The village is mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as
Torgrembi, and was listed as belonging to Ralph Paynel, the lord in chief of the area. Thorganby derives from a personal name
Thorgrim and the
Old Norse bȳ, meaning farmstead or village. A church is first recorded in 1228, when the advowson was appointed to Robert de Meynell. However, the present structure,
St Helen's Church, which is a
grade I listed building, dates from the 15th century. The church is in the ecclesiastical parish of Thorganby, which is in the
Diocese of York.
Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia is buried in the churchyard of St. Helens. The village was in the
Selby District of North Yorkshire, but was previously in the
Ouse and Derwent Wapentake of the
East Riding of Yorkshire. But in 2023 the district was abolished and North Yorkshire became a
unitary authority. The village is on the west bank of the
River Derwent and is across the river from the Lower Derwent National Nature Reserve. The nearest railway station in the 19th century was , some to the west. However, in 1913, gained its own station on the newly opened
Derwent Valley Light Railway, which provided a link between York and Selby. The station closed in 1926 to passengers, but remained open until 1964 for goods traffic. In the
2001 census, the parish had 241 residents, and increasing by the 2011 census to 330. Film star
Robert Redford visited a pub in the village with friends in March 2011 while in the UK to promote the
Sundance London Film Festival. ==See also==