Thornton Bridge is a civil parish in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England, situated between

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge ( ) is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh, which c ...

to the south-west, and

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

to the north-east. The parish has no major settlements, just a few cottages clustered around the old manor of Thornton Bridge.

History

Thornton Bridge was a township in the parish of Brafferton, but became its own civil parish in 1866. It was historically in the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

s of either

Hallikeld Hallikeld was a wapentake, an administrative division (or ancient district) analogous to a Hundred (county division), hundred, in the historic county of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It was one of the smaller wapentakes by area and consisted of ...

or Bulmer, and in the historic county of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

. Since 1974, it has been in North Yorkshire, and until 2023, was a part of Harrogate District. The parish is north-east of Boroughbridge, and north of Brafferton. The

Domesday Survey Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

listed Thornton Bridge as being six carucates of land and belonging to Gospatric, however by the 13th century it was in the hands of the Mowbray family. In 1689,

Roger Strickland Sir Roger Strickland (1640–1717) was an English admiral and Member of Parliament. Life Strickland was the second son of Walter Strickland of Nateby Hall, Lancashire, and lived at Thornton Bridge near Aldborough in Yorkshire, a property ...

was attainted and stripped of his estates after he was accused of accompanying James II to Ireland. Although accused of High Treason, he was exiled rather than executed as the evidence was weak. Thornton Bridge, the structure over the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley throu ...

at the east end of the parish, is an iron bridge which Pevsner described as a "handsome arched bridge of cast iron..". Previously the river was crossed by a stone bridge of three arches, which Leland described as "the depe and swift stream of Swale." The newer iron bridge dates back to 1865 and stretches in a single span of over the river. The structure was

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1987. The bridge over the Swale lends its name to the parish, which was recorded as ''Torentone'' in the Domesday Book, and ''Thorenton on Swale'' in 1275. Thornton, like others in the region, derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''tūn'' (town) where the thorn bushes grow. Thornton Bridge Hall was a manor-house in the area being the home of various noble families (Courtenay, Nevil, Tancard and Strickland), which was largely renovated in 1804.

Governance

Details for the population of the parish are within the neighbouring parish of Humberton (to the south), which listed a total population of 11 people. In 2015,

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

estimated the population to be 50. The parish is part of the Skipton and Ripon Constituency at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the

Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate was a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Harrogate, but it also included surrounding settlements, including the cathedral ...

, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

Notes

References

Sources

* {{commons category, Thornton Bridge Civil parishes in North Yorkshire