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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire. Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the ad ...

district of Leicestershire, 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''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

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' ...

. 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 Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

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 Medbourne is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 473. Each year it competes with nearby Hallaton during the Bottle-kickin ...

, 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