Place:Bolton by Bowland, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Bolton by Bowland is now a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley District of Lancashire, England. Before 1974, the village was part of Bowland Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Historically, Bolton by Bowland was an ecclesiastical or ancient parish in Staincliffe and Ewcross Wapentake.

In medieval times, it was known as Bolton in Bowland, reflecting the shifting boundaries of the ancient Forest of Bowland on whose southeast flank the village sits. The manor of Bolton by Bowland, however, was not included within the Lordship of Bowland, being a part of the Percy family fee from earliest times.

The village is on the Tosside Beck, near its confluence with the River Ribble. The Beck has for many centuries marked the boundary between the ancient lands of Bowland and Craven. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 498.

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Bolton-by-Bowland. The GENUKI page gives numerous references to local bodies providing genealogical assistance.
• The FamilySearch wiki on the ecclesiastical parish of Bolton-by-Bowland provides a list of useful resources for the local area.
• A Vision of Britain through Time on Bolton-by-Bowland.
• A Vision of Britain through Time on Bowland Rural District. This section provides statistics on population and industry, as well as a listing of the civil parishes and the alterations to the municipal organization.
• A map of the West Riding of Yorkshire circa 1888 (before the existence of rural and urban districts) supplied by A Vision of Britain through Time
• A map of the southern part of the West Riding of Yorkshire circa 1931 supplied by A Vision of Britain through Time
• A map of the northern part of the West Riding of Yorkshire circa 1931 supplied by A Vision of Britain through Time (Bowland Rural Districts is divided in half horizontally between these two maps.)