Lord of the Fells

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Bowland Fells, historic domain of the Lord of the Fells Whin Fell, Bowland - geograph.org.uk - 69050.jpg
Bowland Fells, historic domain of the Lord of the Fells

Lord of the Fells is a customary title of the Lords of Bowland. [1] The title is thought to have become customary during the high medieval period as a description of the Lords' rugged upland demesne. Bowland Fells, more widely known as the Forest of Bowland, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

The Lordship of the Forest of Bowland itself was created by William Rufus sometime after Domesday. It may have been a reward for Roger de Poitou, 1st Lord of Bowland, for his role in defeating the army of Scots king Malcolm III in 1091–1092. The Forest and Liberty of Bowland, along with the grant of the adjacent fee of Blackburnshire and holdings in Hornby and Amounderness, came in time to form the basis of what became known as the Honor of Clitheroe.

Like the subsidiary titles Lord of the Isles and Lord of Mann, Lord of the Fells has royal associations. After 1351, the Lordship of Bowland was administered as part of the Duchy of Lancaster, with the Duke (from 1399, the Sovereign) acknowledged lord paramount over the Forest and the ten manors of the Liberty. As lord paramount, he was styled Lord King of Bowland. [2]

The 16th Lord of Bowland assumed the title of "Lord of the Fells" on March 11, 2011 [3] [4] [5]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honour of Clitheroe</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Mitton</span> Human settlement in England

Great Mitton is a village and a civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. 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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easington, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

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References

  1. "Lord of the Fells, Guardian of History" (PDF). Rural Life. November 2014.
  2. C J Spencer and S W Jolly, "Bowland: the rise and decline, abandonment and revival of a medieval lordship". The Escutcheon: Journal of the Cambridge University Heraldic & Genealogical Society 15, 2010 Download Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Our Lord of the Fells". Longridge & Ribble Valley News. 8 December 2010.
  4. "That Wicker Man Moment". Forest of Bowland official website. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011.
  5. "Other Notices | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2021.