Thorney, Cambridgeshire

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Signpost in Thorney

Coordinates: 52°37′18″N 0°06′21″W / 52.62179°N 0.10595°W

Thorney
Thorney Thorney shown within Cambridgeshire
OS grid reference	TF342039
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Peterborough
Postcode district	PE6
Dialling code	01733
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places UK England Cambridgeshire

Thorney is a village about 8 miles (13 km) east of Peterborough in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, England, on the A47. Historically it was part of the Isle of Ely, which was considered part of Cambridgeshire but was transferred into the former county of Huntingdon and Peterborough and remained part of the Peterborough district into the transfer to Cambridgeshire and when it became a unitary authority in 1998.

Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Botolph Thorney

Old Post Office Thorney

Tracing its roots back to around 500 AD when it started out as a Saxon settlement, the existence of Thorney Abbey made the settlement an important ecclesiastical centre for a long period of time, and the village is still the most northerly point of the Anglican Diocese of Ely.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the estate became crown property and it was granted to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford in 1550. At this time only a few hundred acres of the land was cultivatable. In the 1630s Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford spent a reputed £100,000 draining the fens, bringing almost all of the estate and parish of nearly 18,000 acres (7,284 ha) into agricultural use. A community of Walloon Protestant refugees, originally from areas of Flanders that are now northern France, was settled here in 17th century with their own church and minister, employing the ruins of the abbey for services in their own language.^[1] The Walloons had expertise in fenland drainage. The Russell family's rents from the Thorney estate increased from £300 in 1629 to £10,000 by the early 19th century. The family, whose main seat was at Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, occasionally resided at the manor house in Thorney village, which was known as Abbey House. The estate was sold to the tenants in 1910.

Much of the village was built at the command of the Dukes of Bedford, who wished to have a healthy place in which their estate workers could live. In the mid 19th century many buildings were added to the designs of the architect S.S. Teulon, himself a descendant of Huguenots. This explains the uniformity of the housing in the original centre of Thorney.

The windmill on the outskirts dates from 1787 and contains six floors. It originally had six sails. During the war 4 German prisoners of war used it as a base during the day whilst working the land.

The village had a railway station on the old Peterborough to Wisbech line. The station and the line were closed in the early 1960s. Little evidence to suggest a rail link now remains, apart from level crossing gates at the side of Station Road. These gates are apparently not the original ones, the original being much larger.

Its bypass opened in Winter 2005. The opening of the bypass has made the village much quieter.

Its only school is the Duke of Bedford Primary School which is located next to Wisbech Road.

An abandoned house sits near the entrance to Thorney from the A47 (Causeway Lodge) - any factual information about this would be helpful in piecing the timeline of Thorney.

Wind energy in Thorney

In 2010, planning permission was given for two modern wind turbines on land at French Farm, near French Drove^[2] in Thorney parish.

In 2011 REG WindPower announced plans^[3] to install a further four wind turbines at the French Farm site. The plans are currently at consultation stage.

As of 2013, other windfarms are proposed at Gores Farm, Willow Hall, Nuts Grove and Wryde Croft.^[4]

Air accident

On 28 August 1976, A United States Air Force, Lockheed C-141 Starlifter :67-0006 on a flight from McGuire Air Force Base to RAF Mildenhall. The aircraft entered bad weather and the pilots lost control of the aircraft then crashed near the village. The accident killed all 18 passengers and crew on board.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] A memorial is maintained on Thorney Dyke, for the lost aircrew.^[10]

Famous people

Alec Goodman – Grand National winning jockey 1852 on Miss Mowbray & 1866 on Salamanda, lived here, farming at Bar Pasture Farm, English Drove Farm and Willow Hall Farm, although born in Upwell on 30 July 1822. First farmer on Thorney Estate to introduce steam ploughing in 1865. Moved to Nottinghamshire in 1879. Retired to Leamington Spa in 1884.
Ron Jacobs – Rugby Union – played for England, Barbarians and Northampton. President of the RFU 1984 who took England on tour to South Africa also farmed in Thorney. Thorney RUFC play at Ron Jacobs Field.
Pam Sly – 1,000 Guineas winning trainer in 2006 with Speciosa, the first British female trainer to win a Classic race.
Vernon Watson aka "Nosmo King" (Music Hall act) – buried in Thorney Cemetery, father of Jack Watson.
Jack Watson – actor who starred in Coronation Street, This Sporting Life and The Wild Geese was born in Thorney in 1915

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thorney, Cambridgeshire.

v t e The City of Peterborough

Villages	Ailsworth Bainton Barnack Borough Fen Castor Deeping Gate Etton Eye Eye Green Glinton Helpston Marholm Maxey Newborough Northborough Peakirk Southorpe St Martin's Without Sutton Thorney Thornhaugh Ufford Upton Wansford Wittering Wothorpe

Suburbs	Bretton Dogsthorpe Eastfield Eastgate Fengate Fletton Gunthorpe The Hamptons Longthorpe Millfield Netherton Newark New England The Ortons Parnwell Paston Ravensthorpe Stanground Walton Werrington West Town Westwood Woodston

Places of interest	Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Museum Burghley House Milton Hall Longthorpe Tower Thorpe Hall Flag Fen Nene Valley Railway Nene Park Barnack Hills & Holes The Lido Thorney Abbey

Establishments	Peterborough Power Station HMP Peterborough Peterborough City Hospital Peterborough Regional College University Centre Peterborough Queensgate shopping centre

Transport	Road transport in Peterborough Peterborough railway station Peterborough/Conington Airport Peterborough/Sibson Airport

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