Geograph - photograph every grid square

Although there are written records of a manorial dwelling in Croxton Kerrial from the 7th century, the last known historical records are from the mid 16th century, when there were reports of the house being uninhabitable. Any indication on maps of manor buildings had disappeared by the end of the 18th century. The exact position of the Manor in the village was unknown until Tony Connolly, the chairman of the Framland Local Archaeology Group (FLAG), began researching the history of the village.

Many local people had heard about the existence of a manor but no one was sure where it had been. However, tales of broken farm machinery during ploughing Pinfold Leys, a small field next to the village church, pointed to this as being the most likely site. In 2012, together with FLAG members, Tony Connolly carried out a geophysical survey discovering extensive remains under the field and over the following six years a band of FLAG volunteers, directed by Mr Connolly, have painstakingly excavated the extensive manorial site including a large cobbled crew yard, the house itself which includes a beautifully built garde-robe, the manor kitchen, a 4 metre deep well, a large tithe barn, a cattle barn and a range of associated buildings including a forge and what was probably a brew-house.

This is probably the most completely excavated manorial site in Leicestershire and excavations are planned to come to an end at the end of 2017. The excavated remains will be preserved by carefully restoring the field to grazing land.

More information, including details of finds from the site, can be accessed here: Link