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Coordinates: 53°39′44″N 1°36′45″W / 53.6622°N 1.6124°W / 53.6622; -1.6124
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| official_name = Thornhill
| official_name = Thornhill
| coordinates = {{coord|53.6622|-1.6124|scale:20000|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{coord|53.6622|-1.6124|scale:20000|display=inline,title}}
| static_image_name = St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill 1.jpg
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| static_image_caption = St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill Parish Church
| map_type = West Yorkshire
| map_type = West Yorkshire
| population = 6,875
| population = 6,875
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| metropolitan_county = [[West Yorkshire]]
| metropolitan_county = [[West Yorkshire]]
| region = Yorkshire and the Humber
| region = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = [[Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Dewsbury]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Dewsbury and Batley (UK Parliament constituency)|Dewsbury and Batley]]
| post_town = DEWSBURY
| post_town = DEWSBURY
| postcode_district = WF12
| postcode_district = WF12
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}}
}}


'''Thornhill''' is a village and former township on the southern outskirts of [[Dewsbury]] in the [[Kirklees]] district of [[West Yorkshire]], England. Historically part of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], Thornhill was absorbed into [[County Borough of Dewsbury|Dewsbury County Borough]] in 1910. It is located on a hill on the south side of the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]], and has extensive views of Dewsbury, [[Ossett]] and [[Wakefield]]. It is known for its collection of [[Anglo-Saxon cross]]es.
'''Thornhill''' is a village on the southern outskirts of [[Dewsbury]] in [[Kirklees]], [[West Yorkshire]], England. Historically part of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], Thornhill was absorbed into [[County Borough of Dewsbury|Dewsbury County Borough]] in 1910. The village is located on a ridge on the south side of the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]]. Dewsbury, [[Ossett]] and [[Wakefield]] are close by. Its parish church houses a collection of [[Anglo-Saxon cross]]es.


==History==
==History==
Thornhill is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as within the ancient [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]] of [[Agbrigg and Morley|Agbrigg]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SE2418/thornhill/|title=Open Domesday Online: Thornhill (Yorkshire)|access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref> while Anglian crosses and other remains indicate that there was a settlement here by the 9th century. A hoard of 27 Roman [[denarius|denarii]] found in Turnip Lane and pottery at the cross indicate substantially earlier settlement. The tombstone of a very high-ranking Anglian called Osberht (a very rare find) was found in the graveyard of Thornhill Parish Church. Some historians claim that the grave bearing the name Osbehrt is that of [[Osberht of Northumbria|King Osberht]], who was killed on 21 March 867 while fighting the Viking Great Heathen Army led by [[Ivar the Boneless]]. The gravestone (among other contemporaneous high-status Anglian gravestones) is on display in the church. The local place-names of Ludd Well (shown in a 1602 map) and the Combs indicate Celtic settlement. This is reinforced by the dedication of the Parish Church to St Michael, which is typical for churches in high places in formerly Celtic parts of northern England. The Celtic kingdom of [[Elmet]] (covering modern West Yorkshire) collapsed in AD&nbsp;617. In 1320 [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] granted a charter for a market and a fair.<ref name=tde/>
Anglian crosses and other remains indicate that there was a settlement here by the 9th century. A hoard of 27 Roman [[denarius|denarii]] found in Turnip Lane and pottery at the cross indicate a substantially earlier settlement. The tombstone of a high-ranking Anglian, Osberht, was found in the graveyard of Thornhill Parish Church. Some historians claim that the grave bearing the name ''Osbehrt'' is that of [[Osberht of Northumbria]], who was killed on 21 March 867 while fighting the Viking Great Heathen Army led by [[Ivar the Boneless]]. The gravestone, among other contemporaneous high-status Anglian gravestones, is displayed in the church.


Local place-names, Ludd Well (shown on a 1602 map) and the Combs indicate Celtic settlement. This is reinforced by the dedication of the Parish Church to St Michael, which is typical for churches in high places in formerly Celtic parts of northern England. The Celtic kingdom of [[Elmet]] that covered parts of modern West Yorkshire collapsed in AD&nbsp;617.
⚫
[[File:Thornhill coat of arms.jpg|thumb|right|160px|This is the original [[coat of arms]] for the Thornhill family, before they married in with the Saviles.]]
⚫
In the reign of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], [[Thornhill Hall]] was the seat of the Thornhill family, who intermarried with the De Fixbys and Babthorpes in the reigns of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] and [[Edward II of England|Edward II]]. In the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], Elizabeth Thornhill, the only child of Simon Thornhill, married Sir Henry Savile. This extinguished the family line of Thornhills of Thornhill which now passed its property down the Savile line. Thornhill now became the seat of the powerful Savile family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://midgleywebpages.com/thornhill.html|title = The family of Thornhill of Thornhill, Yorkshire}}</ref>


