Thornes: what to know before moving day
Thornes Park is the obvious landmark. With Clarence Park and Holmfield Park it forms one large parkland, 60 hectares of open space with a lake, formal gardens, a model railway, a leisure centre and the athletics stadium used by Wakefield Harriers. The mound in the middle was part of an old motte-and-bailey castle and gives a view across the city. Thornes House was acquired in 1924, and its grounds became Thornes Park.
St James' Church, built in 1831, is one of the three Commissioners' churches put up around Wakefield, and the Wakefield Thornes cricket club plays in the Leeds-West Riding league. Close to the park the streets include Thornes Park Court, Thornes View, Thornes Moor Road, Thornes Moor Avenue, Holmfield Lane, Holmefield Avenue, Clarence Road and Brentlea Avenue. Towards the river are Thornes Lane, the Calder Island retail park and the Monckton Road industrial estate.
How the van gets to Thornes
Denby Dale Road, the A636, runs through Thornes between the city centre and M1 junction 39, and Thornes Road (B6475) is the other main street, beside the park. From Bradford, the M1 south to junction 39 and the A636 inwards is one way; the other is into the city by the A650 and out along Denby Dale Road.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 35 to 45 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Thornes
Each service below links to its Wakefield page, which covers how the job works in and around Wakefield.
Thornes: questions before you book
Does Thornes just mean the park?
No. The park is part of it. Thornes is the wider area around the park and down to the river, an unparished part of Wakefield in WF2. Tell the driver which side of the park the house is on.
Nearby areas
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): WF2 8PJ is in Wakefield West ward, Wakefield, unparished area
- Thornes Park (Wikipedia): with Clarence Park and Holmfield Park a large parkland south-west of the city, model railway, formal gardens, lake, leisure centre, athletics track, 60 hectares, the motte-and-bailey mound
- Wakefield (Wikipedia): Thornes among the former outlying villages, St James at Thornes (1831) one of three Commissioners' churches, Thornes House acquired 1924, Thornes Park Athletics Stadium and Wakefield Harriers, Wakefield Thornes in the Leeds-West Riding league
- A636 road (Wikipedia): starts in Wakefield and connects with the M1 at junction 39
- OpenStreetMap data (API extract around Thornes): Denby Dale Road A636, Thornes Road B6475, Thornes Lane, Thornes Moor Road and Avenue, Thornes Park Court, Thornes View, Holmfield Lane, Holmefield Avenue, Clarence Road, Brentlea Avenue, St James Church, Calder Island, Monckton Road Industrial Estate, Calder and Hebble Navigation, River Calder, Thornes Park
- A650 road (Wikipedia): the main road from Bradford via Drighlington and Tingley to M1 junction 41 and into Wakefield city centre