Thornton is a village in the
Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Fo ...
, in
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. Within the boundaries of the
historic county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
and situated to the north east of
Crosby, it is a residential area of semi-detached and detached housing which dates mainly from the 1930s. Many of the houses, particularly those around Edge Lane and Water Street, feature notably long gardens. The
A565
The A565 is a road in England that is around long and runs from Liverpool in Merseyside to Tarleton in Lancashire. It is a primary route linking the town of Southport to Liverpool and to Preston, Lancashire, Preston (latterly via the connecting ...
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
-
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
road serves the area. At the
2001 Census the population of the village and civil parish was recorded as 2,262,
falling to 2,139 at the Census 2011.
History
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
. During the compilation of the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'' in 1086, the settlement of ''Torentún'' is recorded, along with the settlement of Homer Green, which far outdates any claim that
Ince Blundell
Ince Blundell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the ceremonial county of Merseyside and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Liverpool on the A565 road and to the east of t ...
is the oldest village in Sefton. Thornton was combined with Crosby Village and
Blundellsands to form the
Great Crosby
Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is historically, part of Lancashire.
Location
In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The ancien ...
urban district. The district subsequently became part the
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in ...
of Crosby in 1937. Thornton was still served by West Lancashire Council until the formation of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton on 1 April 1974. Thornton still however retains Parish Council status and therefore has a historical boundary.
Governance
From 1950 until 2010 Thornton was within the boundaries of the
Crosby constituency, whose
MP from 1997 till 2010 was
Claire Curtis-Thomas
Claire Curtis-Thomas (formerly Curtis-Tansley; born 30 April 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Crosby from 1997 to 2010. Curtis-Thomas' time as an MP was most notable for her involvement in ...
, a member of the
Labour Party, prior to her election the Crosby seat was generally considered to be a safe
Conservative Party stronghold with Tory MP's elected at every election barring the
1981 Crosby by-election
The 1981 Crosby by-election was a by-election held in England on 26 November 1981 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the House of Commons constituency of Crosby on Merseyside. It followed the death of Crosby's MP Sir Graham Page, of the ...
where
Shirley Williams
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...
of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
was elected to represent the constituency. As a result of boundary revisions for the
2010 general election the Crosby constituency was abolished with its northern parts, including Thornton, being merged with the Eastern parts of
Sefton that were formerly part of the
Knowsley North and Sefton East
Knowsley North and Sefton East was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
History
A primar ...
constituency, to form the new constituency of
Sefton Central, which is currently represented by the
Labour Party MP Bill Esterson
William Roffen Esterson (born 27 October 1966) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sefton Central since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for International Trade since 2016. He was Shadow Mi ...
.
For elections to
Sefton Council
Sefton Council is the governing body for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the county of Merseyside, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a cons ...
Thornton is within the
Manor electoral ward and is represented by three
councillors
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
. The councillors of Manor ward ar
Martyn Barberof the
Conservative PartyJohn Gibsonof the
Liberal Democrats, an
Steve McGinnityof the
Labour Party.
Description
The Parish Council consists of seven councillors, who are all local residents. They meet on the first Monday of each month at Holy Family Catholic High School. Notice of these meetings are displayed on the Parish website and on the village notice board on The Crescent.
There are three schools in Thornton: St William Of York RC Primary School,
Holy Family Catholic High School and Thornton College, which is an annexe of
Hugh Baird College. In 2003,
Cherie Blair QC, wife of former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...
, officially came to Thornton to open Holy Family's new Sixth Form building.
There are two churches in Thornton: The King's Church, Drummond Road and St William Of York RC Church, St William Road. St Frideswydes C of E Church, formerly on Water Street, was demolished in 2012 and merged with All Saints C of E Church at the north end of
Great Crosby
Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is historically, part of Lancashire.
Location
In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The ancien ...
.
Thornton also has two historical public houses dating back to the early 19th century called the Nags Head, which is situated opposite Water Street, and the Grapes Hotel.
Thornton has set of
stocks
Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...
located at the junction of Green Lane & Water Street. These, along with the local
sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...
, can be dated back to the late 18th century and are
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
monuments. There is another Grade II listed monument located in Back Lane called Brooms Cross. This is a wayside cross which lies on what was the old
bridleway
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...
that ran from
Hightown / Ince Blundell to
Sefton Parish Church, St. Helens. It was here that funeral processions would come to rest and have refreshments before continuing to the church. Unfortunately this monument, which was restored to celebrate the
Queen's Silver Jubilee Year of 1977, has become the target of vandals.
Freedom of the Parish
The following people and military units have received the
Freedom of the Parish of Thornton.
Individuals
*
The Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Canon Katherine "Kath" Rogers: 18 June 2021.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Thornton, Merseyside
References
External links
A satellite view of Thornton from Google MapsLiverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 23
{{Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
Civil parishes in Merseyside