Thornton-in-Craven is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the county of

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. It is approx from the border with

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and north of Earby.

Barnoldswick Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic West Riding of Yorkshire, West Ri ...

is nearby. The

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

passes through the village, as does the

A56 road The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as ...

. Until 1974 it was part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of

Craven District Craven was a non-metropolitan district in the west of North Yorkshire, centred on the market town of Skipton. The name ''Craven'' is much older than the modern district and encompassed Craven in the Domesday Book, a larger area. This history is ...

. 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 ...

. The village has a church, a primary school and a retirement home, but no shops or pubs. The historic almshouses provide accommodation for five single persons. Near the medieval church to the west of the village is a holy well, dating from Saxon times and now covered by an octagonal structure erected in 1764 by the rector.

Thornton-in-Craven railway station Thornton-in-Craven railway station served the small village of Thornton-in-Craven in North Yorkshire (formerly the West Riding of Yorkshire), England. It was a stop on the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway between , and Bradford Market Stre ...

was closed when passenger trains over the

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

route were withdrawn in 1970. SELRAP are actively pursuing a re-opening of the line which was given a boost in February 2018, when the transport minister,

Chris Grayling Christopher Stephen Grayling, Baron Grayling, (born 1 April 1962), is a British politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015, Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and Secretary of State for T ...

, ordered a feasibility study into the reopening. The village playing field, at the bottom of Boothbridge Lane, is home t
Thornton in Craven Cricket Club
who compete in th
Craven League
The team is heavily populated by players from nearby Earby and Barnoldswick, with a few representatives from the village itself. In 2022 the club were winners of the Third Division title and won the Cowling Cup. Poet Blake Morrison grew up in the village.

References

External links

Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Holy wells in England Craven District {{Craven-geo-stub