Fleckney is a 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Harborough district of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, England. It is situated 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the A6 national route between

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. The village appeared in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

and remained a small farming community until the 19th century, which saw development of industry: initially bricks and later hosiery. The historic village centre is a hub of amenities for the mostly rural local area.

Facilities

Much of the surrounding area is composed of small agricultural communities with few amenities, leading Fleckney to be defined by the local council as a rural centre, benefiting from two general practitioner surgeries, a public library, two public houses, primary school, several food shops and a post office. The local newspaper, ''The Fleckney Communicata'', is offered free to local residents. Much of the adult population commutes, although there is a significant industrial estate in the south of the village. More than 21% of the village population is 0–15 years old, making Fleckney one of the youngest villages in Harborough District. The village has a local primary school, while older pupils attend school at Kibworth High School. Leicester Grammar School, an independent secondary school, moved to the neighbouring village of Great Glen in 2007.

History and geography

The village's name probably means 'island of Flecca', though this is uncertain and 'hurdle island' has also been suggested. Mentioned as ''Flechenie'' in the Domesday Book as the location of just three households, the old factory buildings at the edge of the village are the remains of the 19th century brickworks and later hosiery factories. Decorative bricks in the Barlow shed of St Pancras railway station were produced in Fleckney. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, successive developments of new housing were constructed radiating north and south from the historic village centre towards the parish boundaries. Due to severe storms in 2012, the village church suffered roof damage. This was repaired with the donation of a semi-retired local builder, among others. The village occupies a generally flat area among gently rolling hills in

. The

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

traverses the eastern edge of the parish from north to south via the Kibworth Locks and the

Saddington Saddington is a village in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is close to Smeeton Westerby, Gumley, Kibworth and Fleckney. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 309. It is a small h ...

tunnel. In the parish, a few hundred metres east of the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

is Mill Field Wood also known as Millennium Wood, planted in 2000 as a millennium project. The were bought by the Woodland Trust and villagers of Fleckney and those surrounded planted its trees. The bulk of trees planted were oak, ash, silver birch and field maple; shrubs planted were chiefly hazel and blackthorn, diverse native species. The pond in the centre of the village has many ducks and was originally a clay or

brickearth Brickearth is a term originally used to describe Superficial deposits, superficial windblown deposits found in southern England. The term has been employed in English-speaking regions to describe similar deposits. Brickearths are periglacial ...

pit, a relic of 19th brickmaking. The pond drains in to Fleckney Brook, a tributary of the River Sence which by way of the rivers Soar, Trent and estuarine

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

(noted for Hull) runs relatively directly in to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. Despite the sea at

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

being away, these thus run from here more than to reach the cusp of the estuary at

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

. To the east is the slightly larger village of Kibworth and adjoining Smeeton Westerby; to the south and separated by a narrow tract of agricultural land is the hilltop village of

; while to the north and east are the parishes of Newton Harcourt, Kilby, Wistow and Arnesby.

Transport

Roads

Fleckney is centred 6 miles east of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

and is equidistant between two parallel sections of the north–south A6 and A5199 (former A50) trunk roads.

Buses

Arriva Midlands operate service 49 into Leicester via Wigston and Centrebus operate service 44 to Foxton via

, Kibworth Beauchamp, The Langtons, Great Bowden &

Rail

The nearest railway station is at South Wigston (6 miles), since late 20th century service reductions little used, as at 2017 having far fewer than one train per hour in each direction; no direct service to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; it lacks a car park and many facilities. Railway stations with car parks and many facilities are in

and

, centred 10 miles from the village — having direct travel to London St Pancras station and destinations in and near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and beyond to the north.

also sees east–west services linking Fleckney to destinations such as

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Sport

The Village Cricket side was formed in 1975, and have two Saturday sides that play in the Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League, they play all home games at the Fleckney Sports Ground The Village also has a men's vets football team playing alternate Saturdays against other local teams from the city and county.

References

External links

Fleckney Village WebsiteFleckney Online WebsiteFleckney Village Cricket Club Website
{{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Harborough District