Thorpe Astley is a suburban settlement on the southwestern edge of the city of Leicester,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

Braunstone Town Braunstone is a civil parish and is the largest parish within the district of Blaby in Leicestershire, England, now known as the Town of Braunstone or more commonly, Braunstone Town. In 2007 the population was around 15,000. There are around ...

, although a small part of the development, around Goodheart Way, extends into

Leicester Forest East Leicester Forest East (LFE) is a large suburban village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester, straddling the M1 motorway. It is part of the Blaby district. Leicester Forest East is a popular location among commuters and young fami ...

. Both Braunstone Town and Leicester Forest East are within the district of

Blaby Blaby () is a large village in the Blaby District in central Leicestershire, England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. At the time of the 2011 census, Blaby had a population of 6,194, a slight fall from 6,240 in 2001 figures) ...

, Leicestershire. This settlement was built on the last area of agricultural land in Braunstone Town. Construction of this development began after approval from the Blaby District Council in 1994. It covers most of a wedge of land between the M1 Motorway on its western side and the A563 ringroad on the east, with the established community of Braunstone West is on its north side. It is neighboured to the south by the Meridian industrial and commercial development. A Community Centre to serve this housing estate was opened in October 2010; this is maintained by

Braunstone Town Council Braunstone is a civil parish and is the largest parish within the district of Blaby in Leicestershire, England, now known as the Town of Braunstone or more commonly, Braunstone Town. In 2007 the population was around 15,000. There are around ...

. Around the same time a new community group was formed, Your Thorpe Astley, with the aim of furthering the interests of local residents and staging events at the Centre. The name "Thorpe Astley" was derived from the Astley family, who owned land in Braunstone Town from 1334 to 1404. Several roads in the Thorpe Astley estate are named after famous people from history, including the 18th-century political radical

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

and American paratroop commander General

James M. Gavin James Maurice Gavin (March 22, 1907 – February 23, 1990), sometimes called "Jumpin' Jim" and "the jumping general", was a senior United States Army officer, with the rank of lieutenant general, who was the third Commanding General (CG) of the 8 ...

. The headquarters of General Gavin's U.S.

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thor ...

was stationed at Braunstone Park during 1944.

Transport

Thorpe Astley is served by

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

service 104 which operates to

Fosse Shopping Park Fosse Shopping Park is one of Britain's biggest out-of-town shopping parks and it is situated in Enderby parish, in Blaby district, on the southern edge of the city of Leicester, England. The retail park is in an area of mixed industrial and ...

then continues into Leicester and

Centrebus Centrebus is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Centrebus have a 51% shareholding in High Peak Buses and since December 2019 throu ...

service 40 circle line which operates a circular route around outer Leicester. Thorpe Astley is around 5 minutes away from the M69 and M1 Junction 21. .

Culture

Leisure and Entertainment

A leisure park is located about 5 minutes away from Thorpe Astley, containing a bowling alley, a cinema, and several restaurants.

External links

Thorpe Astley - Braunstone Town
Braunstone, Leicester Suburbs in the United Kingdom {{Leicestershire-geo-stub

Transport

Culture

Leisure and Entertainment

See also

External links