Thornton, West Riding
| Thornton | |
| Yorkshire West Riding | |
|---|---|
 Sapgate Lane from Market Street | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE098326 |
| Location: | 53°47’23"N, 1°51’1"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 17,276 (2011) |
| Post town: | Bradford |
| Postcode: | BD13 |
| Dialling code: | 01274 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bradford |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Bradford West |
Thornton is a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the west of Bradford. Its most famous residents were the Brontës.
The preserved centre of the village retains the character of a typical Pennine village, with stone-built houses with stone flagged roofs. The surrounding areas consist of more modern housing, still isolated from the rest of the city of Bradford by green fields.
The name 'Thornton' is from Old English þorn tun, meaning 'thorn farm (or settlement)'.[1]
History
The village appears mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086[2] when it had been laid waste by William the Conqueror's harrying of the North, as punishment for an uprising against the Norman invaders.[3]
The Rev Patrick Brontë became the incumbent of Thornton Chapel in 1815,[4] and Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë were born at 74 Market Street, Thornton, before the family moved to Haworth.[5] The remains of the church where the father preached, known as the Bell Chapel, can be seen in the restored old graveyard off Thornton Road opposite the current church.[6] The 44-mile long long Brontë Way passes through Thornton on its way between Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire and Oakwell Hall in the Birstall area.[7]
Thornton was incorporated into the civic bounds of Bradford in 1899.
Industry and the development of turnpike roads, and the coming of the railways enabled Thornton to share in the prosperity generated by the 19th-century wool worsted trade. The increasing use of steam-powered mills (at the expense of the former cottage-industry production methods) concentrated production in the valleys of the city centre. Foreign imports, the Second World War, and closure of the railways, all contributed to the decline in manufacturing. Today Thornton is a residential suburb of Bradford.[8]
The main thoroughfare through the village is Market Street. This road was bypassed in 1826 by the new Thornton Road (the present day B6145) and as it was a very early bypass, most new building work has since taken place along Thornton Road. This has left Market Street largely untouched and it retains its original character and stonework on the buildings. This street forms the backbone of the conservation area in the village.[9]
Thornton Viaduct
Thornton Viaduct was a railway viaduct for the Great Northern Railway line running from Queensbury to Keighley via Thornton. It was built in an S-shape to allow a smooth access to Thornton railway station.[10]
The viaduct is now a Grade II listed strucyure.[11]
The viaduct was reopened as part of The Great Northern Railway Trail between Cullingworth and Queensbury along the track bed in 2009.[10] A final link up to Queensbury opened in 2012.[12]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Thornton, West Riding) |
- Thornton Directory: community news and business directory.
- Thornton Viaduct.
- 74, Market Street; Bronte birthplace
- All About Thornton, mainly in BD13 website
References
- ↑ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 468 ISBN 0198691033
- ↑ Thornton, West Riding in the Domesday Book
- ↑ Mead, Helen (14 June 2017). "GALLERY: All roads lead to Thornton as history society holds open day". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/tahistory/15345618.GALLERY__All_roads_lead_to_Thornton_as_history_society_holds_open_day/.
- ↑ "The Bronte Birthplace". http://www.bronte-country.com/bronte-birthplace/.
- ↑ Thornton CAA 2003, p. 11.
- ↑ "The Old Bell Chapel, Thornton". http://www.bronte-country.com/bell-chapel.html.
- ↑ "Bronte Way - LDWA Long Distance Paths" (in en). https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Bronte+Way.
- ↑ "Proposals for the Bradford West Constituency" (PDF). pp. 3, 35. https://www.bradford.gov.uk/Documents/UnitaryDevelopmentPlan/2%20Replacement%20UDP/1%20First%20Deposit%20Replacement%20UDP//Bradford%20West%20Proposals%20Report.pdf.
- ↑ Thornton CAA 2003, p. 6.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Haywood, Jo (4 October 2013). "Thornton - the real birthplace of the Brontes". Yorkshire Life. http://www.yorkshirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/thornton_the_real_birthplace_of_the_brontes_1_2836583.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1151855: Thornton Railway Viaduct (Grade II listing)
- ↑ "New section of Sustrans rail trail is opened". Keighley News. 20 October 2012. http://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/9997231.New_section_of_Sustrans_rail_trail_is_opened/.
