history

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It is said that Thornaby takes its name from a Dane, Thormod, to whom it was granted in
the year 866 by King H alfden at the time of the Danish invasion .

The suffix "by" signified a place of abode or settlement. At the time of the Norman
invasion King Sweyn of Denmark fought hard against the Normans, but William the
Conqueror eventually succeeded and the manor of Thornaby was, given, with other land,
to one of his followers Robert de Brus. In the Domesday book Thornaby appears as
'Tormozbi". Robert de Brus gave large grants to the priory of Guisborough which he
founded in 1129, and included in such grants were the churches of Stainton and
Thornaby. The church of St. Peter Ad Vincula on the ancient village green is still in
existance.

Thornaby remained a small village clustered around the village green until
the nineteenth century.

In 1769 a stone bridge was constructed over the Tees between Thornaby and Stockton .
The river was made more easily navigable by cuts constructed in 1810 and 1831 which
reduced a roundabout trip of three miles to just 400 metres . With the opening of the
first railway(STOCKTON TO DARLINGTON ) Thornaby was on the map, new
industries were established and in the 1830s slipways were laid down that were to make
Thornaby a pioneer of shipbuilding on theTees. In 1856 the Thornaby and Stockton
Turnpike road was established and by 1879 the full cost had been met, and tolls
abolished.

In 1863 a Local Board District was set up which comprised only part of the now growing
township. This Local Board District of South Stockton, as it was called, was extended in
1874. In August 1892 a Charter of Incorporation of the whole township as a municipal
borough was granted, under the name of