These two and the railway station were probably the catalyst for a great plan to build a mini-Edinburgh-style suburb of crescents and avenues.

[citation needed] Before and during World War II Thorntonhall was one of the sites selected for relocation of government departments to avoid bombing raids.

[citation needed] After the war it became part of the East Kilbride New town and this led to the construction of a large number of individual houses in this free standing village.

That relative isolation led to an Upper Class housing development on a small scale throughout the period 1970 to 2000.

The village is served by Thorntonhall railway station, which has hourly services to East Kilbride and Glasgow Central.