Thornton Abbey station is situated on the Barton-on-Humber branch, in a very rural location, some way from the nearest village. It is named after the medieval abbey, the imposing gatehouse of which can be seen beneath this picture of the station's prominent running in board, photographed on 2 December 2019. The abbey was of course closed in 1539, as part of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. The surviving gatehouse is notable as being one of the very earliest large scale brick buildings in England.