England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thorner St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Thorner lies more or less centrally within Yorkshire sitting in the northeast of the West Riding. Thorner parish had 3 main centres of population, Thorner, itself, is a substantially large village lying about 7 miles northeast of the city of Leeds; the parish also contained the townships of Scarcroft & Shadwell lying about 2 to 3 miles northwest and north of the main village. Thorner village sits in lanes roughly midway between the A58 (Leeds to Wetherby) and A64 (Leeds to York) roads. Most of the village sits on the southern banks of a small trinutary of the River Wharfe. Thorner would have largely earned its living from pastoral farming, albeit small quarrying operations, exploiting the local limestone, and a small weaving industry varied employment. Today Thorner remains a substantial and attractive village popular as a commuter settlement for nearby Leeds and the other towns of the West Yorkshire conurbation. The beck draining the parish heads northeast to join the Wharfe just east of Wetherby and thence runs to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. THorner is sited at around 90 metres above the sea in undulating pastoral landscapes with local heights rising to almost 150 metres nearby. Thorner parish was fairly typically sized for this area, it covered around 4,400 acres and would have supported a population of around 1,400 parishioners. In Domesday times Thorner was held by one ILbert of Lacy, it was not fully detailed in the book but taxed at 8 geld units it was clearly a substantial and profitable holding.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the heart of the village of Thorner, on the eastern side of the main lane running north to south through the village. The western tower looms over the street and it together with most of the western end of the church is styled in the fashion of the Perpendicular period, this style reached its peak during the 15th century and St Peter probably has its origins in that century. Much else, however, was rebuilt in Victorian times, in this case in 1855 so much of the eastern end of the church is relatively modern and attracts little comment favourale or otherwise from Pevsner. The church sits in a slightly elevated position above the street (Church View), as mentioned the tower is flush with the drop to the pavement but entry through the lychgate affords pleasant views of that uncontroversial eastern aspect. The churchyard is extensive and althoug a few trees are present they do not unduly restrict the photographic angles.