Sowerby, North Yorkshire

Sowerby
Sowerby  Sowerby shown within North Yorkshire
Population	3,600
OS grid reference	SE431814
Civil parish	Sowerby
District	Hambleton
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	THIRSK
Postcode district	YO7
Dialling code	01845
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Thirsk and Malton (formerly Vale of York)
Website	http://www.sowerby.org.uk/
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Sowerby is a small village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, it is situated immediately south of Thirsk.

Thirsk School and Sixth Form College, the secondary school for the surrounding area is actually in Sowerby and has around 1,200 pupils. The primary schools in the village are Sowerby Community Primary School and All Saints Roman Catholic Primary School.

Parish Church of St Oswald

The Parish Church of St Oswald dates from about 1140. In 1145 Roger de Mowbray, nephew of William the Conqueror, gave the care of the Chapel at Sowerby to the Prior of Newburgh, and historical records show that several members of the ancient Family of Lassels, who were Lords of the Village for about 500 years, are buried in their own Chapel of St Oswald of Sowerby. The Lascelles (Lassels) family are also credited with building a terrace of houses at the north end of the village, still known as Blue (or Bribery) Terrace, since tenants were expected to vote for the candidate who supported the Tory cause!

The area's main industry is farming, though most people commute to nearby towns and villages. It is also an important tourist centre, with holiday cottages, bed and breakfast providers and a touring caravan site just to the south of the village. Sowerby's name comes from the Viking (Norse) language, in which it means 'Farmstead (by the) smelly pit', which is the origin of the word sewer.

British Member of Parliament, trade union activist and Labour Party Vice Chairman Joan Maynard lived and died here.

The village has connections with the author James Herriot (Alf Wight), and several former residents featured in his books, including "Mrs Pumphrey", her Pekinese dog "Tricky Woo", and her irrascible chauffeur. Amenities include a pub/restaurant, the "Crown and Anchor", and "Oswalds", a premier hotel/restaurant overlooking the village green. There is also a fish and chip shop. The centre of the village also boasts a fine avenue of English lime trees, planted to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The southern limit of the village is the Cod Beck River, with a 17th century pack horse bridge. A short walk away is a neolithic round barrow, "Pudding Pie Hill". To the east of the village is the open area of Sowerby Flatts, pasture land valued as a green lung for the village and a favourite dog walking area. The fields show "rig and furrow" cultivation marks, and the river shows signs of the abandoned late 18th century attempt to build a canal from the centre of the town to connect with the River Swale. Also within the parish bounds, which run almost to the Thirsk town centre, the volunteer-run Ritz Cinema. It dates back to 1912 (although the building is much earlier) and shows first run films seven days a week.

External links

• Sowerby Primary School
• Sowerby North Yorkshire
• St Oswald's Parish Church, Sowerby
• Thirsk School and Sixth Form College
• All Saints RC Primary School
• Sowerby Nursery School
• Links to everything about Sowerby
• War Memorials in Sowerby, North Yorkshire
• Ritz Cinema
• Sowerby Now! Sowerby's quarterly newspaper