Cranoe

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Cranoe is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 35.

1 The Village
2 The Fire
3 Bottlekicking
4 External Links

[edit] The Village

Despite its now small size, it was once a thriving village, containing: A post office (now post office cottage), a pub: The Cardinals Arms (now Cardinal Cottage), A school which used to cater to three surrounding villages (Glooston, Welham and Hallaton)(now The School House on School Lane). The village still contains two different farms and is surrounded by sloping green fields, populated by sheep almost all year round.

[edit] The Fire

Unfortunately, most of the village was lost in a fire some 50-60 years ago, leaving just a handful of cottages and the church. Two windmills burnt down in this fire and there was a much larger population due to a larger amount of houses. There are only two remaining residents of Cranoe who remember it in its former glory, one of which used to live in Glooston, and used to walk to school in Cranoe everyday before it was closed in favour of Hallaton C of E school. By rights Cranoe should be classed as a hamlet if it was rated on the number of houses and residents, however the survival of the church means that it retains status as a village.

The land on which Cranoe now sits is owned by Brudenell Estate, hence all the property apart from the church is rented from them, including both farms.

Despite Cranoe being in such a deserted and low crime area, their are still risks to living in the idyllic area. In 2006, one of the larger stained glass windows from the church was stolen for unknown reasons and the culprit was never found. Also in 2006 a young man lost his leg whilst working for one of the farmers. Luckily for the farmer, no legal action was taken by the victim, as it was an accident, and becauset everyone in the village grew up with each other (apart from about three families who moved in recently). Hence there is a strong sense of community and family, even the newer families to the area were welcomed with open arms.

[edit] Bottlekicking

Most intriguingly Cranoe has never picked a definite side whilst playing in the annual tournament of "Bottle-kicking", deciding not to choose between Hallaton and Medbourne, but acting more as a freelance force, helping whichever side is losing until the last minute, when then they switch (if necessary) to the winning side. Hence, always having a continuously enjoyable day, and always winning!