Leicestershire county page

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Leicestershire Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Croft

Description in 1871:
"CROFT, a parish in Blaby district, Leicester; on the Fosse way and the river Soar, 2¾ miles NNW of Broughton-Astley r. station, and 5¾ ENE of Hinckley. It has a post office under Hinckley. Acres, 1,010. Real property, £2,353. Pop., 319. Houses, 71. The property is divided among a few. Croft Hall is a chief residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £582. Patron, the Rev. R. T. Adnutt. The church old and narrow, but good. There is a national school."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]

Caution: The are other places with the name Croft in Herefordshire, Lincolnshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire.

Census

• The parish was in the Enderby sub-district of the Blaby Registration District.
  
  
• The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Michael and All Angels.
  
  
• The precise date of construction is unknown but is believed to be from the Norman era.
  
  
• The church tower was built in the 14th century.
  
  
• The church was restored and reconsecrated in 1879.
  
  
• The church seats 260.
  
  
• There are interior and exterior photos of the church at the Leicester and Rutland Churches website, along with a pocket history of the church.
  
  

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1586.
  
  
• The church is in the rural deanery of Guthlaxton (first portion).
  
  
• The Croft Free chapel was built in 1822.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
  
  
• The parish was in the Enderby sub-district of the Blaby Registration District.
  
  

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Description and Travel.

Croft is a village and a parish which sits about 8 miles southwest of Leicester, 6 miles east of Hinckley and 97 miles north of London. The parish covers 897 acres. A stream (the River Soar) runs through the north side of the village and another branch runs throught the eastern edge of the village.

The village stands on a type of granite known as Syenite. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, take the B4114 arterial road southwest out of Leicester city and turn right at the signs for Croft.
  
  
• There is a village street scene to help you recognize the place.
  
  

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History

• The village is just west of the old Roman Foss Way.
  
  
• On Blaby District Council website, see "heritage" in the A to Z index for information on Croft and nearby villages.
  
  
• This "temporary" web site has a History of Croft.
  
  
• In the 1800s many parishioners worked as frame-work knitters, others as quarry workers.
  
  
• The quarry has a Corporate website with a history of their work in Croft.
  
  
• The Village Hall was built in 1904.
  
  

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Manors

• Croft Hall, or Croft House, was the seat of William BROOKES in 1849.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is SP 5195.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• This place was both an ancient parish in Leicestershire and a modern Civil Parish.
  
  
• The parish was in the ancient Sparkenhoe Hundred (or Wapentake) in the southern division of the county.
  
  
• In March, 1885, this parish was reduced by "Platt House" to enlarge Broughton Astley Civil Parish.
  
  
• The local Parish Council website can keep you informed on what is going on in Croft, but they are not staffed to help with family history questions.
  
  
• District governance is provided by the Blaby District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Blaby Poorlaw Union.
  
  

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Population

Year	Inhabitants
1841	321
1871	299
1881	576
1891	661
1901	740
1911	742
1921	720
1931	961
1951	984
1961	1,057

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Schools

• The Public Elementary School was built in 1854 and leter enlarged.
  
  
• There is a website for Croft C. of E. Primary School, but no history nor any list of past students.
  
  

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Societies

There is an active Heritage Group gathering history in written and oral form and taking pictures.

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