Castlethorpe is a village with a population of about 1,200, set in open countryside seven miles north of Milton Keynes city centre and close to the boundary with Northamptonshire. It lies on the northern edge of the Tove Valley which is designated as a Special Landscape Area. Castlethorpe has been inhabited since the Iron Age and the Castlethorpe dagger, dated 600–400 BC, and the Castlethorpe hoard containing a silver bracelet and coins, from the second century AD, can be seen at the British Museum. Evidence of a Romano-British farm was found during the construction of Maltings Court. Castlethorpe became part of the Saxon and then Norman Manor of Hanslope. The Normans erected the motte and bailey castle and Castle Thorpe, the settlement around the castle, became a distinct village. The castle was destroyed in 1215 during the Barons' Revolt against King John though the mound and ditches remain in good condition in Castle Field. The Parish Church is dedicated to St Simon and St Jude. Originally Saxon, it was extended by the Normans and again throughout the medieval period. The impressive 17th century Monument to Sir Thomas Tyrell, a Lord of the Manor, is installed on the North side of the chancel. The tower collapsed in 1729 and was rebuilt but shorter due to a lack of funds. The Victorians 'restored' the church but a more recent and careful restoration has just been completed. Castlethorpe's agricultural existence was transformed in the mid-19th century with the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway and Castlethorpe station. Castlethorpe 'troughs'where steam engines picked up water at speed were located at the water tower on the cycle track to Haversham where there is now a small recreation area. Many residents worked at the Wolverton Railway Works. In 1904, tragedy struck when a spark from a passing steam train caught on a thatched roof and 13 houses were burnt out, leaving 36 people homeless after the 'Great Fire of Castlethorpe'. The station closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts leaving the busy West Coast Mainline to thunder through. Castlethorpe has 21 Listed Buildings, some dating to the 15th century, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (Castle Field). It has expanded regularly over recent decades with The Chequers, Sheperton Close, Maltings Field, Fox Covert Lane, Lodge Farm Court, Thrupp Close, Maltings Court, Paddock Close and, most recently, Carrington Grove. In 1974, Castlethorpe became part of the Borough of Milton Keynes, still part of Buckinghamshire, until Milton Keynes became a unitary authority in 1997 and a City in 2022.