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

located on the site of an abandoned

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

village in the county 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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

; 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

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 study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 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

From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

. 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 t ...

of Cowtons. This ward stretches north to

Over Dinsdale Over Dinsdale is a small village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the village (including Girsby) taken at the 2011 census was 151. The village straddles an ancient Roman road on the border with Coun ...

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 {{NorthYorkshire-geo-stub