Low Mowthorpe in the Domesday Book (1086)
The settlement of Low Mowthorpe is recorded in William I’s Domesday survey of 1086, entered under the hundred of Toreshou in Yorkshire.
Other Settlements in Toreshou
- Cottam
- Cowlam
- Croom [House]
- Helperthorpe
- Kirby [Grindalythe]
- Knapton
- Newton
- Sherburn
- Sledmere
- Thirkleby [Manor]
- Turodebi
- Ulchiltorp
- Weaverthorpe
- [East and West] Lutton
The Meaning of the Name
The name Low Mowthorpe is of Scandinavian origin. Its final element derives from the Old Norse word þorp, an outlying or secondary farmstead. The first element is most likely a personal name or an early descriptive term, now difficult to recover with certainty. Taken together the name probably meant something close to ‘a outlying farm’.
Names of this type are a fingerprint of Scandinavian settlement: they cluster across the old Danelaw, where Norse-speaking settlers renamed or founded villages from the late 9th century onward.
Remarkably, the name has changed little since 1086, when the Domesday scribes wrote it as Low Mowthorpe.
Listed Buildings Near Low Mowthorpe
Historic England records 4 listed buildings within about a mile of Low Mowthorpe. Listing protects structures of special architectural or historic interest, graded I (exceptional), II* (particularly important) and II.
Grade II*
- Church of St Andrew - 0.76 km
Grade II
- Churchyard Cross, Steps and Walled Platform Approximately 10 Metres South of the Church of St Andrew - 0.76 km
- Lychgate, Footgate and Attached Churchyard Walls to Church of St Andrew - 0.76 km
- The Gables - 0.94 km
Scheduled Monuments Near Low Mowthorpe
Scheduled monuments are nationally important archaeological sites given legal protection. 1 lies within roughly a mile of Low Mowthorpe:
- Kirby Grindalythe medieval settlement earthworks immediately south west of St Andrew’s Church - 0.68 km
Nearby Domesday Settlements
Other places recorded in the 1086 survey within a few miles:
- Kirby Grindalythe - 1.0 km E
- Turodebi - 1.0 km E
- Duggleby - 2.0 km W
- Thirkleby Manor - 3.2 km E
- Thirkleby Manor - 3.2 km E
- Linton - 3.2 km N
Heritage Around [Low] Mowthorpe
Photographs of churches, listed buildings and monuments in the vicinity, contributed by volunteers to the Geograph project and reused here under a Creative Commons licence.
© Charles Rispin · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
© Stephen Horncastle · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
© JThomas · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Images © their respective photographers, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 and reused here with attribution. Photographs depict listed buildings, churches and monuments near this settlement and may show neighbouring villages.
Data derived from the Open Domesday project (opendomesday.org), based on the Domesday Book dataset compiled by Professor J.J.N. Palmer and team. The Domesday Book (1086) is in the public domain.
Found an inaccuracy? [email protected]