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 Englishboga meaning 'bow', probably signifying an arched bridge.[2]
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 HallinNicholas 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.
^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
