Foxton, Leicestershire

The village has previously been known as Foxestone and Foxtone. It is believed to have developed these names from the large number of foxes which inhabited the area. Foxton was originally a hill-top settlement, thought to have been founded in Saxon times with a landscape fashioned in the ice-age. The village gradually moved down the valley side as a farming community, working on the open three field system until it was enclosed in 1770. Foxton remained virtually unchanged between Norman times until the end of the 18th century when the canal arrived from Leicester, cutting through the village. Agriculture began to diminish as improved communication and alternative job opportunities meant…

The village buildings are almost entirely built of red brick. In the 11th century the "earliest part of the Manor house was built" as the settlement developed. This was followed in the 13th century by the "building of a second manor house, whose foundations are Orchard House".