Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire and falls under Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, England.

Traces of prehistoric man have been found, the earliest being a stone axe, 8 inches long, dating back to the Mesolithic Period (about 3000 BC).

In 1926, a dugout canoe said to date from about 1600 – 1400 BC was found in the mud under 8 feet (2.4 metres) of water opposite Thornaby High Wood.

[5] During the Battle of Hastings (1066), one of William the Conqueror's noblemen, Robert I de Brus, marched north with a garrison of men and occupied the area of Cleveland.

King Sweyn II of Denmark, on 9 September 1069, defeated the Normans at York by killing the entire garrison of 3,000 men.

It appears that they remained undeveloped until the early 19th century as "Thurnaby waaste" is mentioned in a poem by Tennyson called "The Northern Farmer.".

Over the centuries there have been a number of different spellings of the name Thornaby including Turmozbi, Tormozbi, Tormozbia and Thurmozbi.

He did, and as part of his wish a shrine niche to the Virgin Mary, lit by five sanctuary lamps, was placed in St Peter's Church.

Thornaby Carrs (marshes) had been a site of intermittent horse racing before moving to the now former Stockton Racecourse after the River Tees was straightened in 1810, a short distance down stream.

The first site was William Smith's pottery with the area quickly growing with shipbuilding and engineering companies established on the marshes.

The earliest known flying in Thornaby took place in 1912 when Matthew Young of the Vale Farm was paid 100 Gold Sovereigns for the use of a field for an airshow.

608 (North Riding) Squadron's Standard, which was approved by the Queen and bears their battle honours, can be seen housed in York Minster under the Astronomical Clock where it was laid-up on 14 November 1959.

The last R.A.F aircraft to leave the airfield (Hawker Hunter F6s) left on 1 October 1958 and further use of Thornaby as a regional airport on 23 February 1962 ended when all but 60 acres (24 hectares) of land was purchased from the Air Ministry by Thornaby-on-Tees Borough Council.

Many symbols of Thornaby's aeronautical past were placed for prosperity with streets (such as Allensway), buildings and public houses using names of Royal Air Force aircraft, stations and personnel.

The former Industry around the old Thornaby Carrs centre became Teesdale Business Park leaving the station and town hall out of place in the new surroundings.

High rises flats in the town centre have been demolished and with the towns fund, they are plans for the former Npower offices site are planned to be demolished and a replacement for Thornaby Pool, an indoor baths on Thornaby Road, built in its place.

The annual Thornaby Show takes place at the beginning of September, it is estimated that more than 10,000 people turn up over the course of the day.

[9] Thornaby was historically a township and chapelry in the ancient parish of Stainton in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

In 1997 the parts of the abolished county of Cleveland south of the River Tees, including Thornaby, were placed in North Yorkshire for ceremonial purposes.

[20][21] The Church of St Peter ad Vincula on the village green is of 12th-century origin but a place of worship existed at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086.

TransPennine Express provides direct rail services to Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and York.

Regional television services is provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees.

Thornaby is home is Stockton Riverside College, a major provider of further education in the Tees Valley with around 10,000 full & part-time students.