Thorne

South Yorkshire


Thorne is a town in the Doncaster metropolitan district of South Yorkshire.

Thorne is about 10 miles north-east of Doncaster, 7 miles south-west of Goole (10 miles by road) and about 14 miles west of the North Lincolnshire town of Scunthorpe. The town is around 25 miles south of York and 26 miles to the north-east of Sheffield, which lies beyond Doncaster and Rotherham.

The parish church dedicated to St Nicholas is a Grade I listed building with origins in the 12th century and additions over the following centuries. The town has a number of other listed buildings around its centre. Near to the church, the Peel Hill Motte is a Scheduled Monument as the remaining earthwork which supported a tower until at least the 16th century, when it was being used as a jail.

Until the 1620s, Thorne was in a more isolated location than it is today. Until then, it was cut off to the south as the River Don was able to flow along its southern edge towards marshland and eastwards into the River Trent. The river was diverted as part of a scheme to drain the marshland and then royal hunting ground of Hatfield Chase. Initially it was diverted into an old dike which took it northwards on the west side of Thorne and into the River Aire. Within a few years a new channel known as Dutch River was cut, which took the water of the River Don more directly into the River Ouse at what is now the port of Goole.

Thorne is now almost joined to the neighbouring village of Moorends, about a mile north, in which some local services will be found. The village forms part of the civil parish run by the Thorne Moorends Town Council. The village expanded in the 20th century through the coal mining community which worked at Thorne Colliery. The mine was successfully worked through several years in the early part of the century despite frequent problems related to flooding, which ultimately caused a closure of the pit in the late 1950s. There were subsequent unsuccessful attempts at reopening the mothballed pit, but it was not until 2004 that it finally came to an end with the turning off of the pumps and demolition of the pit head.

Thorne has long had good transport connections through being on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal and having railways diverging around both sides of the town. Now it is also close to the junction of the M18 and M180 motorways with the M62 just five miles away. The close proximity to the motorways has in recent years led to the development of new business units at the edge of the town, including the UK distribution centre of German car manufacturer BMW and a northern distribution centre of home, garden and leisure retailer The Range.


 Town features


The town is near to the River Don
Thorne is on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal which links the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation with the River Trent.
Thorne has a number of pubs to choose from.
The town has a range of shops and supermarkets.
The town has a Post Office.
The town has pharmacies.
Thorne has banks.
Takeaway food outlets in the town include fish and chips, chinese, curries, pizzas, sandwiches.
A choice of cafes can be found in Thorne.
Thorne has a selection of places to eat.
The town has a library.
Thorne has community halls.
The town has a leisure centre with swimming pool.
There are public toilets in the town.
Thorne has schools.
Places of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, other.

Travel

Thorne North station

Station managed by: NORTHERN.   Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NATIONAL RAIL - Departure and station info
External link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).

Thorne South station

Station managed by: NORTHERN.   Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NATIONAL RAIL - Departure and station info
External link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).

Bus travel

The town has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.


Road travel

Thorne can be reached via the M18 M180 A18 A614 A1146


Places to visit

Cusworth Hall

Cusworth Lane, Doncaster
Situated two miles north of Doncaster, off the A638 Doncaster to Wakefield Road, this grade I listed building, built in the early 1740s, can be explored together with its impressive parkland with lakes. Features of the house and gardens have been restored to various periods of its life and include ceiling paintings in an Italianate chapel, an Edwardian rose garden and 'below-stairs' features such as its great kitchen, bake house and laundry. The Hall is managed by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council with the support of The Friends of Cusworth Park.
More information at these  Doncaster Council - Cusworth Hall web pages.


South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum

Dakota Way, Airbourne Road, Doncaster
The museum has a collection of aircraft from the first air show to be held in Britain, held at Doncaster Racecourse in 1909, together with more modern preserved light aircraft and jets. It is located about a mile to the south east of the town centre. For opening times see the museum's website.
Details at  South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum website.


