Anstey is a large village in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, England, located north west of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in the borough of Charnwood. Its population was 6,528 at the 2011 census. This figure is expected to increase due to the building of a new housing development off Groby Road. The village is separated from

by the Rothley Brook, Castle Hill Park and the A46, and it borders the villages of Glenfield,

Groby Groby (pronounced "GREW-bee") is a large English village in the county of Leicestershire, to the north west of the city of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 6,796. Description The village has expanded vastly since t ...

Newtown Linford Newtown Linford is a linear village in Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,000 at the 2001 census, including Ulverscroft, increasing to 1,103 at the 2011 census. The village lies in a valley in the Charnwood Fores ...

, Cropston and Thurcaston as well as the suburb of Beaumont Leys and Anstey Heights. To the north-west lies

Bradgate Park Bradgate Park () is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, northwest of Leicester. It covers . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin ...

. Anstey is known as the Gateway to

Charnwood Forest Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; ...

. It is a combination of traditional English village (with two

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

s - the top green and bottom green) and an industrial town (with several 19th-century

hosiery Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as ...

factories, many of which are now being turned into apartments) which is made up mostly of a number of small estates, both council and private which are intertwined, often with no clear border.

History

Anstey dates back to

Angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

origins, when it was known as Hanstige (later Anstige), meaning a narrow forest track (specifically the meaning is either 'one-way' or 'steep road'Courtney). Anstey was positioned between

and

Leicester Forest Leicester Forest was a Royal Forest that existed to the West of Leicester. Site and history The forest occupied an area fourteen miles long and four miles wide between the River Soar and Rothley Brook, and covered 5,000 acres.Fox, Levi & Russell ...

. Whilst developing the site for the new

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

store in 2002 archaeologists were called in and found remains dating back to the 12th century. A plaque recording this has been placed on the wall of the new shop. The place-name of Anstey is first recorded in

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

when it was held by one of the county's largest landholders,

Hugh de Grandmesnil Hugh de Grandmesnil (1032 – 22 February 1098), (known in French as ''Hugues'' and Latinised as ''Hugo de Grentmesnil'', aliter ''Grentemesnil'', etc.), is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle ...

, castellan of Leicester. At the time it was a small farming community.Lowe, p. 1 Anstey appears to have had its origins in two distinct settlement foci, each associated with a separate manor, one associated with

Leicester Abbey The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Beaumont, 2nd E ...

and one with the Ferrers of

. It is believed that Anstey once had a sizable military force - in 1431 William Porter "furnished XIX hommes and IX archers". When

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

's army moved south during the 1745 rebellion, although the main body of troops were turned back at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby ga ...

, a foraging party reached the commons of Anstey. Local industry included hosiery from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, leading to a rise in population to around 600 by 1800.Lowe, p. 10 By 1845 there were 300 people employed as framework knitters in the village.Lowe, p. 11 A decline in the industry in the middle of the nineteenth century saw a fall in the village's population, although hosiery manufacture continued in the village until the mid-twentieth century.Lowe, p. 15 Boot and shoe manufacture became a more important part of the village's work between 1860 and 1900, and the first employer in Leicestershire described as a "boot and shoe manufacturer" appeared in Anstey in 1863.Bailey, Brian J. (1977) ''Portrait of Leicestershire'', Robert Hale Limited, London, , p. 205 The village's population rose to over 2,500 by 1900, with a corresponding rise in house-building. Anstey became an independent parish in 1866, having previously been a chapelry of Thurcaston. A number of related industries developed in the village, including tanning and box-making, the latter still present in the village.Lowe, p. 19 One of the largest companies in the village was the Anstey Wallpaper Company, which occupied a site east of Cropston Road now filled with houses and the new Co-op store. Nearly all the local factories have now either been demolished or converted into flats. By 1971, the population of the village had risen to almost 6,000.Lowe, p. 20 The village is still the home of Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd., known for their large-print editions of popular books, published since 1964.Cottin, Lou (1976)
Growing Older: Easier Reading
", ''

Telegraph-Herald The ''Telegraph Herald'', locally referred to as the ''TH'', is a daily newspaper published in Dubuque, Iowa, for the population of Dubuque and surrounding areas in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwe ...

