Tosside is a small village on the modern border of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and

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 ...

in Northern England. It lies within 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 ...

, and is between the villages 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. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, ...

and Wigglesworth in

. It lies 11.5 miles north 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 ...

and 17 miles north-west of

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

. The village is above sea level and lies at 54.0001°N / 2.35436°W on the B6478 road. Most of the village is in the modern Lancashire county, but some houses in the eastern part of the village are in the county of North Yorkshire. Historically, the entire village lies within 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 western part of Tosside is the largest settlement in the civil parish of

Gisburn Forest Gisburn Forest is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley, in Lancashire, England. Mainly lying within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the parish includes the larger part of the village of Tosside and the hamlet of Grunsag ...

History

The name Tosside is believed to be derived from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

. It can be traced back to two old Scandinavian words - 'Tod' meaning fox and 'Saetr' meaning a high summer pasture. The name gradually changed to Toddsett, then Tossett and ultimately to Tosside. This fact is recognised to this day with the symbol of the fox being present on the top of the small water fountain at the centre of the village. The western part of Tosside was historically in the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Gisburn Forest in the large ancient parish of

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 ...

. Gisburn Forest became a separate

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 1866. In 1974 it was transferred from the West Riding of Yorkshire to Lancashire. The eastern part of Tosside was an extra parochial area known as Tosside Row. It became the civil parish of Tosside in 1858. In 1931 the parish had a population of 62. In 1938 the civil parish was abolished and absorbed into the civil parish of Wigglesworth. In 1974 Wigglesworth was transferred from the West Riding of Yorkshire to North Yorkshire.

Village today

Tosside has a population of around 100 families scattered across a widespread area, living typically in upland farms and other remote dwellings. The village itself includes a number of

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

s, including St Bartholomew's Church, Mount Sion Independent Chapel (1812, now closed), also known as Sandy Syke Chapel, and the ex Dog and Partridge public house, now a private house. The Village Community Hall provides a focal point for this active local community. The hall may be hired for special events and functions. The village adjoins Gisburn Forest to the north and provides access to the forest via Bailey Lane. Gisburn Forest is the largest forest in

and is a location for mountain-biking, walking and horse-riding.

References

External links

White Moss SSSI (Gisburn Forest)
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Forest of Bowland Geography of Ribble Valley Villages in Lancashire Former civil parishes in North Yorkshire Former civil parishes in Lancashire

History

Village today

See also

References

External links