a bowl barrow. The remains of a Saxon warrior and two other skeletons were discovered, along with cremated bones, various artefacts and coins. There are five war memorials in Sowerby, one outside St Oswald's Church and two each inside St Oswald's Church and Sowerby Methodist Church, listing 63 local men who died in the First World War and 18 who died in the Second World War. Planning permission was given in 2012 for the building of a new housing estate of over 1,000 homes, called Sowerby Gateway, at the southern end of the village, resulting in a vastly increased demand for infrastructure and additional services. As a result a new supermarket has been opened as part of the development, along with an Extra Care Home, a new primary school, retail units, a hotel and a new Sports Village. There is also a new industrial/commercial estate being developed immediately adjacent to the residential area to provide additional employment opportunities. The whole development is expected to be completed by 2022. As part of the "planning gain" from the development a new four-way junction was completed in 2019, to replace an existing two-way junction, giving full northbound as well as southbound access to the Thirsk By-pass (A168) dual carriageway. Governance The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. It also lies within the Sowerby electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Sowerby ward of Hambleton District Council. The first tier of local government covering Sowerby is Sowerby Parish Council, which was first elected following the Local Government Act of 1894. Currently the Council has eleven members, who are subject to election every four years. The Council meets monthly in Thirsk and Sowerby Town Hall. Geography The boundary of the civil parish runs from the A168/A19 junction north to the Moor Lane Stell. From here it runs west, crossing Cod Beck and down Chapel Lane to then follow the A61 as far as Millbank Court. Here it runs south of the housing to cross the East Coast Main Line and then runs south to the boundary of Topcliffe airfield. It then runs east to include most of the small hamlet of Thorpefield and on to Ox Moor plantation. The boundary then follows the southerly route of the Cod Beck as far as, but not including, the hamlet of Westholme. It returns northwards to encompass Sowerby Parks to the A19