[10][11] This seclusion apparently meant that Thorpe remained unaffected by Scottish raiders, and was the place that local people went to in order to escape troops engaged in the English Civil War.

[16] Whilst there are many farmhouses and barns in the hamlet, which are indicative of agriculture, (of the 21 listed buildings in the parish, at least half are associated with farming), it also historically had a large community of cobblers.

[19] Historically, the hamlet was in the parish of Burnsall, within Skipton Rural District, the wapentake of Staincliffe, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

[20] In 1974, the area was moved from the West Riding into North Yorkshire, and Thorpe was made into its own civil parish as part of Craven District.

[21] The parish is rural and extends southwards over the summit of Burnsall and Thorpe Fell, covering 2,959.5 acres (1,197.68 hectares).