Thornton
Description in 1871:
"THORNTON, a parish, with three townships, in Market-Bosworth district, Leicester; on the Swannington railway, around Bagworth r. station and 5½ miles NE by E of Market-Bosworth. It has a post-office under Leicester. Acres, 3,930. Real property, £7,503; of which £587 are in mines. Pop., 1,292. Houses, 256. Most of the land belongs to Viscount Maynard and the Duke of Rutland. The living is a vicarage, with Bagworth and Stanton chapelries, in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £202. Patron, Viscount Maynard. The church is old. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels, a national school, and charities £89."
John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72
- The parish was in the Ibstock sub-district of the Market Bosworth Registration District.
- The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2265 & 2266 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2507 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter.
- The original church was built in in the 13th century.
- The church chancel was built in 1864.
- The church seats 450.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1559.
- The church is in the rural deanery of Akeley (southern division).
- The General Baptists built a chapel here before 1925.
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here before 1881.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The parish was in the Ibstock sub-district of the Market Bosworth Registration District.
Thornton is a village, a township and a parish which lies 113 miles north of London, about 10 miles south-east of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 7 miles north-east of Market Bosworth and 9 miles north-west of Leicester city. The parish covered about 2,092 acres.
The village lies mostly along one long street. If you are planning a visit:
- There are a photos of the parish at the Parish Council site.
- There is also a street view at the Leicester Villages site.
- By automobile, take the M1 toward Coalville. The parish is just off to the west as you near intersection #22.
- By bus, check the Arriva Bus schedule.
- A reservoir was created here (date not reported) of 92 acres for the towns of Nuneaton and Leicester. The reservoir still exists.
- Much of the land was used for pasture and small farms. There was some coal mining here.
- There is no mention of a Thornton Hall or manor house, only a manor farm.
- The national grid reference is SK 4607.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- This place was an ancient parish in Leicester county.
- The parish is in the ancient Sparkenhoe Hundred in the western division of the county.
- In April, 1935, the parish was abolished and amalgamated with Bagworth Civil Parish.
- In 1774 Luke JACKSON left a charity of £40 (in 1925) divided between Thornton, Bagworth and Stanton-under-Bardon.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Market Bosworth Poorlaw Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
491 |
| 1871 |
436 |
| 1881 |
426 |
| 1891 |
500 |
| 1901 |
510 |
| 1911 |
673 |
| 1921 |
666 |
| 1931 |
711 |
- A Public Elementary School (National School) was built here in 1880 and enlarged in 1902 to hold 220 students.
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[Last updated: 18-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
