The Honour of Clitheroe is an ancient grouping of manors and royal forests centred on Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England; an honour traditionally being the grant of a large landholding complex, not all of whose parts are contiguous. In the case of Clitheroe, this complex was loosely clustered around the ancient wapentake of Blackburnshire.
Before the Norman Conquest, the lands of Blackburnshire were held by Edward the Confessor, [1] while Bowland was held by Tostig, son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex. In 1092, Roger de Poitou acquired a large part of what is now Lancashire, including the hundred of Blackburnshire.
By the end of the 11th century, Poitou's landholdings had been confiscated and came into the possession of the De Lacys, Barons of Pontefract and Lords of Bowland. [2] [3] In 1102, Henry I granted the fee of Blackburnshire and further holdings in Hornby, [4] and the vills of Chipping, Aighton and Dutton in Amounderness to Robert de Lacy, 2nd Baron of Pontefract, while confirming his possession of Bowland. [5] These lands formed the basis of what became known as the Honour of Clitheroe.
In 1205, Roger de Lacy purchased the barony of Penwortham and by 1212, he had added the manor of Rochdale. [6] In 1235, his son John de Lacy, acquired the fee of Tottington from Henry de Monewden. [7] The Honour passed by marriage from the De Lacys to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster in 1311 and subsequently, was incorporated into the Duchy of Lancaster. [8] The honour had been among the lands acquired by Queen Isabella in 1327, after she deposed Edward II. [2]
In 1507, King Henry VII's Act of Disafforestation was a response to growing encroachment on the Royal Forests and paved the way for increased settlement within the Forests of Accrington, Bowland, Pendle, Rossendale and Trawden. [9] In 1625, Charles I sold Rochdale to trustees for the Earl of Holderness, [6] and in 1628, the manor of Penwortham was also sold. [10]
In 1661, King Charles II granted the Honour to General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, in recognition of his support during the Restoration. [2] It then followed the inheritance of the Dukes of Albemarle, Dukes of Montagu and finally, the Dukes of Buccleuch. In 1827, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch inherited the Honour through his grandmother, the 3rd Duchess, but this was entailed upon his uncle, Henry James Montagu-Scott, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton. In 1835, the Bowland portion was sold to Peregrine Towneley. [11]
Lord Henry Douglas-Scott-Montagu, great-nephew of the 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton, and second son of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, inherited the Honour in 1845. In 1896, he set up the Clitheroe Estate Company as a vehicle for the exploitation of coal and other mineral wealth, within the lands of the Honour. [12] In 1938, the Towneley family sold the Bowland portion back to the Duchy of Lancaster. [13] The Coal Act 1938 and subsequent nationalisation of the British coal industry led to the voluntary winding-up of the Company in 1945. In April that year, Tory MP Ralph Assheton, later 1st Baron Clitheroe, bought the residue of the land holdings from the company for £12,500. [14] Since 1945, the Barons Clitheroe have styled themselves Lords of the Honor of Clitheroe; more formally, their legal style of address being "Lords of the Various Manors and Forests within the Honor of Clitheroe".
Before the Tenures Abolition Act 1660, which effectively introduced the concept of freehold into English law, the Lord of the Honour was lord paramount over all the mesne lords of the Honour. He exercised governance of the Honour through manorial and forest courts.
The Great Court Leet for Blackburnshire was originally held every three weeks at Clitheroe Castle, with the Steward of the Honour presiding. It had jurisdiction over the mesne manors of the Wapentake of Blackburn and within the Borough of Clitheroe, but not within the demesne manors, such as Slaidburn in the Forest of Bowland, which convened their own halmote (manorial) courts.
The forest areas within the Honour were governed under forest law and jurisdiction was exercised through woodmote and swainmote courts. In the main, these appear to have been held at the demesne manor closest to the forest in question. The Forest of Bowland was a notable exception. In Bowland, for historic reasons, a strict jurisdictional divide was observed between governance of the Forest of Bowland which was centred on Whitewell and governance of the Liberty of Bowland centred on Slaidburn. This was a consequence of the shift of the caput of the Lordship of Bowland from Grindleton to Slaidburn in the second half of the fourteenth century. [15]
Manorial courts fell into disuse in the early 1920s; forest law was only repealed in the 1970s but in the case of Bowland, its forest courts had effectively ceased to operate during the 1830s.
