South Croxton (traditionally pronounced "crow-sun" [ˈkroʊsən]) is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district ofLeicestershire, England.[1] It has a population of around 250, measured at 261 in the 2011 census.The highest point is the church, at 120 metres above mean sea level. This falls to 85 metres by the Queniborough Brook. The moated area to the north of the church formed part of a medieval manor enclosure and has yielded Saxon remains. Signs of medieval ridge and furrow field patterns can be seen to the north of the moated area.The Grade II* listed Church of St John's and four farmhouses in the parish (Bell Dip, Hill Top, North Manor, South Manor) are listed historic buildings. The village was designated as a Conservation Area in 1975, for its special architectural and historic interest. It has 90 houses, a 14th-century church, a pub (the Golden Fleece) and a village hall, formerly the local school. A considerable number of unlisted buildings are also of architectural interest, having "survived relatively unchanged over the last hundred years." Some are still roofed in slate that was quarried at nearby Swithland, some later ones in Welsh slate.[8]As a community South Croxton antedates Domesday (where it is referred to as Crochestone) and probably the coming of the Danes. It appears as "Sudcroxtun" in the Coroner’s Rolls (county records) of 1212. There were two manors known as Nether End and Upper End, divided by the Queniborough brook. These were enclosed in 1757 and 1794 respectively. There was a short-lived frame knitting industry in the village in the first half of the 19th century. The group of older houses down School Lane once formed a separate hamlet called West Thorpe.[10] Since the 1960s, the character of South Croxton has largely changed from a farming community into a dormitory suburb for Leicester.
If anybody would like to expand this series please do. I would just ask that you let Smokeypugs know first so they can keep track of the Village Sign numbers and names to avoid duplication.