Thornton Bridge

Thornton Bridge is a civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, situated between Boroughbridge to the south-west, and Thirsk to the north-east. The parish has no major settlements, just a few cottages clustered around the old manor of Thornton Bridge.

Thornton Bridge
Civil parish
A dirt track leading off into the distance on the right; a green field with a wheat or corn crop on the left
Thornton Manor farm track
Thornton Bridge is located in North Yorkshire
Thornton Bridge
Thornton Bridge
Location within North Yorkshire
OS grid referenceSE415709
Unitary authority
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townYORK
Postcode districtYO61
PoliceNorth Yorkshire
FireNorth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire

History

Thornton Bridge was a township in the parish of Brafferton, but became its own civil parish in 1866. It was historically in the wapentakes of either Hallikeld or Bulmer, and in the historic county of the North Riding of Yorkshire.[1] Since 1974, it has been in North Yorkshire, and until 2023, was a part of Harrogate District.[2] The parish is 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Boroughbridge,[3] and 1-mile (1.6 km) north of Brafferton.[4] The Domesday Survey 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.[5] In 1689, Roger Strickland 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.[6]

Thornton Bridge, the structure over the River Swale at the east end of the parish, is an iron bridge which Pevsner described as a "handsome arched bridge of cast iron..".[7] Previously the river was crossed by a stone bridge of three arches, which Leland described as "the depe and swift stream of Swale."[8] The newer iron bridge dates back to 1865 and stretches in a single span of 98 feet (30 m) over the river.[9] The structure was grade II listed in 1987.[10] 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 tūn (town) where the thorn bushes grow.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13] In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population to be 50.[14] The parish is part of the Skipton and Ripon Constituency at Westminster,[15] and part of the Bishop Monkton and Newby Ward in the former Borough of Harrogate.[16]

Population of Thornton Bridge 1801–2015[17][18]
1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961 1971 2011 2015
362 318 378 407 427 371 360 359 55 55 48 66 74 70 56 53 40 50[note 1] 50[note 2]

Notes
  1. Estimated population.[14]
  2. Estimated population.[14]

References
  1. Page 1968, p. 98.
  2. Minting, Stuart (1 April 2023). "Day one of the 'huge new local unitary council'". The Yorkshire Post. p. 6. ISSN 0963-1496.
  3. "Thornton Bridge North Riding". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. Gill, Thomas (1852). Vallis Eboracensis : Comprising the history and antiquities of Easingwold and its neighbourhood. London: Simpkin Marshall. p. 379.
  5. Page 1968, p. 100.
  6. Page 1968, p. 101.
  7. Pevsner, Nikolaus (1992). Yorkshire: the North Riding. London: Penguin Books. p. 369. ISBN 0140710299.
  8. Page 1968, p. 99.
  9. Rennison, R. W. (1996). Civil engineering heritage. nort: Northern England / ed. by R. W. Rennison (2. ed.). London: Telford. p. 152. ISBN 0-7277-2518-1.
  10. Historic England. "Thornton Bridge (Grade II) (1293791)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  11. Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 468, 482. ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
  12. Gill, Thomas (1852). Vallis Eboracensis : Comprising the history and antiquities of Easingwold and its neighbourhood. London: Simpkin Marshall. p. 380.
  13. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Humberton Parish (E04007360)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  14. "2015 Population Estimates Parishes" (PDF). northyorks.gov.uk. December 2016. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  15. "Election Maps". ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2023. On the left of the screen is the "Boundary" tab; click this and activate either civil parishes or Westminster Constituencies (or both), however, only two functions can be active at any one time.
  16. "Electoral Review of Harrogate" (PDF). hub.datanorthyorkshire.org. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  17. Census 1971 England and Wales County Report Yorkshire the North Riding part 1. London: HMSO. 1973. p. 13. ISBN 0-11-690379-1.
  18. "Administrative unit Thornton Bridge CP/Tn Parish-level Unit". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

Sources
  • Page, William, ed. (1968) [1923]. The Victoria history of the county of York, North Riding. 2 (1968 ed.). London: Dawsons of Pall Mall. ISBN 0-7129-0310-0.
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