Thornhill is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as within the ancient [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]] of [[Agbrigg and Morley|Agbrigg]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SE2418/thornhill/|title=Open Domesday Online: Thornhill (Yorkshire)|access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref> In 1320 [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] granted a charter for a market and a fair.<ref name=tde/>
The Saviles later intermarried with the Calverley family as well, so that when Sir John Savile died in 1503 in Thornhill, he left provision in his will for his sister Alice, married to Sir William Calverley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/sources/saville/clay2.shtml|title=Medieval English genealogy: The Savile Family|website=www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk}}</ref> [[Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet|Sir William Savile]], the third [[baronet]] of the family, fortified the hall.


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[[File:Thornhill coat of arms.jpg|thumb|right|160px|[[Coat of arms]] of the Thornhill family]]
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===Seizure of Thornhill Hall===
⚫
In the reign of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], [[Thornhill Hall]] was the seat of the Thornhill family, who intermarried with the De Fixbys and Babthorpes in the reigns of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] and [[Edward II of England|Edward II]]. In the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], Elizabeth Thornhill, the only child of Simon Thornhill, married Sir Henry Savile. This extinguished the family line of Thornhills of Thornhill which passed its property down the Savile line and Thornhill became the seat of the Savile family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://midgleywebpages.com/thornhill.html|title = The family of Thornhill of Thornhill, Yorkshire}}</ref> The Saviles intermarried with the Calverley family so that when Sir John Savile died in 1503 in Thornhill, he left provision in his will for his sister Alice, married to Sir William Calverley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/sources/saville/clay2.shtml|title=Medieval English genealogy: The Savile Family|website=www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk}}</ref> [[Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet|Sir William Savile]], the third [[baronet]] of the family, fortified the hall.
⚫
The Saviles remained here until the [[English Civil War]] when the [[Thornhill Hall|house]] was besieged. As royalist heroine since the siege of [[Sheffield Castle]] in 1644, Lady Anne Savile's troops under Capt. Thomas Paulden (brother of [[John Morris (soldier)#Seizure of Pontefract Castle|William Paulden]]) in August 1648 defended Thornhill Hall against the Parliamentary forces under Col. Sir Thomas Fairfax. They were forced to surrender and the hall was destroyed.<ref>B. Nuttall, A History of Thornhill, 1970.</ref>


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===Thornhill Hall===
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[[File:St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill 1.jpg|thumb|left|180px|St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill Parish Church]]
⚫
The Saviles remained here until the [[English Civil War]] when Thornhill Hall was besieged. A royalist heroine after the siege of [[Sheffield Castle]] in 1644, Lady Anne Savile's troops under Capt Thomas Paulden (brother of [[John Morris (soldier)#Seizure of Pontefract Castle|William Paulden]]) defended the hall against the Parliamentary forces under Col Sir Thomas Fairfax in August 1648. They were forced to surrender and the hall was destroyed.<ref>{{cite book|first=B. |last=Nuttall |title=A History of Thornhill |year=1970}}</ref> Some ruins of the hall and the moat remain in Rectory Park.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1134729|desc=RUINS OF THE MEDIEVAL THORNHILL HALL IN MOATED ENCLOSURE, IN RECTORY GROUNDS|grade=II|access-date=1 January 2019}}</ref> The moat retains water.
⚫
The Old Rectory survived and was home to several prominent vicars, most notably [[John Michell]],<ref name="EB1911"/> who first rose to international prominence by developing an understanding of earthquakes, then devised an experiment to accurately determine the mass of planet Earth, but perhaps most intriguingly for Thornhill, attracted [[Benjamin Franklin]] (founding father of the USA), [[Joseph Priestley]], [[Jan Ingenhousz]], [[John Smeaton]] and others to a scientific meeting and overnight stay in 1771. Benjamin Franklin's stay in Thornhill remained unknown until 2015.


