Thurston, Suffolk

Last updated

Thurston
Thurston Sign.JPG
Thurston village sign
Suffolk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Thurston
Location within Suffolk
Population3,232 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference TL929650
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BURY ST EDMUNDS
Postcode district IP31
Dialling code 01359
Police Suffolk
Fire Suffolk
Ambulance East of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Suffolk
52°15′00″N0°49′33″E / 52.24994°N 0.8259°E / 52.24994; 0.8259 Coordinates: 52°15′00″N0°49′33″E / 52.24994°N 0.8259°E / 52.24994; 0.8259

Thurston is a village and a parish in Suffolk situated about 4 miles (6 km) east of Bury St Edmunds and 10 miles (16 km) west of Stowmarket.

Contents

In mid-2005, Thurston's estimated population was 3,260, making it one of the larger communities in the area, [1] falling slightly to 3,232 at the 2011 Census. [2]

Thurston railway station opened in 1846 and is still operating today. The village also has a frequent bus service to neighbouring towns, including Bury St Edmunds. The village is located under 2 miles (3 km) from the A14 and under 40 miles (64 km) from the M11 motorway.

History

The village is recorded in the Domesday Book as having a population of 66 households. It was part of the lands of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, then one of the largest landlords in England. [3] [4] Thurston was located in the middle of Thedwastre Hundred, an administrative district in the middle ages. The town sign depicts a tree, representing "Theodwards’s tree". This tree may have been the meeting place of the Hundred Court in Thedwastre Road, Thurston. [5]

By the 1870s, the village had grown substantially. It is mentioned in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as a community with 2,200 acres of land, a population of 740 and 157 households. As of July 2017, an additional 700 homes are to be built, increasing the village population by nearly 50%. This has been met with controversy and is currently under review. [6] The village's farming past is reflected in its listed buildings, which include several former farmhouses and associated farm buildings. [7]

St. Peter's Church, Thurston and war memorial (geograph.org.uk) St. Peter's church and War Memorial, Thurston, Suffolk - geograph.org.uk - 220998.jpg
St. Peter's Church, Thurston and war memorial (geograph.org.uk)

St. Peter's Church is at the geographical centre of the village and has services every Sunday at 10.30 am. The original church was Medieval, but was largely rebuilt in 1861 after a dramatic collapse of the tower onto the nave the night before major renovations were due to begin. Its architect was John Henry Hakewill (son of the distinguished architect Henry Hakewill), and rebuilding took 18 months and cost around £3,500. Some 14th and 15th-century features, including the font, chancel windows and vestry were retrieved and reinstated in the Victorian church. [6] [8]

The church is Grade II listed. [9] The church's ring of five bells was augmented to six, after a donation of a bell from St Albans Abbey by the charity the Keltek Trust in 2012. [10]

Thurston also has a small Methodist church in Church Road, which also conducts regular services. [11]

The original village hall, still known as The Cavendish Hall, was gifted (both land and building costs) to Thurston in 1913 by Julia Florence Cavendish, the American-born wife of Tyrell William Cavendish, who lost his life on the Titanic. The couple had joined the ship's maiden voyage to New York to see Julia Cavendish's father Henry Siegel shortly after purchasing Thurston House, which they were renovating. After Tyrell's death, Julia asked the Parish Council if the Hall could be built as his memorial, but sold Thurston Hall without living in it. [12] [13] [14]

Village amenities

In addition to Cavendish Hall, Thurston has a second hall, known as the New Green Centre, which opened in 1991. It is set in parkland and operates as a venue for village sports activities, clubs, meetings and events. Other activities in the village include an Air Training Corps squadron. [15]

The village has two pubs, The Victoria on Norton Road and The Fox and Hounds on Barton Road, near the railway line. [16] There is also a bar at the Grange Hotel (formerly known as Thurston Grange), a mock Tudor hotel with banqueting and conference facilities. [17]

There is a small business park, known as Thurston Granary, located in the village and other businesses include Harvey's Garden Plants, a family-run garden centre/tea room that has won Gold Medals at Chelsea. [18]

The local public upper school is Thurston Community College, with about 1,500 pupils from the village and surrounding communities. The school also has a sixth form, with 400–500 students, and a primary school with around 200 students.


The village has two churches; the parish church, St Peter's, which is part of the a joint benefice with Great Barton parish church, and a branch of Forge, a non-conformist multi-site free church based in Suffolk.

Related Research Articles

Norton, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Norton is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The name Norton means northern town or farm. Located close to the A14, its nearest railway station is at Elmswell, just over 3 miles (5 km) away. The closest towns are Stowmarket 8 miles (13 km) away and Bury St Edmunds, around 10 miles (16 km) away.

Hargrave, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Hargrave is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located about 7 miles (10 km) away from south west of Bury St Edmunds. Lying at the crossroads from Ousden and Lady's Green (west) and Chevington (east). Barrow, Suffolk (north) and Wickhambrook.

Ampton Human settlement in England

Ampton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk District of Suffolk, England, about five miles north of Bury St Edmunds.