Conisbrough Castle

Conisbrough Castle

Conisbrough, South Yorkshire
The castle is situated in the small town of Conisbrough, about five miles south-west of Doncaster and seven miles north-east of Rotherham. Its tall circular cylindrical keep has had its walls and roofs restored to create a feeling of how the castle would have been in the late 12th century when it was built. In 1201, the castle had a royal visit, when King John stayed there. The castle became famous through fiction as the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe'. The historic site is managed by English Heritage.

Find out more at the  English Heritage - Conisbrough Castle web pages.
Find on map:  Conisbrough Castle


Brodsworth Hall and Gardens

Brodsworth
The Victorian country house at Brodsworth, about 5 miles north-west of Doncaster, was built in 1860, surrounded by beautiful gardens. It remained largely unchanged through its lifetime and is now being conserved by English Heritage. Yorkshire bands perform at the hall most Sundays during the summer. A car park for the hall can be accessed from Church Lane, between the villages of Marr and Brodsworth.
More information at the  English Heritage - Brodsworth Hall website.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Hurst Lane, Auckley, Doncaster
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park, about 4 miles south-east of Doncaster, was created at a former farm and riding school in 2009. Over the years it has grown and it is now the outdoor home of 400 animals of 70 different species, including polar bears, lions, tigers and leopards and a whole range of other animals native to Africa, South America and other parts of the world. A few of the species can be visited within their enclosures. A recent addition has been the addition of animatronic versions of long-extinct dinosaur species. Just outside the park gates, The Hive offers craft and gift shops, dining and a hotel.
Further details at the  Yorkshire Wildlife Park website.
Find on map:  Yorkshire Wildlife Park


The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft

Belton Road, Sandtoft, North Lincolnshire
Although just outside the Yorkshire border at the former RAF Sandtoft airfield in North Lincolnshire, the museum is only a 12-mile drive from Doncaster. It lays claim to having the world's largest collection of preserved trolleybuses and includes many examples of trolleybuses used in Yorkshire, including those from the fleets of Bradford, Huddersfield, Rotherham, and Doncaster, which have been beautifully restored by volunteers. The museum, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019, has a calendar of themed open days on weekends and bank holidays between April and November. The museum also organises trolleybus driver experience days. Details are on the museum's website.
More information at  The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft website.



Emergency services

South Yorkshire Police  South Yorkshire Police website.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue  South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust  Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.


Local government


Civil parish council

Thorne Moorends Town Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:  Thorne Moorends Town Council


Metropolitan district council

Doncaster Council

Doncaster is one of four metropolitan district authorities within the county of South Yorkshire.

It covers Doncaster and many other towns and villages within a radius of between 7 to 10 miles from centrally-placed Doncaster.

Unusually within Yorkshire, the district council is run by an executive-powered elected mayor, who is supported by a cabinet. The mayor chooses the cabinet from elected councillors.

The elected mayor system means that Doncaster Council has two elections to organise, one for the elected mayor and one for councillors. The mayor and all councillors are selected in elections every four years, the most recent election being in 2021.

The election of 55 councillors is done across 21 wards with two or three councillors elected in each ward. Eight councillors currently serve under the chairmanship of the mayor on the cabinet.

Doncaster is the responsibility of an elected mayor:

Elected mayor: Ros Jones

Political composition of the councillors after the May 2021 election:

40114
55 members
Link to  Doncaster council website.


County strategic authority

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Covers combined services including public transport, housing, infrastructure and regeneration and adult education in South Yorkshire, including the metropolitan districts of  Barnsley,  Doncaster,  Rotherham and  Sheffield. The authority has been mayor-led since 2018. The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner is added to the list of mayoral responsibilities after the May 2024 election.

Elected mayor: Oliver Coppard Labour & Cooperative
 South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority website.


Police and Crime Commissioner

This role becomes the responsibility of the elected South Yorkshire mayor after the May 2024 election.
 South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner website.


Fire Authority

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
The fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the four metropolitan district councils of South Yorkshire - Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
 South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority web pages.


Parliamentary constituency

Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme
Elected MP: Lee Pitcher Labour

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

South Yorkshire

Historic

-1984 In the West Riding of Yorkshire.



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