Thurston is a village and a parish in Suffolk situated about east of Bury St Edmunds and west of Stowmarket. In mid-2005, Thurston's estimated population was 3,260, making it one of the larger communities in the area, falling slightly to 3,232 at the 2011 Census. Thurston railway station opened in 1846 and is still operating today. The village also has a frequent bus service to neighbouring towns, including Bury St Edmunds. The village is located under from the A14 and under from the M11 motorway. History The village is recorded in the Domesday Book as having a population of 66 households. It was part of the lands of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, then one of the largest landlords in England. Thurston was located in the middle of Thedwastre Hundred, an administrative district in the middle ages. The town sign depicts a tree, representing "Theodwards’s tree". This tree may have been the meeting place of the Hundred Court in Thedwastre Road, Thurston. By the 1870s, the village had grown substantially. It is mentioned in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as a community with 2,200 acres of land, a population of 740 and 157 households. As of July 2017, an additional 700 homes are to be built, increasing the village population by nearly 50%. This has been met with controversy and is currently under review. The village's farming past is reflected in its listed buildings, which include several former farmhouses and associated farm buildings. St. Peter's Church is at the geographical centre of the village and has services every Sunday at 10.30 am. The original church was Medieval, but was largely rebuilt in 1861 after a dramatic collapse of the tower onto the nave the night before major renovations were due to begin. Its architect was John Henry Hakewill (son of the distinguished architect Henry Hakewill), and rebuilding took 18 months and cost around £3,500. Some 14th and 15th-century features, including the font, chancel windows and vestry were retrieved and reinstated in the Victorian church. The church is Grade II listed. The church's ring of five bells was augmented to six, after a donation of a bell from St Albans Abbey by the charity the Keltek Trust in 2012. Thurston also has a small Methodist church in Church Road, which also conducts regular services. The original village hall, still known as The Cavendish Hall, was gifted