Sowerbyshire (), formerly a small shire of northern England in Norman times, was the name given the region surrounding the West Yorkshire town of Sowerby. It was administered as a

graveship Graveship ( ang, grafansċip) was a subdivision of a medieval estate each was under a grave who was selected every year. An example is the manor of Wakefield, which was managed with 12 graveships. The OED defines a graveship as: "In the West Riding ...

(one of twelve subdivisions of the manor of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

) during the 14th and 15th centuries;

court leet The court leet was a historical court baron (a type of manorial court) of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts. Etym ...

for the subinfeudatory manors, such as Halifax and

Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...

, met at Sowerby or Halifax from 1433, before 1430 it met at

. The shire was designated a Royal Chase and may have once have been of strategic importance, Sowerby being the site of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, unusual for this part of England.

References

External links

Sowerby Website
{{Authority control Geography of Calderdale