Place:Thornton (near Bradford), West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Watchers
NameThornton (near Bradford)
Alt namesBradford-Dalesource: Family History Library Catalog
Tornetunsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 309
Tortetunsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 309
TypeVillage, Suburb
Coordinates53.7898°N 1.8504°W
Located inWest Riding of Yorkshire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inWest Yorkshire, England     (1974 - )
Yorkshire, England    
See alsoBradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandcity of which it was a part 1899-1974
Bradford (metropolitan borough), West Yorkshire, Englandmetropolitan borough of which it has been a part since 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog


NOTE: As the name suggests, this is Thornton within the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire. There is another settlement named Thornton in the East Riding of Yorkshire.


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Thornton is a village within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the west of Bradford, and together with neighbouring Allerton, has total resident population of 15,004, increasing to 17,276 at the 2011 Census. 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.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Thornton derives from Old English and means a thorn tree at a farm or settlement. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of the 11th century, when it had been laid waste by William the Conqueror's harrying of the North, punishment for an uprising against the Norman invaders of 1066.

Thornton was incorporated into the city of Bradford in 1899 and has been within the boundaries of the City of Bradford metropolitan borough since 1974, in which it comprises part of the Thornton and Allerton ward. It falls within the parliamentary constituency of Bradford West.

Its elevation, poor soils, isolation from major transport routes, and rainfall of over 34 inches a year limited farm production. Resources such as coal, iron and sandstone, 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.

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.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI on Thornton. The GENUKI page gives numerous references to local bodies providing genealogical assistance.
  • The FamilySearch wiki on the ecclesiastical parish of Bradford provides a list of useful resources for the local area.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time on Thornton.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time provides links to maps of the West Riding, produced by the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey, illustrating the boundaries between the civil parishes and the rural districts at various dates. The location of individual settlements within the parishes is also shown. These maps all expand to a very large scale.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Thornton, West Yorkshire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.