Thornton, Lancashire - <>

Thornton-Cleveleys forms part of the Blackpool Urban Area.The civil parish of Thornton became an urban district in 1900, and was then renamed Thornton-Cleveleys in 1927.On 1 April 1974, the urban district became part of the Borough of Wyre. Thornton-Cleveleys corresponds with six wards of the borough.According to the 2001 census Thornton-Cleveleys has a population of 31,157, increasing to 32,443 at the 2011 census. The population of the individual borough council wards was recorded as: Bourne: 6,121 (2011 = 6,676)Cleveleys Park: 5,994 (2011 = 5,940)Jubilee: 4,186 (2011 = 4,025)Norcross: 3,738 (2011 = 3,740)Staina: 5,267 (2011 = 6,111)Victoria: 5,851 (2011 = 5,951)HistoryThornton is first mentioned in 1086 in the Domesday Book, where it was referred to as Torentum. At the time it covered a large area including what are now Cleveleys and Fleetwood, and had a very low population density. It is thought that a settlement had existed at the site since the Iron Age, and a Roman road passes close to the village. The area remained lightly populated until 1799, when the marshland around the village was drained and agricultural production began on a large scale.A railway station was opened in Thornton in 1865. The opening of salt works at nearby Burn Naze by the United Alkali Company in the early 1890s (later becoming ICI) led to significant expansion of the village, with new houses and community buildings constructed. Thornton became an urban district council in 1900, surviving until 1974 when it became part of the Wyre Borough Council.

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