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'''Foxton'''  is a village in [[Leicestershire]], to the north-west of [[Market Harborough]].  The village is on the [[Grand Union Canal]] and is the site of the [[Foxton Locks]]<ref>[ https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/foxton-locks Foxton Locks] (Canal and River Trust)</ref><ref>[http://www.foxtonlocks.com/ Foxton Locks]</ref> and the Foxton Inclined Plane.
'''Foxton'''  is a village in [[Leicestershire]], to the north-west of [[Market Harborough]].  The village is on the [[Grand Union Canal]] and is the site of the [[Foxton Locks]]<ref>[https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/foxton-locks Foxton Locks] (Canal and River Trust)</ref><ref>[http://www.foxtonlocks.com/ Foxton Locks]</ref> and the Foxton Inclined Plane.


Foxton is a nucleated village which mainly consists of three parallel streets: Main Street, Middle Street and Swingbridge Street, which run down the hill in a south-westerly direction. The highest part of the village is home to the church and the manor house, which are cornered off from the rest of the village by the Grand Union Canal.
Foxton is a nucleated village which mainly consists of three parallel streets: Main Street, Middle Street and Swingbridge Street, which run down the hill in a south-westerly direction. The highest part of the village is home to the church and the manor house, which are cornered off from the rest of the village by the Grand Union Canal.

Latest revision as of 12:52, 18 October 2017

Foxton
Leicestershire

Parish Church
Location
Grid reference: SP701900
Location: 52°30’14"N, -0°58’6"W
Data
Population: 478  (2011)
Post town: Market Harborough
Postcode: LE16
Dialling code: 01858
Local Government
Council: Harborough

Foxton is a village in Leicestershire, to the north-west of Market Harborough. The village is on the Grand Union Canal and is the site of the Foxton Locks[1][2] and the Foxton Inclined Plane.

Foxton is a nucleated village which mainly consists of three parallel streets: Main Street, Middle Street and Swingbridge Street, which run down the hill in a south-westerly direction. The highest part of the village is home to the church and the manor house, which are cornered off from the rest of the village by the Grand Union Canal.

History

The village has previously been known as Foxestone and Foxtone.[3] The origin of the name is exactly as it appears: 'fox village' Foxton was originally a hill-top settlement,[4] thought to have been founded in Saxon times with a landscape fashioned in the ice-age.[4] The village gradually moved down the valley side[4] as a farming community, working on the open three field system until it was enclosed in 1770.[4] Foxton remained virtually unchanged[4] between Norman times until the end of the 18th century when the canal arrived from Leicester, cutting through the village.[4] Agriculture began to diminish as improved communication and alternative job opportunities meant that people left their village to work[4] and in the bringing of trade and industry[4] on the canal.

Parish church

St Andrew's Church stands at the highest and southernmost point of the parish. The oldest parts of the church date to about 1200.

St Andrew's underwent a Victorian restoration between 1891-3, at the cost of £2,750, and there is a commemorative plaque to signify this event[5]

Places of interest

Robert Monk Hall was opened in 1931 by Robert Monk, its upkeep is supplied by a trust fund, and helps to assist the people of Foxton.[4]

The Foxton Locks are a series of ten canal locks on the Grand Union Canal, forming two staircases of locks. The locks attract many visitors to the area.

Manor House is situated south of the Grand Union Canal and north of Swingbridge Street. It is an 18th-century farmhouse on the site of an old Norman Manor which was held by Judith, niece of William the Conqueror, after the Norman Conquest.[4]

Foxton Locks Country Park is found by the top lock.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Foxton, Leicestershire)

References