'', 24 October 1976, p. 16, retrieved 2011-06-04 The most notable family of Anstey was the Martin family, who lived in the village from the 13th century until 1892. Two members of the family held the position of

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

of Leicestershire, and the local high school is named after them. They lived at Anstey Pastures (now demolished),Burke, John & Burke, John Bernard (1847) ''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, Vol. II: M-Z'', Henry Colburn, London, p. 833 before moving to The Brand in 1892. Famous past Anstey residents include Ned Ludd (Ludlam), the machine-wrecker whose name was appropriated by the

Luddites The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...

- whose name was adopted in a recent household development in the village: Ned Ludd Close, and

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...

player and commentator

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8 ...

, who started playing snooker at the village's

Conservative club The Association of Conservative Clubs is an organisation associated with the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It represents and provides support to the largest association of political clubs in the country estimated at 1,100. The Assoc ...

. Footballer

Derek Dougan Alexander Derek Dougan (20 January 1938 – 24 June 2007) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, football manager, football chairman, pundit, and writer. He was also known by his nickname, "The Doog". He was capped by Northern I ...

lived in the village during his time at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. According to legend, the last

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

to be killed in England was shot in a forest "near Anstige in Wolfdale". Wolfdale was a nearby district towards Newtown Linford, and the name has survived in a slightly altered form with Wooldale Close, one of the streets in the village.

Religion

There are

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church record ...

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church result ...

and

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

churches in the village. The parish church of St. Mary is on Bradgate Road, just out of The Nook, has the remains of a 15th-century preaching cross and was previously part of the Parish of Thurcaston. The United Reformed Church is further up Bradgate Road. The Methodist

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

is situated near The Nook on Cropston Road, and is a medium-sized church serving the community, being part of the Leicester West Circuit of the Oxford and Leicester District of the Methodist Church. An earlier Methodist church was located on the opposite side of the road to the current church, until it was demolished in the 1980s.

Education

The earliest purpose-built school for children in Anstey was on Bradgate Road, built in 1873 and now a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

building that has been converted to flats; For many years after later schools were built this continued to serve as the village's infant school until it closed in 1982 whereupon the teaching of infants was relocated to nearby Latimer Primary School. There was also an

Adult School An adult high school or adult school is a high school facility designed for adult education. It is intended for adults who have not completed high school to continue their education. Some adult high schools offer child care, special integration pro ...

& Institute on Church Lane, the building now occupied by a printing company. There are currently three schools in Anstey: * Latimer Primary School, Latimer Street - original building from 1896 * Woolden Hill Primary School, Netherfield Road - opened 1977 * The Martin High School, Anstey, Link Road - opened 1957, now a secondary academy for 11- to 16-year-olds College students go to The Cedars Academy at Birstall. They may also go to English Martyrs RC School on Anstey Lane, Brookvale High School in

, or Rawlins Community College in

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as b ...

(Out of catchment area).

The Martin High School

In March 2008, The Martin High was placed 10th best school in the country and 3rd best in the county for pupils' progress between the ages of 11 and 14.

The Village

Anstey retains some of the charm of a traditional village particularly on the area immediately north of the village centre, but due to its industrial background there are many small terraced houses as well as some pre-fabricated post war council houses in the 'Dutch barn' style. The large houses towards the top of Bradgate Road change into terraced houses in the old industrial area, and then modern suburbia out towards Link Road, where the Anstey Martin school can be found. Just off the Nook is Latimer primary school, named after Bishop Latimer. King Williams Bridge Anstey 20071026

The Rothley Brook flows through the village on its way to the

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leic ...

, and there are two ancient bridges (the

Packhorse Bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low parapets so ...

and King William's Bridge) and an old

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

. The packhorse bridge is on the route of the original road from Leicester. King William's Bridge is so named because when

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from th ...

planned to visit the Grey family at Bradgate in 1696, the existing crossings of the Rothley Brook were found to be too narrow for the Royal coach, so a new bridge had to be constructed. Anstey also has a GP surgery, dentist, funeral directors and opticians, and several fast food outlets and restaurants. Around The Nook there are a number of different shops, a post office, as well as pubs - The Coach and Horses, The Crown and The Old Hare and Hounds as well as a Conservative club. The

Working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

closed in 2009 and The Plough pub in 2012. In the past Anstey had two cinemas, the Savoy on Cropston Road which was later used as a petrol station/garage before being converted into a pub/restaurant and eventually a furnishings shop, and another on Ellis Street, which now sells wine.

