Newton or Newton-in-Bowland is a village and

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, in the county 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, formerly known as ''Newton-on-Hodder''. The civil parish had a population of 237 in 2001, according to the

United Kingdom Census Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 (during the Second World War), Ireland in 1921/Northern Ireland in 1931,https://www.nisra.gov. ...

, increasing to 315 at the 2011 Census. The township covers almost 6,000 acres 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 ...

. Historically, the village is part of 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 ...

, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The village pub – ''The Parkers Arms'' – takes its name from the neighbouring Parker family of

Browsholme Hall Browsholme Hall is a privately owned Tudor house in the parish of Bowland Forest Low in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire (although historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire), England. It is claimed to be the oldest surviving family ...

. For many generations, the Parkers have served the

Lords of Bowland The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008. In 18 ...

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 ...

s of the

. The Parkers Arms is popular with tourists and locals alike. It serves modern British food and local ales and is renowned for sourcing much of its food from within the Bowland area.

History

Recorded in

Domesday Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as ''Neutone'' and part of the ancient parish of

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 ...

since Saxon times, Newton has been a constituent part of the

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

of the Manor of Slaidburn since the second half of the fourteenth century. A fall in the population resulting from the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

(1348–50) as well as the absorption of Bowland into the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

had led to wholesale manorial reorganisation during the 1360s. As a result, the Domesday manors of West Bradford and

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 ...

- being part of the parish of Mitton - were also annexed into a new

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 Slaidburn, with the

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor