South Cowton

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South Cowton is a Civil Parish based around an abandoned medieval village in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire in England.

The village was developed some time after the Norman Conquest, The Doomsday Book tells us that South Cowton was owned by Count Alan of Richmond, and was ruled by Godric the Steward. The archaeological ramains of the village suggest that there were at least 20 houses during the Medieval era.

The two major historic buildings in South Cowton are The Castle and St Mary's Church. Both buildings were erected in the 15th century. They were both built by Richard Conyers, one of the few lords of the many Cowton manors, ever to actually live there.

Between 1489 and 1490 Richard Conyers demolished the village of South Cowton, evicting its tenants in order to convert the land into pastures.

The current village consists of little more than a few widely dispersed farms, the Castle and the church. The former villages of Temple Cowton and Atley Cowton as well as the hamlets of Atley Hill and Pepper Arden have been incorporated into the parish of South Cowton.