Great Mitton | |
---|---|
The Three Fishes | |
Location within Lancashire | |
Population | 266 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SD715385 |
Civil parish |
|
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CLITHEROE |
Postcode district | BB7 |
Dialling code | 01254/01200 |
Police | Lancashire |
Fire | Lancashire |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Great Mitton is a village and a civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. [1] It is separated from the civil parish of Little Mitton by the River Ribble, both lie about three miles from the town of Clitheroe. The combined population of both civil parishes at the 2011 census was 266. [2] In total, Great and Little Mitton cover less than 2000 acres of the Forest of Bowland, making it the smallest township in the Forest. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.
Great Mitton has an ancient church, All Hallows, an ancient manor house and a pub, The Three Fishes, where in former times manorial courts were held. A second pub, The Aspinall Arms, sits across the Ribble in Little Mitton.
The ancient parish of Mitton took its name from the Old English, being a settlement at the mythe, the confluence of the Hodder and Ribble Rivers.
The Domesday manor of Mitton encompassed both Great and Little Mitton, straddling lands on both sides of the Ribble. From the late eleventh century, it fell under the Lordship of Bowland, the Lords of Bowland being lords paramount of a Royal Forest and a Liberty of ten manors spanning eight townships and four parishes and which covered an area of almost 300 square miles (780 km2) on the historic borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. [3] The manors within the Liberty were Slaidburn (Newton-in-Bowland, West Bradford, Grindleton), Knowlmere, Waddington, Easington, Bashall Eaves, Mitton, Withgill (Crook), Leagram, Hammerton and Dunnow (Battersby). [4]
Mitton was a mesne manor from the early twelfth century. Its first lord, Radulphus le Rus, may have been a scion of the de Lacy family. Descendants of Radulphus assumed the surname de Mitton. In the late thirteenth century, the family adopted the surname de Sotheron, later Sherburne, by marriage, thereby laying the foundation for the dynasty of Shireburne of Stonyhurst. The manor passed out of Shireburne ownership in the fourteenth century but was re-acquired in 1665. With the extinction of the Shireburne male line in 1717, the manor passed to the Hawksworth and finally, Aspinall families. [5]
The Mitton Hoard of eleven medieval silver coins (or bits of coins) was found to the west of the village near the River Hodder. The coins are now in Clitheroe Castle Museum. [6]
The manor of Withgill (Crook) lay within the boundaries of the township of Mitton but was small (around 40 acres in 1258). It was held by the de Bury family until the late fourteenth century. The Singletons held the manor from 1379-1503 after which it passed to the family of Sir William Leyland and finally, the Tyldesleys. The Tyldesleys, leading Jacobites, forfeited the manor for their role in the 1715 Preston Rebellion. [5]
The historical Parish of Great Mitton comprised the townships of Old Laund Booth, and Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley in Blackburnshire, and the chapelries of Grindleton and Waddington, and townships of Bashall Eaves, West Bradford in Staincliffe and Mitton itself which straddled the two. [7]
Sir William Addison (1905–1992), historian and author, was born at Milton. [8] [9]
The civil parish of Great Mitton was created from the ancient township with the same name in 1866. [10]
Great Mitton was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until it ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1974. The parish currently shares a parish council with the neighbouring civil parishes of Bashall Eaves and Little Mitton.
All Hallows Church (previously known as the Church of St Michael) was built in the 13th century, with 15th and 16th century additions. It contains Shireburne of Stonyhurst family tombs. Since 1954, it has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage. [11]
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. It is a western outlier of the Pennines.
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. It is named after the River Ribble. Much of the district lies within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Blackburn Hundred 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, including the current districts of Ribble Valley, Pendle, Burnley, Rossendale, Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, and South Ribble.
Newton or Newton-in-Bowland is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district, in the county of Lancashire, England, formerly known as Newton-on-Hodder. The civil parish had a population of 237 in 2001, according to the United Kingdom Census, increasing to 315 at the 2011 Census. The township covers almost 6,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.
Dunsop Bridge is a village in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High, in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Clitheroe, 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Lancaster and 24.5 miles (39 km) west of Skipton. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was placed under the administration of Lancashire County Council on 1 April 1974.
Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley is a civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England, just west of Clitheroe. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,307, an increase from 1,249 in 2001.
Bashall Eaves is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, about four miles (6 km) west of Clitheroe. The placename element eaves is Old English and refers to Bashall's location on the borders of the Forest of Bowland. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.
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.
Bowland Forest Low is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some 5,500 acres (22 km2) of the Forest of Bowland. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 168, falling to 160 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Whitewell and Cow Ark. From northwards clockwise, it borders the civil parishes of Newton, Bashall Eaves, Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley, Bowland-with-Leagram and Bowland Forest High. Before 1974, it formed part of Bowland Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Bowland Forest High is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some 20,000 acres (80 km2) of the Forest of Bowland. It fell within the ancient boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 163, falling to 144 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the settlements of Hareden, Sykes, and Dunsop Bridge. It covers Sykes Fell, Whins Brow, Croasdale Fell and Wolfhole Crag. Before 1974, it formed part of Bowland Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Bowland-with-Leagram is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering part of the Forest of Bowland. According to the census, the parish had a population of 181 in 1951, 128 in 2001 and 169 at the Census 2011.
The River Hodder is in Lancashire, England. It is a County Biological Heritage Site.
Bowland was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the Forest of Bowland, which it included.
Waddington is a small village, 2 miles (3 km) north-west of Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,028. Before the 1974 county boundary changes, Waddington fell just within the Bowland Rural District of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It covers approximately 2000 acres of the Forest of Bowland.
West Bradford is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Clitheroe. The population at the 2011 census was 788. It covers some 2000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. In Domesday, it is recorded as Bradeford and in the thirteenth century, Braford in Bouland. It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. "West Bradford" was introduced in the nineteenth century at the start of postal services to distinguish the village from the city of the same name.
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 at the 2011 census was 772.
Sawley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, 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, on the River Ribble. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
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.
Easington is a civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, with a population in 2001 of 52. The Census 2011 population details have been grouped with the parish of Slaidburn. Before 1974, it formed part of Bowland Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It covers just over 9000 acres.