The village of Thorpe Audlin lies some 5 miles to the South of Pontefract and was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1085 when there were recorded to be fourteen dwellings and a population of about 60 people. Today there is a mixture of old and new properties and the population has grown to between six and seven hundred
The village is on the A639 road linking Pontefract to Doncaster. The road is of Roman origin and there is evidence that there was a Roman fort some 150m SW of Standing Flat Bridge which carries the road over the River Went. Over the years a number of Roman coins have been found which substantiates the theory.
The Village is in the ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary’s Church Badsworth which is a grade 1 listed building.
The Parish Council encompasses the residents of the main village, Old Thorpe Audlin, Thorpe Gate Estate and a small number in Wentbridge (claimed by some to be the birthplace of Robin Hood).
Regular meetings of the Council take place at the Ramsden Hall on Darning Lane on the last Thursday of each month at 7:15pm unless otherwise shown on the minutes of the last meeting. Ad hoc meetings, if any will be advertised in our notice boards.
The Ramsden Hall gets its name from Lt. Col. Ramsden who was the last full time resident of Rogerthorpe Manor (now a hotel) who built the Hall in 1904 for the use of villagers and placed it in the care of St Mary’s Church. It is now leased by the village’s Community Association, a totally separate (and separately financed) entity to the Parish Council although the two maintain strong links with each other and from time to time work together on village events.
The village sports field was donated to the village some time ago by a local farmer and is registered with “Fields in Trust” in order to protect it for the future. The parish council is the corporate trustee of the sports field.