The Honour of Clitheroe is an ancient grouping of manors and

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 ...

s centred on Clitheroe Castle in

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 Lancash ...

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 ...

; an

honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

traditionally being the grant of a large landholding complex, not all of whose parts are contiguous. In the case of Clitheroe, this complex was loosely clustered around the ancient wapentake of

Blackburnshire Blackburn Hundred (also known as Blackburnshire) is a historic sub-division of the county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its chief town was Blackburn, in the southwest of the hundred. It covered an area similar to modern East Lancashire, in ...

History

Before 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 Con ...

, the lands of

were held by Edward the Confessor, while Bowland was held by Tostig, son of Godwin,

Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the We ...

. In 1092,

Roger de Poitou Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France. He was the third son of Roger of Mo ...

acquired a large part of what is now

, including the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Blackburnshire. By the end of the 11th century, Poitou's landholdings had been confiscated and came into the possession of the De Lacys, Barons of

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

and Lords of Bowland. In 1102,

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

granted the fee of Blackburnshire and further holdings in Hornby, and the vills of Chipping, Aighton and Dutton in Amounderness to

Robert de Lacy The honour of Pontefract, also known as the feudal barony of Pontefract, was an English feudal barony. Its origins lie in the grant of a large, compact set of landholdings in Yorkshire, made between the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and the co ...

, 2nd Baron of Pontefract, while confirming his possession of Bowland. These lands formed the basis of what became known as the Honour of Clitheroe. In 1205,

Roger de Lacy Roger de Lacy (died after 1106) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, a Marcher Lord on the Welsh border. Roger was a castle builder, particularly at Ludlow Castle. Lands and titles From Walter de Lacy (died 1085) he inherited Castle Frome, Herefor ...

purchased the barony of Penwortham and by 1212, he had added the manor of

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. In 1235, his son John de Lacy, acquired the fee of Tottington from Henry de Monewden. The Honour passed by marriage from the De Lacys to

Thomas, Earl of Lancaster Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...

in 1311 and subsequently, was incorporated into the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the 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 a portfolio of lands, properti ...

. The honour had been among the lands acquired by Queen Isabella in 1327, after she deposed Edward II. In 1507, King Henry VII's Act of Disafforestation was a response to growing encroachment on the Royal Forests and paved the way for increased settlement within the Forests of Accrington, Bowland, Pendle, Rossendale and

Trawden Trawden is a village in the Trawden Forest parish of Pendle, at the foot of Boulsworth Hill, in Lancashire, England. The village co-operatively owns and runs its library, shop, community centre and pub. Activities As a way of encouraging pe ...

. In 1625, Charles I sold

to trustees for the Earl of Holderness, and in 1628, the manor of Penwortham was also sold. In 1661, King Charles II granted the Honour to General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, in recognition of his support during the Restoration. It then followed the inheritance of the Dukes of Albemarle, Dukes of Montagu and finally, the Dukes of Buccleuch. In 1827, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch inherited the Honour through his grandmother, the 3rd Duchess, but this was

entailed In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

upon his uncle, Henry James Montagu-Scott, 2nd

Baron Montagu of Boughton Baron Montagu of Boughton is a British title which has been created twice for members of the Noble House of Montagu. First created in 1621, in the Peerage of England, for Sir Edward Montagu, eldest son of Sir Edward Montagu of Boughton

. In 1835, the Bowland portion was sold to Peregrine Towneley. Lord Henry Douglas-Scott-Montagu, great-nephew of the 2nd

, and second son of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, inherited the Honour in 1845. In 1896, he set up the Clitheroe Estate Company as a vehicle for the exploitation of coal and other mineral wealth, within the lands of the Honour. In 1938, the Towneley family sold the Bowland portion back to the Duchy of Lancaster. The Coal Act 1938 and subsequent nationalisation of the British coal industry led to the voluntary winding-up of the Company in 1945. In April that year, Tory MP Ralph Assheton, later 1st

Baron Clitheroe Baron Clitheroe of Downham in the County of Lancaster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in the 1955 Birthday Honours for the Conservative politician Ralph Assheton, who had previously served as Financial Secretary ...

, bought the residue of the land holdings from the company for £12,500. Since 1945, the Barons Clitheroe have styled themselves ''Lords of the Honor of Clitheroe''; more formally, their legal style of address being "Lords of the Various Manors and Forests within the Honor of Clitheroe".

Governance

Before the

Tenures Abolition Act 1660 The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 (12 Car 2 c 24), sometimes known as the Statute of Tenures, was an Act of the Parliament of England which changed the nature of several types of feudal land tenure in England. The long title of the Act was ''An act ...

, which effectively introduced the concept of

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

into English law, the Lord of the Honour was

lord paramount A lord paramount is a term of art in feudal law describing an overlord who holds his own fief from no superior lord. It thus describes a person who holds allodial title, owing no socage or feudal obligations such as military service. This was di ...

over all the

mesne lord A mesne lord () was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. Owing to '' Quia Emptores'', the concept of a mesne lordship technically still exists today: the partitioni ...

s of the Honour. He exercised governance of the Honour through manorial and forest courts. The Great Court Leet for

was originally held every three weeks at Clitheroe Castle, with the Steward of the Honour presiding. It had jurisdiction over the mesne manors of the Wapentake of Blackburn and within the Borough of Clitheroe, but not within the demesne manors, such as Slaidburn in the Forest of Bowland, which convened their own halmote (manorial) courts. The

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

areas within the Honour were governed under forest law and jurisdiction was exercised through woodmote and swainmote courts. In the main, these appear to have been held at the demesne manor closest to the forest in question. The Forest of Bowland was a notable exception. In Bowland, for historic reasons, a strict jurisdictional divide was observed between governance of the Forest of Bowland which was centred on

Whitewell Whitewell is a village within the civil parish of Bowland Forest Low and Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. It is in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yo ...

and governance of the Liberty of Bowland centred on Slaidburn. This was a consequence of the shift of the '' caput'' of the

Lordship 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 1 ...

from Grindleton to Slaidburn in the second half of the fourteenth century. Manorial courts fell into disuse in the early 1920s; forest law was only repealed in the 1970s but in the case of Bowland, its forest courts had effectively ceased to operate during the 1830s.

