William Pole Thornhill (1807 – 12 February 1876)[1] was a British Whig and then Liberal Party politician.
He was the son of Henry Bache Thornhill (son of Bache Thornhill[2]) and his wife Helen Pole, daughter of Charles Pole of Liverpool.
[3] He was the last member of the family of Thornhill who had owned estates at Stanton Hall, Stanton-in-Peak since the end of the 17th century when John Thornhill married the heiress Mary Bache.
[4] Thornhill and his wife Isabella (née Gell) were considerable benefactors to the village, building Holy Trinity Church, Stanton-in-Peak between 1837 and 1838, the reading rooms and "The Stand", originally known as "The Belvedere", a viewing platform giving panoramic views over the Wye Valley.
[9] As a politician he was a strong reformist and built the Earl Grey Tower, Derbyshire on the eastern edge of Stanton Moor dedicated to the Reform Act 1832.