Bowes

Bowes is a village in 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 administrationCivic historyBowes 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.HistoryThe Roman name for Bowes was Lavatrae. A Roman army station was located there.The only pub in the village, The Ancient Unicorn, 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 academy, 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 remain in Bowes churchyard to this day.Until the 1960s, the village was served by Bowes railway station.