Sowerby (/ˈsaʊərbi/)[2] is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England immediately south of the neighbouring market town of Thirsk.

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.

At the time of the Norman invasion, the manors were split between Earl Morcar and Ligulf, who granted land to Orm.

[3][4] Sowerby has maintained its own parish identity, a sense of place that has waxed and waned due to proximity to a market town.

[7] During the mid to late 19th century, when wapentakes and hundreds across England and Wales were becoming ill-fitted to administering poor laws, sanitary districts and the administration of justice, some innovations were tried.

[8] Eventually the wapentake became inactive as other administrative bodies were implemented, thus Sowerby parish council could be focused on specific needs and issues.

[13][14] An artificial mound known as Pudding Pie Hill[15] 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 a bowl barrow.

[16] 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.

From here it runs west, crossing Cod Beck and down Chapel Lane to then follow the A61 as far as Millbank Court.

[17] The centre of the village has an avenue of English lime trees on Front Street, planted to celebrate the jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887.

[3] To the east of the village is a publicly owned open pasture and recreation area known as the Sowerby Flatts.

In 1145, Roger de Mowbray gave the care of the chapel at Sowerby to the Prior of Newburgh and historical records show that several members of the Lascelles family are buried here.