Thornbury is an area of

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on the border with the

City of Leeds The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwe ...

. Thornbury is located in the

Bradford Moor Bradford Moor is an electoral ward within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 21,210. The ward includes the areas of Laisterdyke and Thornbury. History Bradford Moor Barra ...

ward and the Bradford East parliamentary constituency. Thornbury is contiguous with

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408. History T ...

– part of the City of Leeds conurbation and borders

Laisterdyke Laisterdyke is an area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, situated to the east of the city on the border with City of Leeds and located in the Bradford Moor ward and in the Bradford East parliamentary constituency. Laisterdyke borders Ba ...

, and Fagley in Eccleshill ward.

History

Former Thornbury Tramsheds - Leeds Road - geograph

Thornbury was originally a distinct village but became part of Bradford in 1882. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Thornbury was the seat of various enterprises such as Crofts Engineering and John Sharp & Co textile manufacturing machine engineers and the

Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Limited of Hubert Street, Leeds Road, Bradford, Yorkshire, electrical engineers, manufactured small and large motors, alternators and generators at their Thornbury works. They briefly manufactured major aircra ...

. On Leeds Road there were some large former tramsheds and former bus depot dating from when Bradford had its own

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

services. Bradford Corporation Trams had their own works in Thornbury where over 150 tram cars were built.

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...

staged a performance of his

Wild West Show Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of ...

in Thornbury when touring England in 1903. The Kozey Picture Hall on Leeds Old Road was converted from a boxing stadium and

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

nasium starting operation as a cinema in 1912. The cinema closed in 1920 principally due to competition from the larger Lyceum Cinema that opened in 1919 in nearby

, and became a weaving shed.

Economy

On Gain Lane are British Bakeries' Hovis bakeries, and the headquarters of

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...

. Off Leeds Old Road in the Woodhall Retail Centre are supermarkets and the Thornbury Medical Centre. On Leeds Old Road is the Thornbury Centre - a conference centre, library and church opened in March 1999, built on the site of the demolished St. Margaret's Church with £1.19 million funding from the Millennium Commission. There is only one working public house remaining in Thornbury. The Thornbury Centre-1200

On Dick Lane in the Gallagher Leisure Park is the

Odeon Leeds-Bradford Odeon Leeds-Bradford Odeon Leeds-Bradford is a multiplex cinema at Gallagher Leisure Park, Thornbury, West Yorkshire, between the cities of Leeds and Bradford in England. It has 13 auditoria, ranging from 126 to 442 seats. All screens hav ...

a 13 screen multiplex cinema.

Education

On the edge of old Thornbury village is

Laisterdyke Leadership Academy Laisterdyke Leadership Academy is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. History Following the re-organisation of education in the local education authority (LEA) in September 1999 the sch ...

. Thornbury has a public lending library in the Thornbury Centre on Leeds Old Road.

Transport

The main roads through the area are the

A647 The A647 is an A road in West Yorkshire, England that begins in Leeds and ends in Halifax. The road is long. Route The road begins at the Armley Gyratory and goes via Armley, by-passes Stanningley and Pudsey, then onwards via Thornbury to th ...

Leeds Road, the B6381 Leeds Old Road, Gain Lane and Dick Lane. Leeds Road, Leeds Old Road, and Dick Lane meet at Thornbury roundabout, the biggest roundabout in Yorkshire, where Leeds Road, Gipsy Street, and Dick Lane encircle a roughly triangular green space. New Pudsey east is the nearest railway station. Thornbury is served by First Bradford's 72, 508, 611/X11, 660, 711, 714, X6, M and MORR bus services.

Sport

To the east of Thornbury is the Phoenix Park Golf Course.

Notable people

The poet and novelist Joolz Denby lives in Thornbury.

References

External links

The Thornbury Centre
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