Scalford

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Scalford is a medium size village which lies 4 miles to the north of Melton Mowbray at the southern end of the Vale of belvoir. The name of the village comes from old Saxon and originally meant shallow ford.

The church which is on a small hill in the centre of the village is named after St Eglewin and is believed to be the only one in the country named after this saint. The Methodist Church is very active and hosts a 'Preschool' every morning, has a Luncheon club monthly and regular activities in addition to its 10.45 morning services. It is unusual in that it has a garden and its own cemetery.

Currently there are two pubs in the village - the Plough and the Kings Arms - and also a school and a post office which also sells a limited range of groceries, while the modern village hall hosts a range of commumity activities.

Like many villages, Scalford has lost a number of industries and amenities over the years. There used to be a dairy which produced Stilton cheese, three bakers, a blacksmith, stonemasons, builders, a shoemender, a range of shops (one incorporated the post office) and a garage, all now gone.

However, Scalford still has a good community spirit and has not been over-developed, new housing in recent years being restricted to in-fill and a small development on the site of the dairy.

In times gone by, the village was entirely surrounded by a triangle of railways. Scalford station was on the GNR and LNWR Joint Line from Market Harborough to Bottesford, while a number of mineral lines, attracted by the iron-ore mining which used to take place in this part of the Vale of Belvoir, completed the triangle. Before 1939 the lines were often used for transporting horses to the local races and point to point meetings.

The trains have long since departed into history, but some of the infrastructure still exists in the form of various cuttings and embankments, which have largely become incorporated into the countryside.

Scalford hall, on the outskirts of the village, is an Edwardian mansion house which is now an 88 room hotel, management training centre and wedding venue. In the 1930s it was the home of Colonel Coleman, of the Colemans mustard company. The Colonel was a friend of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, and thoughout their much publicised courtship, Edward and American divorcee Wallis Simpson regularly stayed at Scalford Hall. Colonel Coleman died in the hunting field as he might have wished.

Coordinates: 52°48′N 0°52′W / 52.8, -0.867