Thorp Arch: what to know before moving day
The village itself is small and sits just over the river. The Village is the road through the middle, with Thorp Arch Park, Mulberry Garth and Pear Tree Acre off it, and Dowkell Lane and Wood Lane lead out to the north. All Saints, the parish church, was founded in the 12th century; its tower is 15th century and the rest was rebuilt in 1871 and 1872. The village has a primary school and a pub, and its population grew from 1,123 in 2001 to 1,591 in 2011.
North-east of the houses, the trading estate fills most of the old Royal Ordnance Factory site, shared with the parish of Walton. Its streets are numbered rather than named, Street 1 to Street 8 running north to south and Avenue A, Avenue B and so on across them, with grassy banks up the sides of the retail park units. HMP Wealstun is next to it, and Leeds United's training ground is on Walton Road. For a delivery on the estate, give the street number and the avenue letter.
How the van gets to Thorp Arch
Everything from the south comes over Thorp Arch Bridge, the Grade II listed bridge at the bottom of Bridge Road in Boston Spa, and then up Bridge Foot into The Village. From Bradford that means the A658 to Pool-in-Wharfedale and the A659 through Harewood, Collingham and Boston Spa, roughly 45 to 60 minutes. Church Causeway heads north-east from the village towards Walton and the estate.
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 Thorp Arch
Each service below links to its Wetherby page, which covers how the job works in and around Wetherby.
Thorp Arch: questions before you book
Which side of the river is Thorp Arch on?
The north side. Boston Spa is on the south bank, and the two are joined by Thorp Arch Bridge. They share the LS23 postcode district but are separate civil parishes, so check which village your address is actually in.
Why do some Thorp Arch estate roads have level crossings?
They are left over from the railway. The village station stood next to what is now the trading estate on the Harrogate to Church Fenton line, and sidings served the wartime factory. The line has closed and the track is gone, but the crossings remain on some estate streets.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): LS23 7AB is in Wetherby ward, Leeds, parish of Thorp Arch
- Thorp Arch (Wikipedia): north bank of the Wharfe opposite Boston Spa, Wetherby ward, primary school and pub, population 1,123 (2001) and 1,591 (2011), All Saints (12th century, 15th-century tower, rebuilt 1871-72), closed station on the Harrogate to Church Fenton line, Leeds United training ground on Walton Road
- Thorp Arch Trading Estate (Wikipedia): former ROF site in Thorp Arch and Walton parishes, numbered streets and lettered avenues, grassy-banked retail units, level crossings on dismantled sidings
- HM Prison Wealstun (Wikipedia): Category C prison near Thorp Arch on the ROF site
- Harewood (Wikipedia): the A659 from Collingham continues through Harewood towards Pool-in-Wharfedale
- OpenStreetMap way record and the streets mapped around it (checked 2026-09-28): The Village, Thorp Arch Park, Mulberry Garth, Pear Tree Acre, Dowkell Lane, Wood Lane, Church Causeway, Bridge Foot, Thorp Arch Bridge (Grade II, way 1359695044), HMP Wealstun