South Cowton 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 ...

located on the site of an abandoned

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

village in the Hambleton district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 188. The original village was founded some time after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

; the

Domesday Book 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 ...

says that South Cowton was owned by Count Alan of Richmond, and was ruled by

Godric the Steward Godric or Godric the Steward or Godric dapifer (died 1114) was an Englishman around the time of the Norman Conquest. Godric was a native Englishman who was the dapifer, or steward, of the Earl of East Anglia, Ralph de Gael. Godric may have been a ...

. The

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

remains of the village suggest that there were at least 20 houses during the Medieval period. The two major historic buildings in South Cowton are

South Cowton Castle South Cowton Castle is a 15th-century fortified dwelling house in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the land that was once the medieval village of South Cowton. The castle was built by Sir Richard Conye ...

and St Mary's Church. Both buildings were erected in the 15th century. Both were built by Richard Conyers, one of the few lords of the many Cowton manors ever to actually live there. Between 1489 and 1490 Conyers demolished the village of South Cowton, evicting its tenants in order to convert the land into pastures. The current village consists of little more than a few widely dispersed farms, the castle and the church. The former villages of Temple Cowton and Atley Cowton, and the hamlets of Atley Hill and Pepper Arden, have been incorporated into the parish of South Cowton.

Governance

South Cowton falls within the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of Cowtons. This ward stretches north to

Over Dinsdale Over Dinsdale is a small village and civil parish in the Local Government District of Hambleton in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the village (including Girsby) taken at the 2011 census was 151. The village straddles an ancient ...

with a total population taken at the Census 2011 of 1,744.

References

External links

Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Deserted medieval villages in North Yorkshire Hambleton District {{hambleton-geo-stub