Broughton Astley
Description in 1871:
"BROUGHTON-ASTLEY, a township and a parish in Lutterworth district, Leicester. The township lies on the Midland railway, near the Fosse way, 5½ miles N by W of Lutterworth; and has a station on the railway. Pop., 354. Houses, 77. The parish contains also the townships of Primethorpe and Sutton-in-the-Elms; and its Post Town is Cosby, under Lutterworth. Acres, 1,930. Real property, £5,544. Pop., 785. Houses, 182. The property is much subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £674. Patron, H. Radford, Esq. The church is old. There are a Baptist chapel, a national school, and charities £19."
John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72
- The parish was in the Lutterworth sub-district of the Lutterworth Registration District.
- The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2244 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2489 |
- The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin.
- The church is Early Norman and was built around 1325, although portions were rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries.
- The church was restored in 1882.
- The church seats 450.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1581 and is in good condition.
- The church was in the rural Guthlaxton deanery (second portion).
- The Particular Baptists built a chapel founded here in 1650 in Sutton-in-the-Elms.
- There are photographs of these churches at Leicestershire Villages.
- The parish was in the Lutterworth sub-district of the Lutterworth Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Broughton Astley is a parish and a village 9 miles south of the centre of Leicester city, 6 miles east from the Hinckley and 94 miles north of the city of London. The parish covers just over 1,920 acres.
The village is described as a "large straggling village, formed as an amalgamation of three communites". The village sits on a small brook. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the M1 motorway south out of Leicester to the no. 20 roundabout and follow the B4114 south. Where that road intersects the B581, turn left into Broughton Astley.
- Check the Parish calendar to see what events are happening and where.
- Get familiar with the parish by checking out the photos at My Broughton Astley.
- In the 1086 Domesday Book, there are references to the districts of Broctone, Sutone and Torp.
- The above names evolved into Broughton, Sutone became Sutton or Sutton-In-The-Elms and Torp became Primethorpe. The original names are of Saxon or Danish style, of the period 560-900AD.
- In the 1800s and early 1900s a large part of the population were frame-work knitters making hosiery.
- Broughton Astley Hall was unoccupied in 1912.
- The national grid reference is SP 5292.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- You can view an online map at the Axcis site.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- This place was an ancient parish in Leicestershire and became a modern Civil parish when those were established.
- There are three villages in the parish; Broughton, Primethorpe and Sutton-in-the-Elms. Broughton and Primethorpe merged some years ago and Sutton in the Elms sits across the B581 from Broughton.
- The parish lies in the Guthlaxton Hundred in the southern division of the county.
- In March, 1885, this Civil Parish was enlarged by gaining the Platt House portion of Croft Civil Parish.
- In April, 1935, this Civil Parish was reduced by giving 2 acres to Cosby Civil Parish.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
728 |
| 1871 |
746 |
| 1881 |
708 |
| 1891 |
785 |
| 1901 |
1,172 |
| 1911 |
1,339 |
| 1921 |
1,292 |
| 1931 |
1,440 |
- Orchard Primary School (formerly the National School) which is situatated in the old "Primethorpe" area. The orginal school was built in 1847.
- Old Mill Primary School which is the link of the village.
- Hallbrook Primary School is a new school about 20 years old in the new "Hall Farm" part of the village.
- Broughton Astley is the home of Thomas Estley Community College. The community college is named after the man who first suggested combining Broughton and Primethorpe in the 18th century.
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[Last updated: 12-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
