Thornborough Henges

The Thornborough Henges are an ancient monument complex that includes the three aligned henges that give the site its name. They are located on a raised plateau above the River Ure near the village of Thornborough in North Yorkshire, England. The site includes many large ancient structures including a cursus, henges, burial grounds and settlements. They are thought to have been part of a Neolithic and Bronze Age 'ritual landscape' comparable to Salisbury Plain and date from between 3500 and 2500 BC. The monument complex has been called 'The Stonehenge of the North'. Historic England considers its landscape comparable in ceremonial importance to better known sites such as Stonehenge, Avebury, and Orkney. Concern over the impact on the ritual landscape of quarrying by Tarmac in the 21st century, led to negotiations between Tarmac and Historic England. Following an agreement originally reached in 2016, the two henges owned by Tarmac, as well as surrounding land owned by local company Lightwater Holdings, passed into the control of Historic England in 2023. The site is now managed by English Heritage and is publicly accessible. The third, most northerly, henge remained in private ownership at the time of the original agreement but in February 2024 English Heritage announced that it had acquired it.