton and Belvoir Rural District Melton and Belvoir Rural District was a rural district of Leicestershire, England, from 1935 to 1974. It was formed on 1 April 1935 from the merger of the Melton Mowbray Rural District and the Belvoir Rural District, with part going to Melton M ...

, both of which were in the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

of Leicestershire. On 1 April 1936 the parish of Branston was abolished and merged with Croxton Kerrial. In 1974, under the provisions of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Croxton Kerrial was transferred into the newly created

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

of Melton, while remaining within Leicestershire county.

Geography

Croxton Kerrial can be described as hilly, its highest point being 500 ft (152 m) above sea level. Much of the land surrounding it is arable farmland. Nearby are Knipton and

Harston Harston is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740. Village Sign The village sign was erected in th ...

(both in Belvoir parish),

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 10 ...

, Hungerton (over the border in

), Eaton and Sproxton.

South Croxton South Croxton (traditionally pronounced "crow-sun" �kroʊsən is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It had a population of 261 in the 2011 census. It is north-east of Leicester city centre. Nearby ...

is a separate village and civil parish in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, named to reflect its position south of Croxton Kerrial. A local landmark is the Croxton Water Spout, part of an old water system sourced from a local spring, which was refurbished in 2003 as part of the Millennium celebrations.

Education and worship

Croxton Kerrial

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Primary School converted to academy status in 2013 under the Leicester Diocese Charitable Trust. An

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

report in June 2015 graded the school as good. It had a roll of 73. The Anglican church, part of the

Diocese of Leicester The Diocese of Leicester is a Church of England diocese based in Leicester and including the current county of Leicestershire. The cathedral is Leicester Cathedral, where the Bishop of Leicester has his episcopal chair. The diocese is divided in ...

, is dedicated to Saint Botolph and to

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. There is a former

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel in the village.

Sport

Croxton Kerrial currently has a senior football team, CK Dons, playing in the Leicester and District Football League. It also has a Sunday cricket team, which plays in the GMCA Division 3. South-west of the village (beyond Croxton Park) is the disused Croxton Park race course. The last race meeting there was held on 2 April 1914.

References

External links

Croxton Kerrial
GENUKI article.
Croxton Kerrial
a Leicestershirevillages.com community forum. {{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton