Thoroton lies along the banks of the River Smite, about 15 miles (24 km) east of Nottingham, 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Bingham and adjacent to Scarrington, Hawksworth, Sibthorpe, Orston and Aslockton. It is bounded by an originally Roman road, the Fosse Way – A46 – 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west, the A1 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east, and the A52 2 miles (3.2 km) further south.
The place name seems to contain an Old Norse personal name Þurferð + tūn (Old English), an enclosure; a farmstead; a village; an estate; thus "Farm of a man called Thurferth".[5] There are 19 such place names (a Scandinavian personal name followed by tūn ) in Nottinghamshire, all of them in the Domesday survey, and all apparently ancient villages.[6]
Thoroton is served by buses to Bottesford, Bingham and nearby villages on Tuesdays and to Newark-on-Trent, Bottesford and nearby villages on Wednesdays.[8]
The nearest primary school to the village is at Orston (2 miles/3.5 km). Secondary education is available in Bingham and Newark-on-Trent.
St Helena's Church has parts dating back to the 11th century. It belongs to the Cranmer group of Anglican parishes and has a service at 9 a.m. on the second Sunday of the month.[10]
There are shopping, medical and other services at Newark-on-Trent (9 miles/14.5 km), Bingham (6 miles/10 km) and Bottesford (5 miles/8 km). Accommodation is available in Bingham and Elton on the Hill (4 miles/6.5 km).
^J. Gover, A. Mawer and F. M. Stenton, eds., Place Names of Nottinghamshire, Cambridge, 1940, p. 229; A. D. Mills, Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford, 2002, p. 345; E. Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, Oxford, 1960, p. 229.