⚫
The Old Rectory survived and was home to several vicars, notably [[John Michell]],<ref name="EB1911"/> who rose to international prominence by developing an understanding of earthquakes, then devised an experiment to accurately determine the mass of planet Earth, but perhaps most intriguingly, attracted [[Benjamin Franklin]] (founding father of the USA), [[Joseph Priestley]], [[Jan Ingenhousz]], [[John Smeaton]] and others to a scientific meeting and overnight stay in 1771. Benjamin Franklin's stay in Thornhill remained unknown until 2015.
Some ruins of the house and the moat still remain at Thornhill Rectory Park.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1134729|desc=RUINS OF THE MEDIEVAL THORNHILL HALL IN MOATED ENCLOSURE, IN RECTORY GROUNDS|grade=II|access-date=1 January 2019}}</ref> The moat still retains water.


Monuments to members of the Thornhill and Savile families are in Thornhill Parish Church.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thornhillparishchurch.org.uk/AboutUs.htm |title=History & Publications – Thornhill Parish Church |access-date=12 February 2006 |archive-date=12 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312020935/http://www.thornhillparishchurch.org.uk/AboutUs.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Monuments to members of the Thornhill and Savile families are in Thornhill Parish Church.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thornhillparishchurch.org.uk/AboutUs.htm |title=History & Publications – Thornhill Parish Church |access-date=12 February 2006 |archive-date=12 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312020935/http://www.thornhillparishchurch.org.uk/AboutUs.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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==Governance==
==Governance==
Historically Thornhill (St Michael) was a large [[ecclesiastical parish]] in the [[wapentake]] of Agbrigg, [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] which joined the Dewsbury [[Poor Law Union]] in 1837. In 1894 it was an [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban district]] and in 1910 it was incorporated into Dewsbury County Borough.<ref name="VoB">{{citation|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10471450|title=Thornhill CP/AP|publisher=[[Great Britain Historical GIS#A Vision of Britain through Time|Vision of Britain]]|access-date=3 July 2018 }}</ref>
Historically Thornhill (St Michael) was a large [[ecclesiastical parish]] and township in the [[wapentake]] of Agbrigg, [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] which joined the Dewsbury [[Poor Law Union]] in 1837. In 1894 it was an [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban district]] and in 1910 it was incorporated into Dewsbury County Borough.<ref name="VoB">{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10471450|title=Thornhill CP/AP|publisher=[[Great Britain Historical GIS#A Vision of Britain through Time|Vision of Britain]]|access-date=3 July 2018 }}</ref>


==Geography==
==Geography==
Thornhill is situated on a ridge to the south and east of the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]] and the [[Calder and Hebble Navigation]]. The township covered {{convert|2486|acre|ha}} and the underlying rock comprises coal measures. Thornhill encompasses the areas of Thornhill Edge, the Edge from the Old English ''ecg'' an escarpment,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53288205b47fc40c81005a0e-Thornhill+Edge|title=Thornhill Edge|publisher=Survey of English Place-Names|accessdate=23 January 2024}}</ref> the scarp slope that overlooks the valley of the Howroyd Beck; Overthorpe, from ''uferra'' ("upper") and ''þorp'' was the upper outlying farmstead,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53288205b47fc40c81005a04-Overthorpe|title=Overthorpe|publisher=Survey of English Place-Names|accessdate=22 January 2024}}</ref> now a residential area; and Fox Royd.<ref name=tde>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Samuel|chapter=Thornhill St Michael|chapter-url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51336#s9|title=A Topographical Dictionary of England |publisher=British History Online |pages=335–337|year=1848 |accessdate=10 October 2010}}</ref>
Thornhill is situated on a flat-topped ridge to the south and east of the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]] and the [[Calder and Hebble Navigation]] and north of the Howroyd Beck. The township covered {{convert|2486|acre|ha}} and the underlying rock comprises coal measures. Thornhill encompasses the areas of [[Thornhill Lees]] in the valley by the Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation, Thornhill Edge, the Edge from the Old English ''ecg'' an escarpment<ref>{{cite web|url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53288205b47fc40c81005a0e-Thornhill+Edge |title=Thornhill Edge |publisher=Survey of English Place-Names|accessdate=23 January 2024}}</ref> the south-facing scarp slope that overlooks the valley of the Howroyd Beck; Overthorpe, from ''uferra'' and ''þorp'' was the upper outlying farmstead,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53288205b47fc40c81005a04-Overthorpe|title=Overthorpe|publisher=Survey of English Place-Names|accessdate=22 January 2024}}</ref> now a residential area; and Fox Royd.<ref name=tde>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Samuel|chapter=Thornhill St Michael|chapter-url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51336#s9|title=A Topographical Dictionary of England |publisher=British History Online |pages=335–337|year=1848 |accessdate=10 October 2010}}</ref>


