an 11-18 mixed comprehensive secondary school. From 2004 it was renamed Thirsk School and Sixth Form College. Economy The area's main industry is farming, although many people commute to nearby towns and cities for employment. There is significant employment in retail and in the public sector through Education, the Community Library, the Leisure Centre, local Health and Care Services and the Household Waste Recycling Centre. There are in addition many small and medium-sized businesses. The village also serves the local tourist industry, with holiday cottages, a hotel, bed and breakfast providers and a touring caravan site just to the south of the village. Amenities include a pub/restaurant, The Crown and Anchor, which is a Grade II Listed building. Also within the parish bounds is the volunteer-run Ritz Cinema in Westgate. It was opened as a picture house in 1912 by Walter Power after converting the building from the original 19th-century Mechanics' Institute. After closing in the early 1970s, it was re-opened in 1983. There was another brief closure between 1994 and 1995. It has a seating capacity of 215. Religion The parish church of St Oswald dates from about 1140. In 1145, Roger de Mowbray gave the care of the chapel at Sowerby to the Prior of Newburgh and historical records show that several members of the Lascelles family are buried here. The structure was rebuilt in 1842 and 1883 to accommodate a growing population. The church is a Grade II* listed building. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built on Front Street in 1865, with a school added in 1871. Notable residents The educationalist, John Rowntree, father of York-based cocoa and chocolate manufacturer Joseph Rowntree, was educated at a Quaker school in the village. Labour M.P., member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, trades union activist and National Vice-President of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers, local councillor and magistrate Joan Maynard lived and died here. The author James Herriot (pen name of Alf Wight) lived at a house in Topcliffe Road. Ralph Bell (died 1733), MP for Thirsk 1710–17. References External links Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire