Street names Thornton Bradford

[northernsearcher]

Can anyone shed any light for me. I am looking at the Drivers from Thornton. Some family members lived in Main Street in 1861 and '71 but I can't find this street today (using Google earth) with a names like Main you would think that it would still be there. There is a Market St. which looks like a "main" street and a Bronte Old Road.  Does anyone know if street names were changed and if there is an old street map of Thornton anywhere?

Thanks Jen

[johnnyboy]

Hi Jen: I have ancestors from Thornton, so I thought I'd have a look online for maps of Thornton from the 1860s. No luck. But I did find Main Street in Wilsden, Bradford. which is three miles directly north of Thornton. I have no idea if there could be any connection between them

Can you search the census pages before and after the page(s) on which your Drivers appear? Other street or house or farm names will at least help you narrow the area down.

If you go to http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html, you can search a topographical map of the U.K. for Thornton. If you zoom in on the map to the second notch from the top, you'll get farm, house, and landmark names. You can also drag the map up and down and all around.

Regards,
John 

[northernsearcher]

Hi John thank you for your reply. The 1861 census has Charles Driver, his children and nephews and niece living on Main Street Thornton (Piece 3336; Folio 44 page 13). The 1871 census recorded (piece 4488; Folio 20; page 3) Charles Driver living in Main St as well. 

Really good idea to search the streets near by why didn't I think of that! 0n the same page, 1861 c, there is Green Lane. 

In about an hour I am going to see a friend across the Pennines in Howarth so I hope to visit Thornton.  Maybe I can track down Main St on foot.  I will take some photographs of other streets etc.  Do you need any?


Many thanks also for the link to old-maps.  I will try to persuade my friend to let me use her computer to check and log in to Rootschat to see if you want any pictures.

Best wishes
Jen

[Holmemoss]

Hello Jen

I lived in Thornton in the 1970s and I do recall a 'Main Street'. Market Street is the road in the village and there is a house with a plaque showing where the Brontes lived before they moved to Howarth. However, it is not Main Street.

The road through Thornton from Bradford is Thornton Road and the only thing I can think of is this used to be referred to as Main Street in days gone by.

[johnnyboy]

Added after originally posting this reply: Just noticed your mention of Green Lane in Thornton. I checked a map, and Green Lane intersects with Thornton Road, which may confirm Holmemoss' suggestion that Thornton Road was called Main Street at one time.

Hi Jen: Thanks for your kind offer. I could think of about a dozen pictures from Thornton I'd like to have. But as I live across a lot of water from the U.K., you've probably already checked your computer and gone off. If you see this reply before you go off to Thornton, the only thing that comes to mind is a place called Black Carr Farm. It's slightly west of the Headley Golf Club, which is slightly southwest of the the center of Thornton. My Dobson ancestors lived there at some point in the 1860s or so.

If you plan another excursion to Thornton, let me know ahead of time, and I might have a few photo requests.

Hi Holmemoss: I also thought it logical that Thornton Road would be called Main Street, but nothing I've seen or read has any mention of that. If Jen can "triangulate" from nearby streets, we might be able to deduce where Main St. was.

Regards,
John 

[Holmemoss]

My response was slightly misleading as I did not check what I had written before posting it.

I do recall" should have been 'I do not recall' so my suggestion that Thornton Road was once known as Main Street was just that; a suggestion.

[northernsearcher]

Thornton Bell chapel

[johnnyboy]

Hi Jen: Hope you had a productive visit to Thornton. Does your cryptic Thornton Bell Chapel mean that that is where Main Street is (or was)?

Regards,
John 

[northernsearcher]

Sorry  - previous post was meaningless.  I have been trying to post a message with photographs but am having some difficulty.  So....I have posted on the technical board for help with that but as I have just got back from Howarth I thought I would do an update, without pictures for the moment, on my trip to Thornton.

First - John, so sorry I didn't manage to get to Black Carr Farm, the weather was pretty awful, wet, cold and gray and I only had a short amount of time.  I visited the Bell Chapel and graveyard (opposite side of Thornton Road to St James's Church).  That was really interesting, remains of a very old church, where, incidentally, the father of the Bronte sisters was the vicar.  It was a very small ruined church and graveyard, quite Gothic,  with huge tombstones all over the ground (see pic when I manage to upload it!).  I found a few Drivers but, hopefully of more interest to you I found two Dobson stones as well.  One was "In memory of Thomas son of Gilbert and Hannah Dobson of Thornton who died Jan 21st 1818 aged 10 yrs  Also of Hannah their daughter who died Dec 21st 1819 age 11 months  Also the above said Gilbert died May 5th bit missing 72nd year of his age   The other one is for a Timothy Dobfson died April 18th 179- age 20yrs.  

I made a bit of a mess of the photo's as I missed out the edges, so sorry, I will take them again when next I go to Howarth/Thornton if they are yours. You must let me know of anywhere else you might be interested in.

I also took some pictures of Prospect Mill, St James's Church and Kipping Chapel.

I didn't have any luck locating the missing Main St.  I found Green lane which runs at right angles to Market St and stops at Thornton Rd. So I think I will need to find an old street map of Thornton for between 1861 and 1871, if such a thing exists, in order to get anywhere with that mystery.

Thank you Holmemoss for your suggestions and help.

Jen