==Schools==
==Schools==
The Grade II listed former [[Thornhill Grammar School]] was built with money bequeathed by Charles Greenwood, Rector of Thornhill in 1643.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1134730|desc=Former Thornhill Grammar School|grade=II|access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref> A school endowed by Richard Walker dated from 1712.<ref name=tde/>
{{See also|Thornhill Grammar School}}

The Thornhill area has two junior schools: Overthorpe (C of E) Junior and Infants and Thornhill Junior and Infants School. [[Thornhill Community Academy]] is the area's secondary school, with a [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] pass rate of 84% in 2010, an increase of 22 percentage points from 2009. Recently the school has undergone various modifications, and is now a [[Science College]]. Much of the school has been refurbished and modernised. Construction of a new sports hall was completed in April 2007 and includes a new [[Multi-Use Games Area]] (MUGA).
Thornhill has two primary schools: Overthorpe (C of E) Junior and Infants and Thornhill Junior and Infants School. [[Thornhill Community Academy]], the area's secondary school had a [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] pass rate of 84% in 2010, an increase of 22 percentage points from 2009. The school is a [[Science College]]. Much of the school has been refurbished and modernised. Construction of a sports hall was completed in April 2007 and includes a new [[Multi-Use Games Area]].


==Sports==
==Sports==
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Thornhill United play at Rectory Park. Thornhill Rugby Club is based in Overthorpe Parks. Community facilities open to the public include a football pitch, rugby pitch and basketball court, a mini rugby pitch frequently used by the rugby club for the under tens junior team and a sports hall with a multi-use games area are at the local secondary school (the Community Science College at Thornhill).
Thornhill United play at Rectory Park. Thornhill Rugby Club is based in Overthorpe Parks. Community facilities open to the public include a football pitch, rugby pitch and basketball court, a mini rugby pitch frequently used by the rugby club for the under tens junior team and a sports hall with a multi-use games area are at the local secondary school (the Community Science College at Thornhill).


The Savile Bowmen, an archery club shoots at Thornhill Cricket and Bowls Club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savile-bowmen.org.uk/|title=Kirklees Area Target Archery Club :: Savile Bowmen|website=www.savile-bowmen.org.uk}}</ref> Three tennis courts are situated next to Thornhill Cricket and Bowls Club. Thornhill Tennis Club has two teams in the Huddersfield and District Tennis League.
The Savile Bowmen archery club shoots at Thornhill Cricket and Bowls Club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savile-bowmen.org.uk/|title=Kirklees Area Target Archery Club :: Savile Bowmen|website=www.savile-bowmen.org.uk}}</ref> Three tennis courts are situated next to Thornhill Cricket and Bowls Club. Thornhill Tennis Club has two teams in the Huddersfield and District Tennis League.


==Amenities==
==Amenities==
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==Survey of English Dialects site==
==Survey of English Dialects site==
The area was also covered by the [[Survey of English Dialects]] owing to the belief that it was a hotbed of Yorkshire dialect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=021SED000C908S9U00003C01 |title=Thornhill, Yorkshire |access-date=13 July 2006 |archive-date=11 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311201108/http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=021SED000C908S9U00003C01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A 2005 study compared the 1964 Thornhill recording with a recording from nearby Ossett in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/activities/lavc/Conference%20Paper%20PDFs/JonathanRobinson.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224023403/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/activities/lavc/Conference%20Paper%20PDFs/JonathanRobinson.pdf| archive-date=24 December 2010|title=Dialect and Folk Life Studies in Britain: The Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture in its Context|date=19 March 2005|access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>
The area was covered by the [[Survey of English Dialects]] in the belief that it was a hotbed of Yorkshire dialect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=021SED000C908S9U00003C01 |title=Thornhill, Yorkshire |access-date=13 July 2006 |archive-date=11 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311201108/http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=021SED000C908S9U00003C01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A 2005 study compared the 1964 Thornhill recording with a recording from nearby Ossett in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/activities/lavc/Conference%20Paper%20PDFs/JonathanRobinson.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224023403/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/activities/lavc/Conference%20Paper%20PDFs/JonathanRobinson.pdf| archive-date=24 December 2010|title=Dialect and Folk Life Studies in Britain: The Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture in its Context|date=19 March 2005|access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>


[[File:St Michael and All Angels%2C Thornhill 2 %284172381068%29.jpg|thumb|right|St Michael and All Angels]]
[[File:St Michael and All Angels%2C Thornhill 2 %284172381068%29.jpg|thumb|right|St Michael and All Angels]]

==Church protests==
In 2014 there were protests after items were removed from gravestones at Thornhill Parish Church, under the orders of the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Protests continue against church which removed graveside mementoes|date=16 August 2014|journal=Bately and Birstall News|url=https://www.batleynews.co.uk/news/protests-continue-against-church-which-removed-graveside-mementoes-1-6787839|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330075744/https://www.batleynews.co.uk/news/protests-continue-against-church-which-removed-graveside-mementoes-1-6787839|archive-date=30 March 2018}}</ref>


==Notable people==
==Notable people==

Revision as of 20:32, 16 June 2024

Thornhill
St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill Parish Church
Thornhill is located in West Yorkshire
Thornhill
Thornhill
Location within West Yorkshire
Population6,875 (2005)
OS grid referenceSE245185
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDEWSBURY
Postcode districtWF12
Dialling code01924
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°39′44″N 1°36′45″W / 53.6622°N 1.6124°W / 53.6622; -1.6124

Thornhill is a village on the southern outskirts of Dewsbury in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Thornhill was absorbed into Dewsbury County Borough in 1910. The village is located on a ridge on the south side of the River Calder. Dewsbury, Ossett and Wakefield are close by. Its parish church houses a collection of Anglo-Saxon crosses.

History

Anglian crosses and other remains indicate that there was a settlement here by the 9th century. A hoard of 27 Roman denarii found in Turnip Lane and pottery at the cross indicate a substantially earlier settlement. The tombstone of a high-ranking Anglian, Osberht, was found in the graveyard of Thornhill Parish Church. Some historians claim that the grave bearing the name Osbehrt is that of Osberht of Northumbria, who was killed on 21 March 867 while fighting the Viking Great Heathen Army led by Ivar the Boneless. The gravestone, among other contemporaneous high-status Anglian gravestones, is displayed in the church.

Local place-names, Ludd Well (shown on a 1602 map) and the Combs indicate Celtic settlement. This is reinforced by the dedication of the Parish Church to St Michael, which is typical for churches in high places in formerly Celtic parts of northern England. The Celtic kingdom of Elmet that covered parts of modern West Yorkshire collapsed in AD 617.

Thornhill is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as within the ancient wapentake of Agbrigg.[1] In 1320 Edward II granted a charter for a market and a fair.[2]

Coat of arms of the Thornhill family

In the reign of Henry III, Thornhill Hall was the seat of the Thornhill family, who intermarried with the De Fixbys and Babthorpes in the reigns of Edward I and Edward II. In the reign of Edward III, Elizabeth Thornhill, the only child of Simon Thornhill, married Sir Henry Savile. This extinguished the family line of Thornhills of Thornhill which passed its property down the Savile line and Thornhill became the seat of the Savile family.[3] The Saviles intermarried with the Calverley family so that when Sir John Savile died in 1503 in Thornhill, he left provision in his will for his sister Alice, married to Sir William Calverley.[4] Sir William Savile, the third baronet of the family, fortified the hall.

Thornhill Hall

The Saviles remained here until the English Civil War when Thornhill Hall was besieged. A royalist heroine after the siege of Sheffield Castle in 1644, Lady Anne Savile's troops under Capt Thomas Paulden (brother of William Paulden) defended the hall against the Parliamentary forces under Col Sir Thomas Fairfax in August 1648. They were forced to surrender and the hall was destroyed.[5] Some ruins of the hall and the moat remain in Rectory Park.[6] The moat retains water.

The Old Rectory survived and was home to several vicars, notably John Michell,[7] who rose to international prominence by developing an understanding of earthquakes, then devised an experiment to accurately determine the mass of planet Earth, but perhaps most intriguingly, attracted Benjamin Franklin (founding father of the USA), Joseph Priestley, Jan Ingenhousz, John Smeaton and others to a scientific meeting and overnight stay in 1771. Benjamin Franklin's stay in Thornhill remained unknown until 2015.

Monuments to members of the Thornhill and Savile families are in Thornhill Parish Church.[8]

Industrial Revolution

Thornhill has close ties to coal mining. The demand for coal increased due to the development of the steam engine. The local population increased as more workers were recruited for the mines. In 1893 an explosion at Combs Pit killed 139 coal miners. Thornhill Colliery resulted from the merging of Inghams and Combs Collieries in 1948 but closed in 1971.