Manors and Forests within the Honour

Through subinfeudation, the manorial structure of the Honour shifted over the course of nine centuries. Whitaker in Chapter 2 of his 1872 ''History of Whalley'', Vol 1, p. 238, claims there were 28 manors within the Honour on the basis that these were all the manors of

Manors

* Slaidburn sold in 1835; reincorporated into Honour in 1950, comprising: :Land in Slaidburn, West Bradford, Grindleton and Newton-in-Bowland * Accrington (later known as Accrington Old Hold), comprising: :Land in Accrington and

Oswaldtwistle Oswaldtwistle ( "ozzel twizzel") is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England, southeast of Blackburn, contiguous with Accrington and Church. The town has a rich industrial heritage, being home to James Hargreaves, inventor of the ...

, and the dependent manors of

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,96 ...

and

Huncoat Huncoat is a village in Lancashire, England; situated in the North West. It is located to the east of Accrington. It is a ward of Hyndburn where the population taken at the 2011 census was 4,418. Huncoat railway station is on the East Lanc ...

*Accrington New Hold, created in 1507, comprising: :The remnant of the Forests of Accrington and Rossendale *

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

, comprising: :Land in Colne,

Foulridge Foulridge (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in Pendle, Lancashire, close to the border with North Yorkshire in England. It is situated just beyond Colne, on the route from the M65 to Skipton, and is an important stopping point on sum ...

and Great Marsden *

Ightenhill Ightenhill is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of 1,975. Since its creation as Ightenhill Park in 1866 the parish has seen a number of boundary changes. The modern civil parish includes Gawth ...

, comprising: :Land in Ightenhill, Briercliffe,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, Habergham Eaves, Little Marsden,

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...

and Heyhouses * Chatburn, Worston and Pendleton :Originally separate manors, but more recently joined as one. *

purchased 1212; sold 1625 * Tottington acquired 1235 * Penwortham purchased 1205; sold 1628 *

Downham Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford. Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...

sold in 1558; reincorporated into Honour in 1945 *Wapentake of Blackburn, comprising: :Land in

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

, Chipping, Cliviger,

Read Read Read may refer to: * Reading, human cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning * Read (automobile), an American car manufactured from 1913 to 1915 * Read (biology), an inferred sequence of base pairs of ...

, Simonstone and

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Forests

* Forest of Bowland sold 1835 * Forest of Blackburnshire, comprising: : Forest of Trawden : Forest of Pendle :

Forest of Rossendale The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, England, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries (between Rawtenstall and ...

- Cowpe, Lench, and

Musbury Musbury is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. It lies approximately away from Colyton and away from Axminster, the nearest towns. Musbury is served by the A358 road and lies on the route of the East Devo ...

where added to the forest after the acquisition of Tottington. :Forest of Accrington (became Manor of Accrington New Hold after 1507) : Hoddlesden (including Yate Bank and Pickup Bank)- Originally on the western edge of the

, due to the development of

, Hoddlesden was cut off from the main body of the forest by the late thirteenth century. In 1296, it is recorded as a single vaccary (medieval cattle farm), and seems to have continued as such until the disafforesting.

Stewards of the Honor of Clitheroe

Stewards of the Honor of Clitheroe were traditionally based at Clitheroe Castle in an office where the Castle Museum now stands. Before the twentieth century, they were known as ''Gentlemen Stewards of the Honor of Clitheroe'' and are traditionally appointed by deed poll: *Laurence Robinson (fl.1750) *John Barcroft (fl. 1780) *Martin Richardson (fl. 1800) *William Carr (fl. 1810) *Thomas Carr (fl. 1825) * Dixon Robinson (1836 to 1878) *Arthur Ingram Robinson (fl. 1890) *Frederick Dixon Robinson (fl. 1920) *Arthur John Dixon Robinson (fl. 1940) *Geoffrey Nicholas Robinson (fl. 1960) *Kenneth Shaw (fl.1975) *Robert Michael Parkinson (fl. 2000) *Brian Rawson Rycroft (appointed 2010) *Thomas Iain Manson (appointed 2019) In recent years, the Steward of the Honor has been a partner at Clitheroe-based land agents Ingham & Yorke. From 1991, the Steward was Michael Parkinson. Parkinson formally retired in 2010. Subsequently, he was appointed Chief Steward of the Forest of Bowland in 2011 by its feudal lord, William Bowland.New Chief Steward of Forest of Bowland announced, ''Clitheroe Advertiser and Times'', 7 June 2011: http://www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk:80/news/new_chief_steward_of_forest_of_bowland_announced_1_3454283

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *{{Cite web , url=http://www.forestofbowland.com/files/uploads/MartinsBlog/ESC%20SPEC%20WITH%20CORRECTIONS.pdf , author=C J Spencer , author2=S W Jolly , title=Bowland: the rise and decline, abandonment and revival of a medieval lordship , work=The Escutcheon: Journal of the Cambridge University Heraldic & Genealogical Society , ref=Escutcheon , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711021334/http://www.forestofbowland.com/files/uploads/MartinsBlog/ESC%20SPEC%20WITH%20CORRECTIONS.pdf , archive-date=2011-07-11

External links

The National Archives - Honour of Clitheroe
History of Lancashire