Thorner, United Kingdom

Thorner railway station (which also served nearby Scarcroft and was originally called Thorner & Scarcroft, opened 1876 and closed 1964 under the Beeching cuts and was demolished and the area developed into housing. It was on the Cross Gates to Wetherby Line, which thereby gave access to Leeds and Harrogate, with some services running between these two extremes. This resulted in an increase in housing and a more widespread distribution of agricultural and industrial products with a substantial number of shops. The end of the annual agricultural show in 1924 indicates the lesser importance of farming to the community. However, from the 1950s local businesses declined as the village population increasingly commuted to larger centres such as Leeds.

The former Bishop's House at Eltofts, to the west of Thorner, was the Dower House of the Earls of Mexborough.

In 1970 the main part was designated a Conservation Area by Leeds City Council: in 2009 the area was extended to include the area of Sandhills to the south. This has essentially limited industrial development and restricted new housing to the surroundings. Many of the properties on Main Street are listed buildings along with St Peter's Church (grade II).

The church of St Peter is built in the later English gothic style and has a square embattled tower. In the graveyard is the memorial to John Philips, who lived to 118 years. A school was built by subscription in 1787, and is now the Parish Centre. Two former Methodist churches in Thorner are now closed, the nineteenth-century former chapel having been converted to flats.