Local Newspaper

For many years, the village had its own newspaper, ''Anstey Scene'', which was a quarterly with news about local events and council meetings. Other local publications included the ''Anstey Directory'' with advertisements for local businesses, including from the Birstall and Glenfield areas, and ''The Anstey Clarion'', a monthly which took reader submitted articles. All of these have now ceased to publish. There is, however, a publication entitled ''Your Local'' which is published monthly.

Local Area

Nearby Glenfield is the home of Leicestershire County Council, and all the shops and facilities of the city can be found about four miles (6 km) away in Leicester. Castle Hill Park lies to the East of the village, connecting Anstey to Beaumont Leys and with the A46 Leicester Western Bypass running through it.

, childhood home of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

, stretches above the village, between the two neighbouring villages of

and Cropston. For transport, Anstey is served by regular bus services to

and the Beaumont Shopping Centre (about a mile away in Beaumont Leys), and less regular services to

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

. By road, Anstey is just off the A46 Leicester Western Bypass, which provides a fast link to the M1 southbound to London, with the A50 providing access to the M1 North.

Sport

Anstey is home to Anstey Nomads Football Club who play in the East Midlands Counties League. Prior to the Second World War there were two separate teams, the Methodist and St. Marys Parish Church football teams. However, following the War in 1947 the two teams merged and became Anstey Nomads. The ground, which is owned by the club, is situated on Cropston Road, Anstey. In addition to the Anstey Nomads there is the youth football team, Anstey Swifts. There also is another local football team, Anstey Town, who play in the Leicestershire Senior League. There are also

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

(Anstey RFC, formed 1980, who play on the Link Road playing fields) and

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by s ...

teams, who play in the local leagues. Anstey and Glenfield CC play in the Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League at Gynsill Lane playing field on the Anstey/Glenfield border, they have two senior teams playing in Division 6 and Division 8, one friendly XI playing numerous Sunday friendlies as of 2016. Anstey Narborians play on the recreation ground at Stadon Road, in the Leicestershire League. Anstey has three recreation grounds - the main park ("The Reccy") off Stadon Road which has facilities including floodlit multi play/tennis court area, swings, slides, football pitch and a small area for younger children. From May 2009 it has a kicking wall and shelter to the side of the Jubilee Hall (APC office) built by Anstey Parish council. There is a less well equipped one near Link Road which is occasionally used by the Anstey RFC. Millfield Close also has a small area with play equipment on, which is rented from Charnwood Borough Council.

Ley lines

Anstey and surrounding area have been mentioned in several texts about

ley lines Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognised by ancient socie ...

. Anstey has a

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

and a place called ''The Leys'', which marks the route of the ''Bradgate Ley'', which runs between a notch in the hill near ''Old John'' in

, and

Oadby Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in the county of Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre south east of Leicester city centre on the A6 trunk road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby ...

.Timpson, John (2000) ''Timpson's Leylines'', Cassell & Co., , p.159

Shopping

Anstey has a variety of different shops and services, making it the commercial centre for the majority of local villages. The largest shops include Potters Carpets & Kitchens, who decided to remain in the village despite the arson attack on their old building, which remains to be a major source of income for the village, and a large Co-op store on Cropston Road. There were once several petrol stations in the village, although these have all now closed down. Two neighbouring petrol stations on Cropston Road are now occupied by Broughton's Interiors and a car dealer.

Transport

Anstey is served by frequent buses on First Leicester service 74 with some infrequent buses running on

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 through ...

service 154 and Roberts Travel service 120. The nearest network railway station is at

Notes

References

*Courtney, Paul (2003)
Between Two Forests: the Social and Topographic Evolution of Medieval Anstey
, in ''Transactions of the Leicester Archaeological and Historical Society'', vol. 77, p. 35-64 *Lowe, J. W. ''Anstey and its Locality'', Rural Press

External links

Anstey at Leicestershirevillages.comAnstey Parish Council
- one of several Anstey references.
The Anstey Methodist Church website
* {{authority control Civil parishes in Leicestershire Villages in Leicestershire