Sowerby () is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England immediately south of the neighbouring market town of Thirsk. Although the boundary between the two parishes runs very close to Thirsk town centre, the village retains its own identity and has a separate Parish Council. The author James Herriot lived in the village. History The lines of a Roman road can still be seen in the fields to the north and east of the village along the Green Lane and was known as the Saxty Way. The village is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book as Sorebi in the Yarlestre hundred. The land was split across both the head manors of Easingwold and Newsham. At the time of the Norman invasion, the manors were split between Earl Morcar and Ligulf, who granted land to Orm. Afterwards, the lands became Crown property. The overlordship was granted to the Mowbray family, who granted land to William Lascelles in 1228. The Lascelles family held their manor until 1602, when it was sold to the Meynell family. The manor has followed the inheritance of the manor at North Kilvington since then. William de Vescy of Kildare held a mesne lordship in the area in the 14th century. The Lascelles (Lassels) family were also credited with building a terrace of houses at the north end of the village, still known as Blue (or Bribery) Terrace, since tenants were expected to vote for the candidate who supported the Tory cause. Historically, and until its abolition in 1974, Sowerby was part of the North Riding of Yorkshire for administrative purpose. At the same time the former Thirsk Rural District Council, of which Sowerby was also a part, was itself abolished. Sowerby's name comes from the Norse language, in which it means 'Farmstead (by the) muddy/sour ground'. In the south of the parish at Blakey Lane, Cod Beck is crossed by Blakey Bridge, a 17th-century cart or packhorse bridge and Grade II listed building. Further south, Cod Beck is crossed again on South Moor Lane by Town End Bridge, another 17th-century packhorse bridge, also Grade II Listed. An artificial mound known as Pudding Pie Hill is on the east bank of Cod Beck, just off Blakey Lane. This was partially excavated in 1855 (by Lady Frankland Russell) and was found to be a sepulchral tumulus of a type known as