From the 12th century until the late eighteenth century, Thornbridge was part of the estate of the Longsdon family. In 1790, James Longsdon sold the property to his business partner Andrew Morewood, a Manchester linen merchant.

Morewood and his son, John, rebuilt the house in the classical style.

In 1859, Thornbridge was sold back to the Longsdon family who retained much of the land but put the house and the surrounding grounds up for sale. It was bought by John Sleigh who sold it to Frederick Craven.

Craven commissioned the architect J B Mitchell-Withers to rebuild the house in the Jacobean style. The stained glass windows were designed by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.

Further alterations were made by Charles Hadfield of Sheffield for the lawyer, George ‘Jobson’ Marples. Marples also laid out the formal gardens around the Hall to designs by Simeon Marshall of James Backhouse and Sons nursery in York. Marples wanted to see ‘1000 shades of green’ from his bedroom window. Marples also bought the Watson buffet fountain from Chatsworth and built a private railway station.

After Marples died in 1929, the estate was bought by Charles Boot of the building firm, Henry Boot. Boot acquired numerous artefacts during the course of his business including urns, a fountain and a Classical Temple from Clumber Park after his company won the contract to demolish the house after it had been destroyed by fire. Boot brought the therms of the Four Seasons back from Greece. The second classical temple bears the arms of the Duke of Newcastle.

When Charles Boot died, the Hall was bought by Sheffield City Council who developed it as a teacher training college and later a conference and education centre. The Hall was auctioned in 1997 and was bought in May 2002 by Jim and Emma Harrison. The City Council retains one of the lodges as a training centre.

The Thornbridge Brewery was begun at Thornbridge in a converted workshop. However, due to its success, it was moved to a new brewery on the Riverside Estate in Bakewell.