Thurcaston is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Thurcaston and Cropston, in the Charnwood district, in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, England. It was the home of Bishop

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...

. It borders the villages of Anstey and Cropston, as well as the Leicester suburb of Beaumont Leys. The Rothley Brook flows through the village. The A46 Leicester Western Bypass runs close to the village, separating it from

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, Birstall, and Beaumont Leys. The village of Thurcaston has existed since at least the 8th century AD, and includes a church and several old houses, along with a very small

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

. In general, there are few commercial properties, but there exists a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, ''The Wheatsheaf Inn,'' and an electrical showroom, ''Tebbatts Electronics''. There is a single bus service, the 154 run by Centrebus at a maximum frequency of every hour. The previous service, the 55, was shut down in the late 2000s. Large fields between the Great Central Railway line and the houses of the residents of Leicester Road form a popular place for walking dogs and horses. A planned housing development is currently being discussed with Charnwood Borough council, upon which will see the erection of up to 50 dwellings, community centre and park, including sustainable drainage system with access off Mill Road, the large area of land is to the east off Mill Road.

Civil parish

On 1 April 1935 the parish of Cropston was merged with Thurcaston, parts of Beaumont Leys was also merged, on 7 August 1989 the parish was renamed "Thurcaston & Cropston". In 1931 the parish of Thurcaston (prior to the merge) had a population of 336.

Richard Hill Primary School

The village school is Richard Hill Primary School, which was founded in 1715 by Richard Hill, a resident of the village. Originally Richard Hill Primary School was located further up Anstey Lane but after expansion into the Memorial Hall in the early 1960s, it was moved further towards Leicester Road in 1968, after accepting more students from Cropston and All Saints/Hall Farm Road. It was further extended by the addition of two classrooms in 1970. In recent years Richard Hill has had varied results in League Tables. Thurcaston children go to The Martin High School in the neighbouring village of Anstey from the age of 11 to 16, and The Cedars Academy and Rawlins Academy for 11–18.

References

Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Charnwood {{Leicestershire-geo-stub