Thorpe Thewles

Thorpe Thewles is a village that lies near the A177 road between Stockton-on-Tees and Sedgefield in the Tees Valley. The village is currently made up of 182 households and a total population of 477 people, of which: -

• 96 people (20%) are children aged 0–15
• 313 people (66%) are of working age
• 68 people (14%) are retired

Thorpe Thewles has a small football pitch, two public houses (the Vane Arms and the Hamilton Russell), a church (St James' Church) and a Parish hall. There is a planetarium, walkway and restaurant at Castle Eden Walkway, the site of Thorpe Thewles’ old railway station.

Historically, Thorpe Thewles was originally settled in 1692 with only two farmhouses and has grown to have more than 182 households today.

Origin of the name

Thorpe is of Danish extraction and means farm, Thorp, and Thewles was likely the name of a family that possessed land here in the Middle Ages: the earliest occurrence of the full name is 'Thorpp' Thewles' in 1265. The surname Thewles probably comes from the Old English theawleas 'immoral', though the meaning of the placename is the Farm of the Thewles Family rather than, as sometimes reported, the Immoral Farm.

Politics

Thorpe Thewles is located within the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in the Northern Parishes Ward and the Stockton North constituency. The Member of the UK Parliament for Thorpe Thewles is Alex Cunningham and the local councilor for Thorpe Thewles is John Gardner. Because Thorpe Thewles is a civil parish, there is an elected Parish Council that meets to discuss matters relating to Thorpe Thewles on a regular basis. The parish councilors for Thorpe Thewles are William Allison, Gareth Rees and Dr Jonathan Allinson.

Groups

The village has several community groups including:

• Thorpe Thewles History Group
• Thorpe Thewles Residents Association
• Thorpe Thewles Coffee Morning

Business

The main businesses in Thorpe Thewles are concerned with farming and recreation. Notable businesses include: -

• The Vane Arms Public House
• The Hamilton Russell Public House
• Exchange Data Services Ltd.

External links

Media related to Thorpe Thewles at Wikimedia Commons