Sproxton

Sproxton () is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Melton in Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Lincolnshire. It has approximately 80 occupied dwellings (2021) and a population of 480, rising to 658 (including Coston, Saltby and Stonesby) at the 2011 census. The village and civil parish are not coterminous; the parish includes the villages of Sproxton, Saltby, Stonesby, Bescaby, and the former RAF Saltby. The River Eye runs through the parish. Nearby places are Waltham on the Wolds, Croxton Kerrial, Coston, Buckminster, and Skillington (in Lincolnshire). The Viking Way runs close by. Nearby is Sproxton Quarry Site of Special Scientific Interest. The 14th-century parish church of St Bartholomew, extended and restored in 1882 by architect Henry Woodyer, is a Grade II* listed building. There is evidence of Norman building in the west wall of the south aisle and the tower is 13th-century. The top part of the tower was rebuilt in the restoration of 1882. There is a Saxon cross in the churchyard - the only complete one in Leicestershire. A post mill stood at Sproxton. The mill was rebuilt in 1889 after it blew down and killed the miller. Wakes & Lamb of Newark rebuilt the mill using materials from the old mill and from one at Castle Bytham. It was wrecked by the gales of March 1916, but repaired. By 1920 it was out of use and was demolished in 1949 when owned by Mr T.A.Mount.