Place:Thornhaugh, Northamptonshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

Thornhaugh is a village and civil parish. It was historically part of Northamptonshire. When County Councils were created in 1889 Thornhaugh was made part of the Soke of Peterborough administrative county, which was nominally still part of Northamptonshire, but independent of Northamptonshire County Council. In 1965 The Soke of Peterborough was merged with the county of Huntingdonshire to form the administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough, which was itself abolished in 1974 and absorbed into Cambridgeshire. Since 1998, Thornhaugh has been a parish in the unitary authority of the City of Peterborough, which remains part of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire.

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Thornhaugh is derived from Old English and means "a thorn enclosed low-lying meadow beside a stream". There is evidence of a settlement here as far back as the 12th century, but probably has earlier origins. Although the village of Thornhaugh itself is quite small, the parish is one of the largest in the county of Cambridgeshire at 1,096.33 acres (443.67 ha). The parish is crossed by the A1 and A47 roads (both major roads). Wikipedia gives a population of 182 (no census year given, assumed 21st century). The parish is located directly west of the centre of Peterborough and south of the parish of Wittering in what was Barnack Rural District from 1894 until 1974.

The road that runs through the village is Russell Hill, named after William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh (died 1613) who lived here. The Russell family are also associated with the Bedford Estate in central London where you will find Thornhaugh Street and Russell Square in Bloomsbury.

St Andrew's Church dates from the 12th century, although much restored in the 19th century; it is a Grade I listed building.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Thornhaugh.

The following description from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72 is provided by the website A Vision of Britain Through Time (University of Portsmouth Department of Geography).

"THORNHAUGH, a parish in the [registration] district of Stamford and county of Northampton[shire]; 1¼ mile NNW of Wansford-Road [railway] station. Post town: Wansford. Acres: 1,706. Real property: £2,031. Population: 243. Houses: 50. The property belongs to the Duke of Bedford. The living is a rectory, united with Wansford, in the diocese of Peterborough. Value: £483. Patron: the Duke of Bedford. The church is ancient. There is a national school."

Research Tips

• If you are researching anyone whose lifetime preceded (or even mostly preceded) 1889, the places in which he or she lived are going to be in Northamptonshire rather than the Soke of Peterborough. The Soke of Peterborough was actually a section of Northamptonshire.
• Original historical documents relating to the Soke of Peterborough are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Peterborough.
• GENUKI does not provide webpages for the Soke of Peterborough and its provision for Northamptonshire is very limited.
• The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages on Northamptonshire (including the Soke of Peterborough).
• A Vision of Britain through Time, section "Units and Statistics" leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from 1889 through 1974. There are pages available for all civil parishes, municipal boroughs and other administrative divisions.
• Map of Northamptonshire in 1900 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time shows the Soke of Peterborough (not labelled as such) in the top right hand corner.
• Map of Northamptonshire divisions (including the Soke of Peterborough) in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time