[1] The original village was founded some time after the Norman Conquest; the Domesday Book says that South Cowton was owned by Count Alan of Richmond, and was ruled by Godric the Steward.

The archaeological remains of the village suggest that there were at least 20 houses during the Medieval period.

Between 1489 and 1490 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.

This ward stretches north to Over Dinsdale with a total population taken at the Census 2011 of 1,744.