The railway link between Bradford and Thornton was opened to passenger traffic in October, 1878 as the first stage of a route to Keighley. The Bradford Observer of October 15 reported that although there was a lot of interest in the occasion and booking were brisk at stations along the line, passengers were rather disappointed at the high cost of fares - 6d (2p) third class between the city centre and the village.

Well, the directors had to recoup the £700,000 estimated cost of building the line! Five years later local coal agent Joseph Cockroft paid a much higher personal price for the bringing of the railway to Thornton.

He spotted two children picking up coal from the line at the Great Northern coal wharf while wagons were being shunted. Aware of the danger they were in, he ran to rescue them and managed to push them to safety.

However, he fell as he did so and one of the wagons ran over his legs.

"Dr Jackson promptly attended the injured man and ordered his removal to the Infirmary where, unfortunately, it has since been found necessary to amputate the injured limb, " reported the Bradford Weekly Telegraph on June 9, 1883.

"Much sympathy is felt with Cockroft, who is married and has six children, and it is stated that a subscription on their behalf will be raised by the inhabitants."

Rather less dramatic and tragic, though fascinating in its way, is the story of the Reverend Arthur Tollit, who was inducted as vicar of Thornton on April 9, 1909.

An Oxford man, he had moved north in 1896 to be curate at Baildon, then curate at Bradford Parish Church (now the Cathedral).

He was reported to be an enthusiastic golfer and a chess player who represented England in postal chess matches against America and Holland. In 1939 he became Cannon Tollit when the then Bishop of Bradford, Dr AWF Blunt (the man who three years earlier had triggered the events which led to the abdication of King Edward VIII) appointed him to the vacant canonry of Queen Ethelburga.

Then there was the story of Mary Sharp, who worked in the canteen at the Dole Mill in Thornton but had a problem collecting her "divi" from the local Co-op during working hours - money that was vital to see her through the week.

Her friend Winfred Geaney remembers letting Mary out of a small fire door. "She would scramble across the grass and over a wall before creeping up Dole Street and heading for the Co-op. When she returned she would tap on the window and I would check nobody was about before quietly opening the door. This scheme went on for years. However, one 'divi day' about ten minutes after I had let her out I got a call to go immediately to the manager's office. I thought this is it - the sack after all these years. Mr Murgatroyd just looked up and said 'I'm a Co-op member - can you remember that when Mary Sharp goes out to collect her 'divi' you ask her to collect mine as well'."

There is much to tell about the lives of the people of Thornton. Like all villages, it's made up of a wide variety of characters drawn from all social groups, and always has been.

They provide most of the raw material for Michael Smith's publication Thornton Road, Thornton - It's People and Buildings, published by the village's Antiquarian Society.

It's an obvious labour of love by a man who has spent all his life in the village and still occupies the house in Market Street which he was born, close to the Bront Birthplace.

This book, a fascinating mix of historical facts, reports gleaned from newspaper cuttings, personal reminiscences by local people, photographs, diaries of events and lists of householders over the centuries.

In his introduction the author describes the impact of the building of the turnpike road up to and through the fast-growing village and the arrival of the bus service - which many Thornton people shunned on grounds of cost, preferring instead to walk or use the local carrier of milk carts.

But as Mr Smith says, it isn't the structure of Thornton Road but its connection with people that the book is aboutthose "who have lived here, died here, worked here, had businesses here, shopped here, ate and drank here, committed crimes here, worshipped here, studied here - such a variety of activities and motives - yet all have one thread in common. They have all left their footprint in Thornton Road."

Mr Smith has done them proud.

Thornton Road, Thornton - Its People and Buildings, by Michael Smith, is available at £7 a copy from Thornton Post Office, Thornton Co-op and Angela's Hairdressing and Bobb's Hairdressing in Kipping Lane.