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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Yorkshire (West Riding) => Topic started by: clingov1 on Wednesday 09 May 12 19:14 BST (UK)
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where or what was Thorpe Arch, my husband's grandmother, mother and aunt worked here in 1940's
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A shopping centre.
Odd , cause most of it is hidden under grass roofing.
http://www.thorparchestate.co.uk/retail-park/shops.html
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Hi Pauline family stories seem to suggest this was a munitions factory in WW 2 but I didn't know if it was a place or an area/town in Yorks.!
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From the page Pauline mentioned, follow the links to History (for some pictures of the munitions work) and Location (for a map).
Arthur
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Hi
Thorpe Arch is a small village in West Yorkshire. Have rellies that were born there.
Cheers
Anne
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Thorp Arch (no "e") is a village near Wetherby on the opposite side of the River Wharfe to Boston Spa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorp_Arch,_West_Yorkshire
There was indeed a munitions factory nearby during WWII. This is now the site of the Thorp Arch Trading Estate. Some of the original buildings remain.
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The Thorp(e) Arch estate was a munitions factory even after WWII, and continued into the mid 1950s. It had its own rail line which connected up with the NER/BR lines which ran to Wetherby-Spofforth; or in the other direction Wetherby-Walton Gates-Thorpe Arch- Tadcaster- and beyond.
Friends who worked at the munitions factory in the 1950s said it was a doddle and more like a holiday camp, - do a bit work, then play cards for a while.
When I was in the area in the 1960s most of the road signs had it spelled as Thorpe Arch, with the 'e'. I suppose a check of old maps might show how it was originally spelled.
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Here are a couple of links with more background:
http://www.thorp-arch.org.uk/Contents/Text/Index.asp?SiteId=879&SiteExtra=3102893&TopNavId=492&NavSideId=12109
http://www.thorparch.org.uk/
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ARY/Thorparch/index.html