Through subinfeudation, the manorial structure of the Honour shifted over the course of nine centuries. Whitaker in Chapter 2 of his 1872 History of Whalley, Vol 1, p. 238, claims there were 28 manors within the Honour on the basis that these were all the manors of Blackburnshire.
Stewards of the Honor of Clitheroe were traditionally based at Clitheroe Castle in an office where the Castle Museum now stands. [18] Before the twentieth century, they were known as Gentlemen Stewards of the Honor of Clitheroe and are traditionally appointed by deed poll:
In recent years, the Steward of the Honor has been a partner at Clitheroe-based land agents Ingham & Yorke. From 1991, the Steward was Michael Parkinson. Parkinson formally retired in 2010. Subsequently, he was appointed Chief Steward of the Forest of Bowland in 2011 by its feudal lord, William Bowland. [20] [21] [22]
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.
Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located 34 miles (55 km) north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Clitheroe built-up area had an estimated population of 16,279.
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.
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.
de Lacy is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorded for Hugh de Lacy (1020–1085). His sons, Walter and Ilbert, left Normandy and travelled to England with William the Conqueror. The awards of land by the Conqueror to the de Lacy sons led to two distinct branches of the family: the northern branch, centred on Blackburnshire and west Yorkshire was held by Ilbert's descendants; the southern branch of Marcher Lords, centred on Herefordshire and Shropshire, was held by Walter's descendants.
Clitheroe Castle is a ruined early medieval castle in Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It was the caput of the Honour of Clitheroe, a vast estate stretching along the western side of the Pennines.
Whitewell is a village within the civil parish of Bowland Forest Low and Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. It is in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Historically, the village fell just within the boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972. It stands above a bend in the River Hodder.
Ightenhill is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of 1,975.
Pendleton is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, within the county of Lancashire, England. It is close to the towns of Whalley and Clitheroe. The parish lies on the north west side of Pendle Hill below the Nick o' Pendle. The village is just off the A59, Liverpool to York main road, since the construction of the Clitheroe By-Pass. Older roads through the parish include one from Clitheroe to Whalley which passes through the Standen area and another to Burnley which passes Pendleton Hall.
Musbury Tor or Tor Hill is a flat-topped hill in south-east Lancashire, England. It overlooks the village of Helmshore and separates Alden Valley to its south and Musbury Valley to its north. Mainly consisting of farmland and pastures, its summit is 340.1 metres (1,116 ft) above sea level. The hill is a prominent landmark and can be seen from much of Helmshore and is often colloquially referred to as ‘the Tor’ by the local population. 'Tor View' is a name shared by several houses and a local Special School.
Habergham Eaves is a civil parish in the borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, England. The parish consists of a rural area south of Burnley, and suburban areas on the outskirts of the town, including a large industrial estate in the north-west corner of the parish. Habergham is also the name of an area west of Burnley, although it is no longer within the parish. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, the parish has a population of 1,466.
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.
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.
The Towneley or Townley family are an English family whose ancestry can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon England. Towneley Hall in Burnley, Lancashire, was the family seat until its sale, together with the surrounding park, to the corporation of Burnley in 1901. Towneley Hall is now a Grade I listed building and a large museum and art gallery within Towneley Park.
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.
Hameldon Hill is a Carboniferous sandstone hill with a summit elevation of 409 metres (1,342 ft), situated between the towns of Burnley and Accrington in Lancashire, England. It is listed as a "HuMP" or "Hundred Metre Prominence", its parent being Freeholds Top, a Marilyn near Bacup.
The Forest of Pendle is a hilly area to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire, roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder. The area is not a forest in the modern sense of being heavily wooded, and has not been so for many centuries. Historically a somewhat larger area than the modern forest was one of the several royal forests of the area, under the control of Clitheroe Castle, or Honour of Clitheroe. Over its history, the forest has gone from being protected and regulated as a medieval royal forest, to being labelled as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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