Sawley 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Borough of Ribble Valley in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. The population of the civil parish was 305 at the 2001 Census, rising to 345 at the 2011 census. It is situated north-east of

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, 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 to ...

, on the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

. It was

historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. The parish adjoins the Ribble Valley parishes of Bolton-by-Bowland, Paythorne,

Gisburn Gisburn (formerly Gisburne) is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies northeast of Clitheroe and west of Skipton. The civil parish had a pop ...

Rimington Rimington is a rural village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 382 at the 2001 Census, however at the 2011 Census Middop was included with Rimington giving a total of 480. It is e ...

, Downham,

Chatburn Chatburn is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Ribble Valley, East Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,102. Situated in a hollow between two ridges north-east of Clitheroe, just of ...

and

Grindleton Grindleton is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of the English county of Lancashire, traditionally in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its 3,700 acres sit within the Forest of Bowland. The population of the civil ward taken ...

History

Historically, Sawley fell under the Earl of Northumberland's Percy fee rather than being part of the neighbouring

Lordship of Bowland The Lordship of Bowland is a manorial lordship 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. ...

. Sawley Abbey, a ruined

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

of Cistercian monks, is in the village. The abbey was founded in 1147 and dissolved in 1536. By the early 17th-century, the manor had come into the possession of

James Hay James Hay may refer to: * James Hay (bishop) (died 1538), Scottish abbot and bishop * James Hay, 7th Lord Hay of Yester (1564–1609), Scottish landowner and courtier * James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle (c.1580–1636), British noble * James Hay, 2nd ...

, who in 1615 was created Lord Hay of Sawley, and later 1st Earl of Carlisle.

Governance

Sawley was an

extra-parochial area In England and Wales, an extra-parochial area, extra-parochial place or extra-parochial district was a geographically defined area considered to be outside any ecclesiastical or civil parish. Anomalies in the parochial system meant they had no ch ...

in the

Staincliffe Wapentake Staincliffe, also known as Staincliff, was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The wapentake was named from a place called Staincliffe, now lost, in Bank Newton, not to be confused with Staincliffe near Dewsbury. Staincliff ...

of the West Riding of Yorkshire. This became a

in 1858, forming part of the Bowland Rural District from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish previously had a detached area on the southern side of Gisburn with a smaller part of that parish on the western side of Sawley. In 1938 these areas were joined with the respective parishes. It has since become part of the Lancashire borough of

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

. Sawley shares a parish council with two other parishes, Bolton-by-Bowland and Gisburn Forest. Along with Waddington, West Bradford and

, the parish forms the Waddington and West Bradford

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Ribble Valley Borough Council.

Media gallery

File:SawleyAbbey.jpg, The ruins of Sawley Abbey. File:Bridge spanning R. Ribble at Sawley - geograph.org.uk - 1382134.jpg, Sawley Bridge on the

. File:Former Sawley School - geograph.org.uk - 759840.jpg, Former Sawley School, now the Village Hall. File:The Spread Eagle, Sawley - geograph.org.uk - 759826.jpg, The Spread Eagle. File:Sawley War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 759841.jpg, War Memorial. File:Sawley Grange - geograph.org.uk - 164802.jpg, Sawley Grange Farm.

References

External links

Sawley Conservation Area Appraisal
Geography of Ribble Valley Villages in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire History of Yorkshire {{Lancashire-geo-stub

History

Governance

Media gallery

See also

References

External links