Bowes

Human settlement in England

County Durham

Durham

Region

North East

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townBARNARD CASTLEPostcode districtDL12Dialling code01833PoliceDurhamFire County Durham and Darlington Ambulance North East UK Parliament

Bishop Auckland

List of places: UK; England; County Durham

54°30′58″N 2°00′32″W / 54.516°N 02.009°W / 54.516; -02.009

Bowes is a village in the historic county of Yorkshire and, since 1974, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. Located in the Pennine hills, it is situated close to Barnard Castle. It is built around the medieval Bowes Castle.

Geography and administration

Civic history

Bowes lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District it was incorporated into the non-metropolitan county of Durham for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.

The A66 and A67 roads meet at Bowes.

History

The Roman name for Bowes was Lavatrae. A Roman fort was located there, which was re-used as the site for Bowes Castle.

The place-name 'Bowes' is first attested in a charter of 1148, where it appears as Bogas. This is the plural of the Old English boga meaning 'bow', probably signifying an arched bridge.^[2]

The village church is dedicated to St Giles.

The only pub in the village, the formerly named George Inn owned by the Railton family and now named The Ancient Unicorn,^[3] is reputed to be haunted by several ghosts. This 17th-century coaching inn famously played host to Charles Dickens as he toured the local area. Dickens found inspiration in the village schools which he immortalised as Dotheboys Hall in Nicholas Nickleby, and the graves of two of the people who inspired characters portrayed by the great author can be seen in Bowes churchyard to this day. George Ashton Taylor, who died in 1822 aged 19, apparently inspired Dickens to create the character of Smike in the same novel.

From 1861 to 1962, the village was served by Bowes railway station. Just to the north of the village at Stoney Keld, is the site of the former RAF Bowes Moor, a chemical warfare agent storage site between 1941 and 1947.^[4] The Bowes Loop of the Pennine Way goes through the site.^[5]

The village is also home to possibly the smallest former working men's club in the country.^{[citation needed]} Now known as Bowes Social Club, it is run by volunteers and is often used as a venue to raise money for local events.

Education

Bowes has a single primary school at the centre of the village, Bowes Hutchinson's C of E (Aided) Primary School.^[6]

Notable people

Thomas Kipling (bap. 1745, d. 1822), dean of Peterborough, was born in Bowes.^[7]

John Bailey (1750–1819), mathematician and land surveyor was born in Bowes.^[8]

Richard Cobden (1804–65), manufacturer and politician, was schooled in Bowes.^[9]

References

^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
^ Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.56.
^ The Ancient Unicorn
^ "Tests at former mustard gas site". BBC News. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
^ Dillon, Paddy (2017). The Pennine Way : from Edale to Kirk Yetholm (4 ed.). Cumbria: Cicerone. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-85284-906-1.
^ Bowes Hutchinson's C of E (Aided) Primary School website
^ Robert Hole, ‘Kipling, Thomas (bap. 1745, d. 1822)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 2 May 2011
^ T. F. Henderson, ‘Bailey, John (1750–1819)’, rev. H. K. Higton, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 2 May 2011
^ Miles Taylor, ‘Cobden, Richard (1804–1865)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009 accessed 2 May 2011