the North Riding of Yorkshire and after 1837, in the Thirsk Poor Law Union. After the passing of the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 the village became part of Hambleton, a local government district of North Yorkshire. Geography The village is at the foot of the ridge that divides the drainage basins of the River Wiske and the Cod Beck. It is on the minor road from South Otterington to the A168 between Thirsk and Northallerton about a mile south of Thornton-le-Beans. Another lane into the village leaves the A168 at Thief Hole. Otterington railway station on the line from York to Newcastle upon Tyne served the village between 1841 and 1958. The parish is largely agricultural, in the 19th century 1,395 acres were under cultivation. The soil is light and the underlying geology is Keuper marl. Population change Religion Thornton-le-Moor was in the parish of North Otterington which had a church but no village. The village is connected to St Michael's Church in North Otterington by Endican Lane which joins the old corpse road from Thornton-le-Beans. An ancient chapel in Thornton-le-Moor was used as a school and place of worship for Nonconformists before it was demolished. St Barnabus's Church, constructed in the late-13th-century style on the site of the ancient chapel. was built in 1868. Built of stone with a slate roof, it had a four-bay nave, quire, south porch and north vestry. It had a traceried east window and the gabled bellcote contained two bells. When completed, the new church became the parish church and St Michael's Church at North Otterington became a chapel of ease. St Barnabas's Church was demolished in 1987 after its partial collapse in the previous year. The churchyard is still maintained. Amenities Amenities comprise The Black Swan public house and a postbox. The village post office and shop closed in the 1970s.The village cricket club formed in the 1950s and plays in the Nidderdale Amateur Cricket League on Saturday afternoons from April to September, as well as the Northallerton and District Evening League and Tuesday and Thursday evenings References External links www.thornton-le-moor.org.uk Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire