History
The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1089 as Tresche, derived from the Viking (Old Norse) word þresk = "marsh". It is surrounded by a number of villages also having names of Danish origin, such as Thirlby, Boltby, Borrowby and Sowerby (the -by suffix (Danish in origin) meaning village or farmstead).
Thomas Lord, who founded Lord's Cricket Ground in London, was born in a house which now houses the Thirsk Museum. Another local attraction is the Kilburn White Horse, a chalk horse carved into the hillside about four miles (6 km) east of the town in 1857.
Thirsk's chief modern claim to fame is as the home of the veterinary surgeon and author James Herriot, although it was renamed "Darrowby" in the books. The veterinary practice at 23 Kirkgate, in which he was a partner along with Donald Sinclair (Siegfried Farnon in the books) now houses a museum dedicated to his life and works, The World of James Herriot.
Read more about this topic: Thirsk
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