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.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Michael.
- The precise date of construction is unknown.
- The church tower was built in the 14th century.
- The church was restored and reconsecrated in 1879.
- The church seats 260.
- 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.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The parish was in the Enderby sub-district of the Blaby Registration District.
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.
- The village 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 Village Hall was built in 1904.
- Croft Hall, or Croft House, was the seat of William BROOKES in 1849.
- 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.
- 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.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Blaby Poorlaw Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
321 |
| 1871 |
299 |
| 1881 |
576 |
| 1891 |
661 |
| 1901 |
740 |
| 1911 |
742 |
| 1921 |
720 |
| 1931 |
961 |
| 1951 |
984 |
| 1961 |
1,057 |
- The Public Elementary School was built in 1854 and leter enlarged.
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[Created: 2-October-2009 - Louis R. Mills]
