[2][3] Thursby takes its old name 'Thor's by' from Thor, the Thunder God of the Saxons, whose temple was reputedly nearby at Kirksteads.

The village is predominantly centred on the parish church, a Victorian building built in 1846 and funded by Sir Wastell Brisco of Crofton Hall.

Prior to Brexit in 2020, the village was part of the North West England constituency in the European Parliament.

There are examples of larger Georgian farmhouses at Holly Lodge and West House in the village centre.

A 17th-century farmhouse at Evening Hill has elements of clay structures, with outward buildings and a cart entrance, and lies at the end of the village on the road leading south towards Curthwaite.

[9] The presence or absence of large numbers of infants dying before their first birthday had little effect on overall age structures.

[11] However, for a rural village in the 19th century, Thursby does have a large number of middle and upper social classes compared to others.