Cranoe is a small 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 Harborough district 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. The parish had a population of 35 in 2001. The population remained less than 100 and was included in the civil parish of Glooston.

The village

The village's name means 'hill spur frequented with

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

s'. Despite its small size, Cranoe was once a thriving village, with a post office (now Post Office Cottage), a pub (the Cardigan Arms, now Cardigan Cottage), and a school (now The School House on School Lane) which used to cater to three surrounding villages: Glooston, Welham and

Hallaton Hallaton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 523, which had increased to 594 at the 2011 census. History and description The village's ...

. The village still has two farms and is surrounded by sloping green fields, populated by sheep almost all year round. The village has declined in the twentieth century, leaving just a handful of cottages and the church. The population in 1901 was 98. By 1951 there were 41 inhabitants.'Cranoe', ''A History of the County of Leicester: Volume 5: Gartree Hundred'' (1964), pp. 81–84. There are only two remaining residents of Cranoe who remember it in its former glory, one of whom used to live in Glooston, and used to walk to school in Cranoe every day before it was closed in favour of Hallaton C of E school. By rights Cranoe should be classed as a hamlet if it were rated on the number of houses and residents; however the survival of the parish church of St Michael means that it retains status as a village. The land on which Cranoe now sits is owned by the Brudenell Estate, hence nearly all the property apart from the church is rented from the estate, including both farms. In 2006, one of the larger stained-glass windows from the church was stolen.

Bottle-kicking

Cranoe has never picked a definite side when playing in the annual tournament of " Bottle-kicking", deciding not to choose between

and Medbourne, but acting more as a freelance force, helping whichever side is losing until the last minute, when they then switch (if necessary) to the winning side.

References

External links

harborough.gov.uk
Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Harborough District {{Leicestershire-geo-stub