Place:Sawley (near Clitheroe), West Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Sawley (#16 on the map) is a village and civil parish which, since 1974, has been in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated northeast of Clitheroe in Lancashire, on the River Ribble. Sawley now shares a parish council with two other parishes that were previously in the North Riding: Bolton by Bowland (to its north) and Gisburn Forest (further north again).

Historically, Sawley was an extraparochial division of the Staincliffe and Ewcross Wapentake. Sawley was made a civil parish in 1858 and from 1894 until 1974, was located in Bowland Rural District. In 1974 the area became part of the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire.

Sawley with Tosside

A Vision of Britain through Time has notes on the extra parochial area of Sawley with Tosside. Like Sawley, Tosside was an an extraparochial division of the Staincliffe and Ewcross Wapentake, but was located some distance north of Sawley on the boundary between the townships of Bolton by Bowland and Gisburn Forest. In the middle of the 19th century these two extraparochial areas were combined and may continue to exist as one unit. Tosside was made a civil parish in 1858 and continued as such until 1938 when it was abolished and divided between the parishes of Bolton by Bowland and Wigglesworth.

Sawley Abbey

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

Sawley Abbey was an abbey of Cistercian monks in the village of Sawley in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England. Created as a daughter-house of Newminster Abbey, it existed from 1149 until its dissolution in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII. A monk here, William de Remmyngton went on to become Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1372-3. The last two abbots of Sawley were both put to death. Thomas Bolton was executed as a consequence of his resistance to the dissolution and William Trafford, the last Abbot, was executed in Lancaster on the 10th March 1537 alongside John Paslew, the last Abbot of Whalley Abbey, for alleged involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace.

The ruins of Sawley Abbey, which are now controlled by English Heritage, are open to the public. Although not an extensive ruin, there are boards on the site that give information regarding the history of the abbey and its former inhabitants. Today, parts of the church and refectory can still be seen.

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Sawley. The GENUKI page gives numerous references to local bodies providing genealogical assistance.
• A Vision of Britain through Time on Sawley.
• 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.)