is designed and maintained by
Eagle Intermedia Publishing Ltd.
At about the time of the Domesday Book, Thornton, then a very small hamlet to the west of Bradford , was registered with the name "Torenton" under the manor of Bolton, but was soon after aquired by a family of "considerable consequence" who took their name from the place. The last surviving member of this family, Roger de Thornton, died without an heir and "levied a fine" with the manor passing into the hands of the Bollings of Bolling Hall in Bradford . By marriage the estate then became the property of Sir Richard Tempest of Bracewell in 1502 in whose family it remained until passing to a certain Mr Watmough in 1620, and in 1638 was sold to the Midgeley family before passing to John Cockcroft and then Mr Stanhope.
At the time of the Brontes' residence (1815 - 1820), Thornton was still a very small hamlet of only 23 separate dwellings. Even by the standards of the day, Thornton was a very Puritanical community, and an unusual number of the names of nearby hamlets are of biblical origin (e.g. Jericho, Jerusalem, Egypt, and the apocalytically named World's End - to list but a few). The Puritan influence is also reflected in the recorded Christian names of many of the inhabitants of the time: "Meshach", "Ezra" and "Cain" being popular recorded names for boys; "Kezia", "Tabitha" and "Abigail" being popular popular recorded names for girls. Indeed, the founder of the old church, a Reverend Caleb Kemp boasted that he had "sowed an amount of Puritan seed, the fruit of which was seen for many days..." (whatever that means !)
The first half of the nineteenth century saw unprecendented growth in West Yorkshire, with the population of Bradford increasing fourfold. Despite its relatively isolated location, Thornton saw a considerable rise in its fortunes, due principally to the industrial revolution and an increased demand for sandstone hewn from local quarries. Furthermore, the village street became part of the main highway between the Lake District and Leeds and Bradford, with a total of 16 alehouses serving the increasing traffic through the village. The subsequent rise in population led to the building of a new church which replaced the old Bell Chapel (where Patrick Bronte served) in 1872.
Soon after this the village was connected to the Great Northern Railway by a line which ran from Bradford through Clayton to Denholme, and although the line was later dismantled, an impressive arched viaduct still remains which spans the valley of the Bradford beck just below the village.
Please click here to access the Thornton village home page.
is designed and maintained by
Eagle Intermedia Publishing Ltd.
