17 June 2025
We began our programme of summer events on a beautiful midsummer evening, with a guided tour of Anstey. We were led by Jane Cole of Anstey Local History Society, who had been our speaker in March, so this was a chance to explore the village for ourselves and see its historical locations in context. Even those of us who have lived in the area for many years found new corners of Anstey to discover. What follows are just a few snippets from a very interesting walk.
The main Anstey car park is on the site of the former Nook Yard. Next time you’re there, look out for a surviving timber post from one of its cruck cottages, which is embedded in a wall behind the vehicle charging points. Old maps show a building in the middle of the Nook itself, where the roundabout now stands, which was probably the village lock-up.
It’s always worth looking above street level! Opposite the QD store on Cropston Road is a plaque reading “Amphora Cottages 1899”. Why? Apparently, this terrace was built with the winnings from a bet on a horse by that name.
Our route took us from the Lower Green and the famous Packhorse Bridge, along the jitty to Latimer Road, where the 1896 primary school building is a fine example, with separate Girls’ and Boys’ entrances and a turret still containing its bell. Outside the church, we saw the stump of an ancient cross and some affecting inscriptions on the slate headstones. The churchyard is overlooked by the Curate’s House, which was needed because St. Mary’s was the responsibility of the Rector of All Saints’, who lived at Thurcaston.
If you only ever travel along Bradgate Road by car, you’ve probably never noticed what a variety of old buildings it contains, from Georgian farmhouses to Victorian shopfronts. One of them – Till’s – has been in continuous use as a butcher’s since at least 1841. The road also once had four pubs, along with Pettifor’s Brewery which supplied all of them.
Our return route from Top Green was via Hollow Road, where several of the owners of Anstey’s many shoe factories lived. The former factories have now been repurposed in diverse ways, from Bradgate Brides to the Sapori restaurant, new apartments and an undertaker’s. Recent months have seen the closure of box manufacturer Bosworth Wright, bringing to an end the village’s long association with the footwear industry.
Anstey Local History Society has developed a set of historically-themed walking routes around the village. Based on our experience, they will be well worth looking out for when the new website (www.ansteyhistory.com) goes live later this year.