Scraptoft

Scraptoft is a village in Leicestershire, England that is effectively a suburb of Leicester. It has a population of about 1,500.

It lies north of the A47 road out east of Leicester, and runs directly into the built up area of Thurnby and Bushby to the south.

Rail Transport: It no longer has a train station, the Thurnby and Scraptoft railway station (which connected to the Great Northern Railway) having been long disused. The station closed to passenger traffic in the mid 1950's.

Road Transport: The village is currently served by 'Arriva Midlands' bus service Nos. 56/56A, which operates to Leicester via Thurnby Turn and A47 Uppingham Road, the basic frequency is every 30 minutes daytimes Mondays to Saturdays (No service Evenings, Sundays or Bank Holiday Mondays) and is also currently served by West End Travel 'Rural Rider' service No. RR5 (Weds.) and RR11 (Sats.) between Oakham - Tilton - Hungarton - Leicester on Wednesdays and Saturdays only (1 trip in each direction). For Up-to-date timetables of current local and national bus services see the website : www.traveline.org.uk Past road transport in Scraptoft: For many years from the 1930's the village was served by the "Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd." (B.M.M.O.) more commonly known as 'Midland Red', with Services operated by that company to Leicester L29 (later 93 from 1973, later 79/89 from 1980 as 'Midland Red' and later 'Midland Red East' Services and then M2 later 52 from 1985 as 'Midland Fox' and 'Fox cub' services - see below), also the 599 service between Leicester and Hungarton which passed through the village irregularly (Later 598 from 1968, later 649 Extended to Thorpe Satchville via Barsby in 1977 and later 'Midland Red East' twice weekly 149 Leicester - Scraptoft - Beeby - Hungarton - Ingarsby - Keyham - Scraptoft - Leicester (Circular) in 1980 and discontinued from c1983) and a variation of this route for a few years in the early 1960's was a service No. X64 which continued beyond Hungarton to Twyford and John 'O Gaunt Station which largely ran as a commuter service and replaced the discontinued train service which had ran previously, known as the workers' service, but this had ceased by 1965.Also for a spell in the later 1970's a once weekly shopper service to Market Harborough via Billesdon and Hallaton on Tuesdays only No. 653 (later 148 in 1980 until c1984 when discontinued by 'Midland Red East' and taken over by Fosse Travel - see below). The Midland Red Omnibus Co. Ltd (since 1973 and formed out of the BMMO) became known initially as 'Midland Red East' in 1981 whilst still in National bus company/public ownership, and then as 'Midland Fox' in the mid 1980's when privatised, post de-regulation, then mid 1990's as 'Arriva fox county' and since the late 1990's the currently named 'Arriva Midlands'.

'Leicester Citybus' ran a Service 72 through the Village through a few years during the 1990's, Which started in Leicester City Centre and ran via London Road, Evington, General Hospital and Thurnby Lodge to Scraptoft Village.

Other Operators known to have run services through, to or from Scraptoft were Hincks, Hungarton until c1930 (When taken over by BMMO), Nesbit Bros.Coaches of Somerby with a Tuesdays only service to Melton Mowbray (1976 until approx mid 1980's) and in the mid-1980's for a few years a replacement for the former Midland Red service 148 listed above operated by Fosse Travel. Through the later 1980's and 1990's services operated by Blands of Cottesmore, Paul James coaches, Skinners of Saltby, Kinchbus, Barton Transport, Abu & Sons, Arriva fox county and Mark Bland Travel have passed through the village on Irregular Cottesmore / Oakham - Leicester services, Service Nos. amongst them being 141, 148 and 202 but these have since Spring 2006 largely been replaced by the previously mentioned Rural Rider network, whose Services now cover much of the sparsely populated East Leicestershire area.

General Village information: The current newsagents on Main Street was once an Inn, called the "Pear tree". The village has a small Co-operative food store, and adjacent Post office. During the mid 1970's It once boasted a short-lived Cafe on Main Street, called 'The Bambi cafe', which was followed for some years by a fruiterers/grocers and florist (now a private dwelling).

The famous 'Quorn Hunt' used to meet regularly through the hunting season on Fridays in the Village, at the Nether Hall. The hunt would move off and hunt fox coverts along the appropriately named Covert Lane to the east of the village towards Keyham.

Education: With no school in Scraptoft itself village children attended Thurnby St. Lukes School until the late 1960's when Somerby Road (Fernvale) School was opened, from there they went onto Oadby Manor High School and/or Gartree High School as middle school, followed by Beauchamp College at Oadby as senior and Upper School.

Despite the village's close proximity to the City of Leicester, and its 21st century almost 'suburban' status, it still retains a semi-rural feel to it.

Scraptoft was recorded in the Domesday Book, as 'Scrapentot', as part of Gartree wapentake. It is said to be held by Coventry Abbey, and to have increased in value from 2 shillings at the time of the Conquest to 40 shillings to 1086.

The village is the site of various historic buildings including 'Scraptoft Hall', which is a listed building [http://www.leicester.anglican.org/scraptoft/scraptofthall.htm] . The hall and its grounds were for many years used as a campus of De Montfort University and its predecessors, but was closed in 2003, this is to be redeveloped as a brown field site for housing, and is home to Peverill manor.

The village is host to the Scraptoft Golf Course. [http://www.scraptoft-golf.co.uk/] And the Peverill manor. It is also home to [http://www.aylestonestjamesrfc.co.uk Aylestone St James RFC] .

For local government the village forms part of the district of Harborough, and constitutes a parish.