Bowes (St. Giles)
The village consists principally of one street, nearly three-quarters of a mile in length; and has long been noted for its boarding-schools, to which numerous pupils are sent from London, on grounds of economy. It is situated near the verge of Stanemore, and on the banks of the Greta, over which, at the distance of two miles, is a natural bridge of picturesque character, called "God's bridge," formed by a rude arch of limestone rock, sixteen feet in the span, and twenty feet in breadth, affording a passage for carriages. Lead-ore, ironstone, and some coal are found in the neighbourhood. A market which was held on Friday, and a fair on Oct. 1st, have both fallen into disuse. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £90; patron and impropriator, T. Harrison, Esq. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A free grammar school was founded in 1693, by William Hutchinson, who gave an estate now producing £258 per annum, for the instruction of children and for supplying the poor with coal. This place is interesting as the scene of Mallet's pathetic ballad of Edwin and Emma, which has reference to Roger Wrightson and Martha Railton, both of whom, according to the parish register, were interred here in the same grave, March 15th, 1714.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.