Greencroft

Greencroft is a village and separately a parish in County Durham, England. Together, they are situated between Lanchester and Annfield Plain. Greencroft consists of two entities: The Village of Greencroft is a suburb of Annfield Plain and not part of the parish of Greencroft. This article concerns mainly the village. The Parish of Greencroft is separate and lies to the south, between Greencroft village and Annfield Plain in the north and Lanchester to the south. The parish includes the village of Maiden Law directly between Annfield Plain and Lanchester. The population of the civil parish (which doesn't include the village) taken at the 2011 census was 171. Greencroft village is mainly centred around a crossroads through which the A693 formerly passed (Annfield Plain to the south, Catchgate to the east, Loud Bank to the north beyond which the old A693 road joins the current A693 near East Castle). On this crossroads is situated Croft Community School, a school for special needs pupils. This transferred from Harelaw to occupy the former site of Greencroft Comprehensive School. Greencroft Nature Reserve to the south and east of Greencroft towards the current A693, with the eastern boundary defined by Annfield Plain and home of Annfield Plain Football Club, Derwent Park Stadium. The nature reserve consists almost entirely of heath land, with Alexander Pond directly to the south of the stadium. Annfield Plain Cricket Club is situated on the northern edge of the nature reserve, backing onto Greencroft village itself. The C2C cycle route passes through Greencroft Village, Greencroft Nature Reserve and Greencroft Industrial Park on its Consett to Sunderland branch (NCN7).