Bowland-with-Leagram is a
civil parish in the
Ribble Valley district of
Lancashire, England, covering part of the
Forest of Bowland. According to the census, the parish had a population of 181 in 1951, 128 in 2001 and 169 at the Census 2011.
As the only part of the historical
Forest of Bowland that lay within the historical bounds of
Lancashire, the area was known for many centuries by the name of Little Bowland and this name remains in common use today.
History
Leagram was a hunting park from at least the early twelfth century, being part of the ancient
Lordship of Bowland which comprised a
Royal Forest and a
Liberty 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 Leagram,
Slaidburn (
Newton-in-Bowland,
West Bradford,
Grindleton),
Knowlmere,
Waddington,
Easington,
Bashall Eaves
Bashall Eaves is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, about four miles (6 km) west of Clitheroe. The placename element ''eaves'' is Old English and refers to Bashall's location on the borders of ...
,
Mitton,
Withgill (Crook),Hammerton and
Dunnow (Battersby).
As Lady Queen of Bowland, Elizabeth I alienated the park and granted the manor of Leagram to her favourite, the
Earl of Leicester, in 1563. It was purchased shortly afterwards by Sir Richard Shireburne of
Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish ...
. Shireburne served as Master Forester of Bowland until 1594. The Shireburnes held the manor until 1754 before it passed to their cousins,
the Welds. The Shireburne family tombs are at All Hallows' Church,
Great Mitton. John Weld-Blundell is the present-day
Lord of the Manor of Chipping (Lawn).
Some of the earliest evidence of human settlement in eastern Lancashire has come from this corner of Bowland. In 1946, archaeologists uncovered artefacts, including pottery, indicating
Bronze Age occupation at Fairy Holes, a cave situated on New Laund Farm, near
Whitewell.
Governance
The civil parish of Bowland-with-Leagram was created from the civil parishes of Little Bowland and Leagram in 1935 (both created from
townships in the ancient parish of Whalley in 1866
).
Media gallery
Image:It could be useful 2 - geograph.org.uk - 509504.jpg, Isolated Phone Box
Image:Leagram Mill Barn - geograph.org.uk - 749475.jpg, Leagram Mill Barn
Image:Greystoneley Brook - geograph.org.uk - 509552.jpg, Greystoneley Brook
Image:Former entrance and Lodge to Leagram Hall - geograph.org.uk - 752007.jpg, Lodge to Leagram Hall
Image:New Laund Farm - geograph.org.uk - 883143.jpg, New Laund Farm
Image:Old Foot Bridge near Lickhurst Farm. - geograph.org.uk - 481640.jpg, Foot Bridge near Lickhurst Farm
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bowland-with-Leagram
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowland-With-Leagram
Civil parishes in Lancashire
Geography of Ribble Valley
Forest of Bowland