Sproxton, Leicestershire

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Sproxton is a village and civil parish in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England, near the border with Lincolnshire. It has about 80 occupied homes and a population of around 480 (2021), rising to 658 in 2011 when including nearby Saltby, Stonesby and Coston. The parish includes Sproxton, Saltby, Stonesby, Bescaby and the former RAF Saltby. The River Eye runs through the area, and nearby places include Waltham on the Wolds, Croxton Kerrial, Coston, Buckminster and Skillington. The Viking Way footpath is close by, and Sproxton Quarry is a nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest.

St Bartholomew’s Church is a 14th‑century, Grade II* listed building. It was extended and restored in 1882 by architect Henry Woodyer. The west wall shows Norman features, the tower is 13th‑century, and the top of the tower was rebuilt in 1882. In the churchyard stands a Saxon cross—the only complete one in Leicestershire.

A post mill once stood at Sproxton. It blew down and killed the miller in 1889, was rebuilt using parts from the old mill and from another at Castle Bytham, and was wrecked by gales in 1916. It was repaired, but by 1920 it was out of use and demolished in 1949.

Iron ore mining took place from 1925 to 1973, with limestone quarried from 1965 to 1969. The stone was taken away by a railway built by the Great Northern Railway, extending from High Dyke to Stainby; the terminus was on the east side of the Sproxton–Saltby road. A plan to extend the line to Waltham Station was never opened. The first iron ore quarry started near the road between the railway and the church and expanded eastwards; a second iron ore quarry operated on the south side of Skillington Road (1961–1973); a third iron ore quarry was on the north side of the railway (1962–1963). Ore was moved to the railway by horse-drawn tramways from 1925 to 1928, then by petrol locomotives and later steam locomotives. From 1961 ore was sometimes moved by lorry; the last tramway closed in 1963 and all ore was transported by road. Steam quarrying machines were used until 1940, after which electric and diesel machines were used. Some quarry areas have been restored for farming or forested, while the final gullets and the limestone quarry remain, with traces of the railway and tipping dock still visible.