Governance

Historically Thornhill (St Michael) was a large ecclesiastical parish and township in the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding of Yorkshire which joined the Dewsbury Poor Law Union in 1837. In 1894 it was an urban district and in 1910 it was incorporated into Dewsbury County Borough.[9]

Geography

Thornhill is situated on a flat-topped ridge to the south and east of the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation and north of the Howroyd Beck. The township covered 2,486 acres (1,006 ha) and the underlying rock comprises coal measures. Thornhill encompasses the areas of Thornhill Lees in the valley by the Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation, Thornhill Edge, the Edge from the Old English ecg an escarpment[10] the south-facing scarp slope that overlooks the valley of the Howroyd Beck; Overthorpe, from uferra and þorp was the upper outlying farmstead,[11] now a residential area; and Fox Royd.[2]

Schools

The Grade II listed former Thornhill Grammar School was built with money bequeathed by Charles Greenwood, Rector of Thornhill in 1643.[12] A school endowed by Richard Walker dated from 1712.[2]

Thornhill has two primary schools: Overthorpe (C of E) Junior and Infants and Thornhill Junior and Infants School. Thornhill Community Academy, the area's secondary school had a GCSE pass rate of 84% in 2010, an increase of 22 percentage points from 2009. The school is a Science College. Much of the school has been refurbished and modernised. Construction of a sports hall was completed in April 2007 and includes a new Multi-Use Games Area.

Sports

Thornhill Trojans[13] rugby league team play (2023) in the National Conference League Division 1.[14] Overthorpe Sports football team play in the West Riding County Amateur League (Premier Division) on Saturdays and Overthorpe Town play in the Heavy Woollen Sunday League (First Division). Thornhill United play at Rectory Park. Thornhill Rugby Club is based in Overthorpe Parks. Community facilities open to the public include a football pitch, rugby pitch and basketball court, a mini rugby pitch frequently used by the rugby club for the under tens junior team and a sports hall with a multi-use games area are at the local secondary school (the Community Science College at Thornhill).

The Savile Bowmen archery club shoots at Thornhill Cricket and Bowls Club.[15] Three tennis courts are situated next to Thornhill Cricket and Bowls Club. Thornhill Tennis Club has two teams in the Huddersfield and District Tennis League.

Amenities

There are a number of local shops and off-licences in Thornhill and numerous takeaways ranging from traditional English to Italian cuisine. The nearest large supermarkets are in Dewsbury, which is connected by public transport. The area has two post offices with limited services. Overthorpe Post Office has recently undergone building work and is now part of the Onestop franchise. Other shops and services include a florist, dental surgery, beauty salon, a computer repair shop, a tattoo studio, a fish and chip shop and a couple of Indian takeaways.

Survey of English Dialects site

The area was covered by the Survey of English Dialects in the belief that it was a hotbed of Yorkshire dialect.[16] A 2005 study compared the 1964 Thornhill recording with a recording from nearby Ossett in 1999.[17]

St Michael and All Angels

Notable people

George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax. c. 1675

See also

References

  1. ^ "Open Domesday Online: Thornhill (Yorkshire)". Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Samuel (1848). "Thornhill St Michael". A Topographical Dictionary of England. British History Online. pp. 335–337. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  3. ^ "The family of Thornhill of Thornhill, Yorkshire".
  4. ^ "Medieval English genealogy: The Savile Family". www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk.
  5. ^ Nuttall, B. (1970). A History of Thornhill.
  6. ^ Historic England. "RUINS OF THE MEDIEVAL THORNHILL HALL IN MOATED ENCLOSURE, IN RECTORY GROUNDS (Grade II) (1134729)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Michell, John" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 370–371.
  8. ^ "History & Publications – Thornhill Parish Church". Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2006.
  9. ^ "Thornhill CP/AP". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Thornhill Edge". Survey of English Place-Names. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Overthorpe". Survey of English Place-Names. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Former Thornhill Grammar School (Grade II) (1134730)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Thornhill Trojans". Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  14. ^ "National Conference League".
  15. ^ "Kirklees Area Target Archery Club :: Savile Bowmen". www.savile-bowmen.org.uk.
  16. ^ "Thornhill, Yorkshire". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2006.
  17. ^ "Dialect and Folk Life Studies in Britain: The Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture in its Context" (PDF). 19 March 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Radcliffe, Sir George" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 784.
  19. ^ Yorke, Philip Chesney (1911). "Halifax, George Savile, 1st Marquess of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). pp. 839–843.
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