Bishop Thornton: what to know before moving day
Bishop Thornton has two churches: St John's, the Anglican church, and St Joseph's, the Catholic church, the oldest in the Diocese of Leeds. St Joseph's presbytery dates from 1790 and the church from 1809, and both are listed. Only the tower is left of the old Thornton church, and it is listed too, as are West Hill Cottages, one mid 18th-century house split into three, and Highfield House.
The houses are spread along Dole Bank, Hebden Bank, Mill Bank and Colber Lane, with Drovers Fold and West Grove as small closes. The Chequers Inn and Chequers Lodge Caravan Park are here. A paper mill gave work to many villagers for much of the 20th century until it closed in 1976. On a farm lane, say how far the house is from the road.
How the van gets to Bishop Thornton
The village is reached from the B6165 near Burnt Yates, either through Shaw Mills on Pye Lane and Mill Bank or by Law Lane from Whipley Bank. Dole Bank and Hebden Bank are the other lanes that meet in the village. From Harrogate the van goes north on the A61 to Ripley and then along the B6165.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 45 to 60 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Bishop Thornton
Each service below links to its Harrogate page, which covers how the job works in and around Harrogate.
Bishop Thornton: questions before you book
Why do some Bishop Thornton letters mention Shaw Mills and Warsill?
That is the parish council's name. Bishop Thornton shares a grouped council with Warsill, and in 2019 it was renamed Bishop Thornton, Shaw Mills and Warsill. The parishes themselves did not change. Village postcodes include HG3 3JU.
Is the Bishop Thornton school still in the village?
The Bishop Thornton Church of England school needed bigger premises and in 2019 moved into the former Burnt Yates school buildings as Admiral Long C.E. Primary School, on the B6165 at Burnt Yates.
Nearby areas
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): HG3 3JU is in Masham & Fountains ward, parish of Bishop Thornton, Shaw Mills and Warsill, North Yorkshire
- Bishop Thornton (Wikipedia): village and parish north of Harrogate including Shaw Mills, population 507 (2011), St John's and St Joseph's (oldest Catholic church in the Diocese of Leeds), grouped council with Warsill renamed 2019, Anthony Bek 1279-1311, paper mill closed 1976
- Listed buildings (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List for England): St Joseph's Church (1809) and presbytery (1790), tower of Thornton Church, West Hill Cottages, Highfield House
- Burnt Yates (Wikipedia): Bishop Thornton C of E School moved into the Burnt Yates school buildings in 2019 as Admiral Long C.E. Primary School
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Dole Bank, Hebden Bank, Mill Bank, Colber Lane, Drovers Fold, West Grove, Pye Lane, Law Lane, The Chequers Inn, Chequers Lodge Caravan Park, St John the Evangelist, St Joseph's Church