It is located south of Junction 42 of the A14 providing primary access to adjacent market towns Bury St Edmunds (East) and Newmarket (West).

St Mary's Church, a pioneering concrete structure which features a three-phase tower with (nowadays) a slated pyramidal roof[3] acts as the village's focal point.

[7] Domesday Book recorded the village as having 21 households and a total tax assessment of 3.3 geld units suggesting that the area was of average affluence.

'[5] The construction of the church was funded by public subscription on land given by Frederick Hervey, 1st Marquess of Bristol[9] and incorporated innovative architectural techniques implemented by Brighton builder 'William Ranger'.

[9] Notable aesthetic features of St Marys Church include the slate roof and patented precast concrete blocks used to form the tower and churchyard walls.

[12] Similar to much of Westley's periphery, the airfield now forms part of a housing estate[13] to accommodate Bury St Edmunds's growth.

Thomas Lucas increased his local land holding by purchasing properties at nearby Little Saxham (where he built a fine Manor House) and Horsecroft.

[1] The village of Westley forms part of the Bury St Edmunds – Barrow – Newmarket 312 service operated by Mulleys.

[22] Junction 42 of the A14, 0.6 miles (1 km) north of Westley links the village to larger settlements such as Bury St Edmunds (Eastbound) or Newmarket (Westbound).