Bowland Forest High is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...

district of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, covering some of the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 163, falling to 144 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the settlements of Hareden, Sykes, and

Dunsop Bridge Dunsop Bridge is a village in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and west of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High. Historically, the village is part of the ...

. It covers Sykes Fell, Whins Brow, Croasdale Fell and

Wolfhole Crag Wolfhole Crag is a lonely and seldom-visited hill in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. Its seclusion is due in part to its low profile and long approach walks. A long path approaches from Ward's Stone in the west which is fraught wi ...

. Before 1974, it formed part of Bowland Rural District in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

History

Historic Bowland comprised a

Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

and a

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of ten manors spanning eight townships and four parishes and covered an area of almost on the historic borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The manors within the Liberty were

Slaidburn Slaidburn () is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers just over 5,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Slaidburn lies near the head of ...

(

Newton-in-Bowland Newton or Newton-in-Bowland is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district, in the county of Lancashire, England, formerly known as ''Newton-on-Hodder''. The civil parish had a population of 237 in 2001, according to the United Kin ...

, West Bradford,

Grindleton Grindleton is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of the English county of Lancashire, formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its 3,700 acres sit within the Forest of Bowland. The population of the civil ward taken at the ...

), Knowlmere, Waddington, Easington, Bashall, Mitton, Withgill (Crook), Leagram ( Bowland-with-Leagram), Hammerton and Dunnow (Battersby). Modern-day Bowland Forest is divided into two large administrative townships - ''Great Bowland'' (Bowland Forest High and

Bowland Forest Low Bowland Forest Low is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some of the Forest of Bowland. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 168, falling to 160 at the 2011 Census. The parish i ...

) and ''Little Bowland'' ( Bowland-with-Leagram) - but the Forest was much more extensive in previous times. St Hubert, the patron saint of hunting, is also patron saint of the

and has a chapel dedicated to him in

. This chapel was founded by Richard Eastwood of Thorneyholme, land agent to the Towneley family. Eastwood was the last

Bowbearer In Old English law, a Bowbearer was an under-officer of the forest who looked after all manner of trespass on vert or venison, and who attached, or caused to be attached, the offenders, in the feudal Court of Attachment. The bow was a renowned En ...

of the Forest of Bowland during the nineteenth century. An acclaimed breeder of racehorses and shorthorn cattle, he died in 1871 and is buried at St Hubert's.

Media gallery

Image:Bowland Mountain Rescue Team Centre - geograph.org.uk - 69087.jpg, Bowland Mountain Rescue Team Centre. Image:Confluence of the rivers Hodder and Dunsop - geograph.org.uk - 1183642.jpg, Confluence of the rivers Hodder and Dunsop. Image:Whitendale Farm - geograph.org.uk - 996314.jpg, Whitendale Farm. Image:St Huberts RC Church, Dunsop Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 416676.jpg, St Huberts RC Church, Dunsop Bridge. Image:Langden Castle - geograph.org.uk - 607643.jpg, Langden Castle. Image:Waymarker on The Hornby Road - geograph.org.uk - 964165.jpg, The Hornby Road.

References

{{Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of Ribble Valley Forest of Bowland

History

Media gallery

See also

References