Croxton Kerrial (pronounced �kroʊsən ˈkɛrɨl is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England, south-west of

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town 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. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

, north-east of

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes pro ...

, and west of Leicestershire's border with

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

. 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 of the Catholic Church ...

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 or Crioill,

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

His seat was at Ostenhanger in Stanford, Kent.) The name "Kerrial" derives from him. Nicholas de Crioll, 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 St Mary. Founded in c. 1183 by Ranulf de Glanville (c. 1112-1190), Chief Justici ...

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).

Governance

Lying across the historical county boundaries of Leicestershire and

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

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Framland. From 1894, Croxton Kerrial formed part of the Belvoir Rural District, until it was amalgamated in 1935 into Melton and Belvoir Rural District, 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 either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although most ...

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 local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non ...

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 Arable relates to the growing of crops: * Arable farming or agronomy, the cultivation of field crops * Arable land, land upon which crops are cultivated * Arable crops program The arable crops program is a consolidated support system operated und ...

farmland. Nearby are Knipton and Harston (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. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and ...

Hungerton __NOTOC__ Wyville is a village in the civil parish of Wyville cum Hungerton, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, and situated approximately south-west from Grantham The whole parish covers about . The population is incl ...

(over the border in

Eaton Eaton may refer to: Buildings Canada * Eaton Centre, the name of various shopping malls in Canada due to having been anchored by an Eaton's store * Eaton's / John Maryon Tower, a cancelled skyscraper in Toronto * Eaton Hall (King City), a confere ...

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. Nearby villages include Beeby, Barsby and Twyford. ...

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 established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

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

, is dedicated to

Saint Botolph Botolph of Thorney (also called Botolph, Botulph or Botulf; later known as Saint Botolph; died around 680) was an English abbot and saint. He is regarded as the patron saint of boundaries, and by extension, of trade and travel, as well as vario ...

and to

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. There is a former

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

chapel in the village.

Sport

Croxton Kerrial currently has a senior football team, CK Dons, playing in the

Leicester and District Football League The Leicester and District Football League is an association football competition based in England. The league has three divisions, of which the highest, the Premier Division, sits at level 12 of the English football league system The Engli ...

. 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