Fence Installation in Thornbury Township, West Chester, PA

Thornbury is a small township of about 3,200 people south of West Chester, PA, around the village of Cheyney, with established neighborhoods, older farm properties and a share of the Brandywine battlefield story. Its fence ordinance, Chapter 76 of the township code, is short and specific, and its best-known requirement is easy to miss: a fence cannot sit right on the property line. 76 FENCE West Chester lays out every Thornbury fence with that 6-inch offset in mind.

• Permit: Required before erecting any fence, wall or screen (§ 76-10).
• Height: 6 ft maximum in any yard in residential districts (§ 76-8A); corner lots must also respect a sight triangle.
• Setback: At least 6 inches from the property line unless both owners sign an agreement (§ 76-8F).
• Finished side: Toward the neighbor and public areas, unless the Board of Supervisors grants a waiver (§ 76-8G).
• Penalty: Fines of $100 to $600 plus court costs for violations (§ 76-14B).

Which Thornbury Township is yours?

There are two. Thornbury Township, Chester County, is the one near West Chester and Cheyney; Thornbury Township, Delaware County, lies just to the east around parts of Glen Mills. They were one township until Delaware County was formed out of Chester County, and each now has its own fence rules.

This page covers the Chester County township. If your tax bill says Delaware County, see our Glen Mills page and check with that township directly.

How far from the property line must a fence be in Thornbury?

At least 6 inches, and the whole fence must be on your property. You can build closer only if you and the adjoining owner sign a written agreement and submit a copy with the permit application.

The 6-inch rule needs an accurate line. If your corner pins are missing or you are relying on an old fence or a hedge, a survey before the fence is cheap insurance. If you and your neighbor would rather share a fence on the line, the agreement route works; we can explain what the township needs. See do you need a survey before a fence and fence property line rules in PA.

Laying out the offset

We find the pins, pull a string line along the boundary, then offset the post line inside it. Measuring to the outside face of the fence, not the post center, keeps every part of the fence on your side. When the line is in doubt, we stop and ask for a survey rather than guess.

Which side of the fence faces the neighbor in Thornbury?

The finished or good side faces the neighbor and any public area. Only the Board of Supervisors can waive that, for good cause.

The code mentions waivers in particular for agricultural properties in the township’s Agricultural Security District, where livestock fencing often has to have its rails on the animals’ side. For homes, plan on posts and rails facing in. That also suits most owners in practice, because the framed side is the side you can reach for repairs and staining without stepping onto a neighbor’s lawn. Read which side faces the neighbor.

What fences suit Thornbury’s older properties?

Split rail and painted picket suit the township’s farmhouses and long lawns, and both keep well under the 6-ft limit. Privacy fencing works in back yards where the 6-inch offset is laid out carefully.

Thornbury sits in Brandywine battle country: Squire Thomas Cheyney, whose farm is on the National Register, is remembered for warning George Washington that British troops were approaching in September 1777. Stone houses of that era look best with fences that stay low and open. A two- or three-rail split rail marks the lawn without hiding the house; a picket fence suits a dooryard garden.

Nearby, Westtown ties its permit to fence length, and Birmingham covers more of the battlefield. All of them are compared in the West Chester fence permit guide.

Rules change, so confirm with Thornbury Township before you build. When you hire us, we pull the permit and include any neighbor agreement.