Bowes is a small settlement of stone built houses bypassed and unseen from the busy A66 road. It is ignored by the tourists and there is little information on the internet.
The A66 crosses the bleak and isolated area called Stainmore, following the route of the main Roman route way between York and Carlisle. The route was controlled by forts at Brough and Bowes. The Normans recognised the strategic importance of the route and built castles at Barnard Castle, Bowes, Brough and Brougham.
Bowes Castle
A wooden castle was built in corner of the Roman fort of Lavartris in the early C12th. This was replaced by a stone keep with a moat at the end of the C12th by Henry II. It has always been a royal castle.
After the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce invaded the north of England and took control of the castle in 1314 and again in 1322. By 1341 it was in a poor condition and of little use for defence. No repairs were carried out and it was eventually stripped of much of its stone facing in the C17th for use as building stone. It was eventually taken into the carfe of the Office of works in 1930 and is today in the care of English Heritage.
All that is left is the roofless shell of the keep. It is still an impressive structure, and a reminder of how important a defensive structure it was. There is no record of any other buildings and little about its history.
The keep was originally three stories high with an external stone stairway to the first floor with the hall and solar. An internal spiral staircase led to a secure storage area on the ground floor and to the upper floor. r. Smaller rooms and passageways to latrines were built in the thickness of the walls.
Now visitors climb through a hole in the wall and a modern stone spiral staircase leads to a viewing balcony on the first floor.
website
St Giles Church
The church is set behind the main street, close to the ruined castle. Surrounded by trees it is easy to miss.
It is a small, low church with a simple bell cote at the west end. The nave dates from the mid C12th, the chancel was added in the C13th and the transepts in the C14th. Like so many churches it was extensively restored in the C19th when the porch was added.
Above the doorway is a much older and very eroded carving of the crucifixion with the figures of the Virgin and St John.
Unfortunately the church was locked when we visited. It’s only claim to fame seems to be that it has two fonts. One is a large C12th circular stone bowl with an incised zig-zag round the top. It sits on a C13th stem with four shafts, which may have belonged to the other font.
This is smaller with a C13th stone bowl decorated with three carved scrolls with leaves. It stands on a base from a Roman altar. (These pictures were taken on a visit in 1983.)
The A66 crosses the bleak and isolated area called Stainmore, following the route of the main Roman route way between York and Carlisle. The route was controlled by forts at Brough and Bowes. The Normans recognised the strategic importance of the route and built castles at Barnard Castle, Bowes, Brough and Brougham.
Bowes Castle
A wooden castle was built in corner of the Roman fort of Lavartris in the early C12th. This was replaced by a stone keep with a moat at the end of the C12th by Henry II. It has always been a royal castle.
After the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce invaded the north of England and took control of the castle in 1314 and again in 1322. By 1341 it was in a poor condition and of little use for defence. No repairs were carried out and it was eventually stripped of much of its stone facing in the C17th for use as building stone. It was eventually taken into the carfe of the Office of works in 1930 and is today in the care of English Heritage.
All that is left is the roofless shell of the keep. It is still an impressive structure, and a reminder of how important a defensive structure it was. There is no record of any other buildings and little about its history.
The keep was originally three stories high with an external stone stairway to the first floor with the hall and solar. An internal spiral staircase led to a secure storage area on the ground floor and to the upper floor. r. Smaller rooms and passageways to latrines were built in the thickness of the walls.
Now visitors climb through a hole in the wall and a modern stone spiral staircase leads to a viewing balcony on the first floor.
website
St Giles Church
The church is set behind the main street, close to the ruined castle. Surrounded by trees it is easy to miss.
It is a small, low church with a simple bell cote at the west end. The nave dates from the mid C12th, the chancel was added in the C13th and the transepts in the C14th. Like so many churches it was extensively restored in the C19th when the porch was added.
Above the doorway is a much older and very eroded carving of the crucifixion with the figures of the Virgin and St John.
Unfortunately the church was locked when we visited. It’s only claim to fame seems to be that it has two fonts. One is a large C12th circular stone bowl with an incised zig-zag round the top. It sits on a C13th stem with four shafts, which may have belonged to the other font.
This is smaller with a C13th stone bowl decorated with three carved scrolls with leaves. It stands on a base from a Roman altar. (These pictures were taken on a visit in 1983.)