Assington Village in Suffolk, England

Assington is a village in Suffolk, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Sudbury. At the 2011 Census it had a population of 402, estimated at 445 in 2019. The parish includes the hamlets of Rose Green and Dorking Tye.

Bardwell, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Bardwell is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.

Beyton Human settlement in England

Beyton is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The village is around 8 miles (13 km) east of Bury St Edmunds, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Thurston and 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Stowmarket. The main Ipswich to Bury St Edmunds road used to pass through the village – the modern A14 dual carriageway bypasses the village to the north.

Flempton Human settlement in England

Flempton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is on the A1101 road 5 miles NW from Bury St Edmunds.

Glemsford Human settlement in England

Glemsford is a village in the Babergh district in Suffolk, England, near the town of Sudbury. Glemsford is located near the River Glem and the River Stour also flows nearby. Glemsford is surrounded by arable farmland and is not far from historic Suffolk villages such as Lavenham and Long Melford.

Trimley St Martin Human settlement in England

Trimley St. Martin is a parish and village that lies between the rivers Orwell and the Deben, on the long narrow tongue of land from Ipswich to Felixstowe referred to as the Colneis Hundred.

Chelmondiston Human settlement in England

Chelmondiston is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England located on the Shotley Peninsula, five miles south-east of Ipswich. The hamlet of Pin Mill lies within the parish on the south bank of the River Orwell. The village comprises approximately 500 dwellings and has a population of just over 1,000. It is one of the largest villages situated on the Shotley Peninsula.

Great Barton Human settlement in England

Great Barton is a large village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about 3 miles (5 km) East of Bury St Edmunds on the A143. At the 2011 census the village had a population of 2,191 rising to 2,236 at the 2018 mid year estimate.

Tostock Human settlement in England

Tostock is a small village around eight miles east of Bury St. Edmunds in the county of Suffolk. It is a very traditional Suffolk village, with a good example of a fourteenth-century church.

Thedwastre Hundred Hundred of the county of Suffolk, England

Thedwastre was a hundred of the county of Suffolk, England covering an area of 40,362 acres (163.34 km2). It formed part of the Liberty of Saint Edmund, under the jurisdiction of the abbots of Bury St Edmunds.

Thorpe Morieux Human settlement in England

Thorpe Morieux is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is 10 miles south-east of Bury St Edmunds and 10 miles north east of Sudbury.

Ixworth Village in Suffolk, England

Ixworth is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of Bury St Edmunds on the A143 road to Diss and 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Thetford. The parish has a population of 2,177, increasing to 2,365 at the 2011 Census. The south end of High Street and town may also be historically listed as Ixworth St Mary.

Drinkstone Human settlement in England

Drinkstone is a small settlement and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Its name is derived from Dremic's homestead. It was located in the hundred of Thedwastre. It is near the A14 road and is 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the town of Bury St Edmunds. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, 1086.

Ringshall, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Ringshall is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around four miles south of Stowmarket, and 13 miles north west of Ipswich.

Timworth Human settlement in England

Timworth is a village and civil parish 65 mi (105 km) north east of London and 26 mi (42 km) east of Cambridge in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, eastern England. Located around two miles north of Bury St Edmunds, its 2005 population was 50. At the 2011 Census the appropriate Postal Code showed the population as being included in Ampton.

Hawkedon Human settlement in England

Hawkedon is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around 7 miles (11 km) south-south-west of Bury St Edmunds, the parish also contains the hamlet of Thurston End, and in 2005 had a population of 120. The majority of the village is classed as a conservation area.

St Mary the Virgins Church, Cavendish Church in Suffolk, England

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Cavendish is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Cavendish, Suffolk.

References

  1. ↑ "Estimates of total population of areas in Suffolk" (PDF). Suffolk County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  2. ↑ "Civil Parish 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Thurston | Domesday Book". Domesdaymap.co.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "St Edmundsbury Local History – The Little Domesday Book". Stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  5. ↑ A History of Thurston (PDF). Thurston: Thurston Parish Council. 2018.
  6. 1 2 "History of Thurston in Mid Suffolk | Map and description". Visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Good Stuff IT Services. "Listed Buildings in Thurston, Suffolk, England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Suffolk Churches". Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Good Stuff IT Services. "Church of St Peter – Thurston – Suffolk – England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  10. ↑ David Kelly. "Thurston, Suffolk". Keltektrust.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "Thurston – East Anglia District". Eamethodist.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "History". Thurston-village.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  13. ↑ "Cavendish Children Escape :: New York Times". Encyclopedia-titanica.org. 23 April 1912. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Suffolk Connections to the Titanic". GB: Hartest.onesuffolk.net. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "863 Thurston Squadron". 863sqn.org.uk. 26 December 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Thurston summary from". Suffolk Camra. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Eating out: The Grange Hotel, Thurston". EADT Suffolk Magazine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "15. Harvey's Garden Plants "The Orchard Room at the heart of the nursery is". The Independent. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2013.

External sources

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Thurston, Suffolk at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.