Welcome to the Great Bowden Village Website
The beautiful village of Great Bowden lies on the edge of the Welland Valley and has a past history dating back to Anglo Saxon times.
Great Bowden still enjoys a village way of life and to this day has retained itself by largely remaining within its ancient boundaries. Surrounded by attractive countryside and separation of settlements land, Great Bowden has a unique relationship with its larger neighbour, Market Harborough.
The village’s picturesque centre consists of beautiful greens, shops, pubs, the village hall and our historic church.
With a population of approximately 1000, Great Bowden has an active Parish Council, a variety of services, a host of clubs/groups, a pre-school and a primary school.
If you would like to know more about the history of Great Bowden and its Heritage, please visit the Groups page. The Historical Society or Archaeological & Heritage Group can provide a wealth of information.
Please view the current Newsletter-2013-Summer which includes articles and news items from local residents.
Great Bowden Events Calendar
Select event for venue & further information. If you'd like an event added please tell us about it here.
News & Information
* Great Bowden Village Festival 2012 - PAGE includes Gallery of events
Weltons - Menu (click to open)
Fernie Country Fair
Sunday 16th June 2013
12noon - 5pm
Fernie Hunt Kennels, Nether Green, Great Bowden, Market Harborough, LE16 7HF
Open by
Leicester Tigers Legend Julian White
Terrier Racing
Family Dog Show
Bar, Hog Roast, Quad Bikes, Falconry Displays, Hound Parade, Kennel Tours, Tug-of-War, Cream Teas,
Trade Stands, Sheep Shearing, Rural Crafts, Rare Breeds, Vintage Cars, Archery, Air Rifles…and much more
Fun for all the Family
FREE child entry
Further information from Natalie Painter - 01536 330339 - www.ferniehuntsupporters.com
DIG FOR BOWDEN’S HIDDEN PAST
Great Bowden Heritage & Archaeology are embarking on a new project for
2013 and 2014, working with Cambridge University’s Access Cambridge
Archaeology project. By digging small pits (1 metre x 1 metre) in gardens
and small paddocks in all parts of the present village and by analysing the
pottery and bone finds we should be able to find out how the village has
changed shape, size, density and even location over the past 1500 years.
Our findings will be added to a database of villages and towns in the East of
England and will increase our knowledge of how settlements reacted to
changes in agriculture and major historical events such as the viking raids. the
Black Death or the Industrial Revolution.
We need a lawned area and sufficient room for 3-4 people to work. We
promise to restore everything after the dig and carefully put back the turf. If
you are fit and able we would love you to join in under our supervision. We
have to stick to fairly rigid excavation and recording techniques so that all the
test pits in the region are dug in the same way.
To find out more about the group please visit our website on
www.greatbowdenheritage.btck.co.uk and contact us either personally or
through our email address greatbowdenheritage@virginmedia.com.
The group is affiliated to the British Council for Archaeology and we have full
insurance cover for the excavation.
Please help us and give your garden a place in history.
Rosemary Culkin
Heritage Warden
THANK YOU
We have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to FOCSA who cleared Dingley Road on Friday 1st March.
I
Great Bowden Historical Society
New Web Site
www.greatbowdenhistoricalsociety.btck.co.uk
Great Bowden Heritage & Archaeology
New website
www.greatbowdenheritage.btck.co.uk/
Great Bowden Pre-School Fundraising
Appeal
Any old clothes or blankets?
Great Bowden pre-school is trying to raise funds for new equipment.
We are working with the Fire Fighters Charity (Charity Registration
Number: 1093387) to collect clothes, blankets,
duvets and shoes,
which they weigh after collection and donate some money to the pre-school.
We would welcome any items you may have at all.
They can be dropped off at the Church Hall, Dingley Road during preschool
hours,
Mon, Tue, Thurs 9am – 3.15pm and Wed, Fri 9 am – 12
noon.
If you have any questions please call the pre-school on 0779 047 0411.
Parish Council News
New Clerk
Great Bowden Parish Council
With effect from April 1st 2013 Great Bowden Parish Council has appointed a new Clerk – Martin Ellingworth, whose contact details are shown below. However, please remember that this is a part time post and all contact with Martin should, in the first instance, be by letter or e-mail.
Martin Ellingworth
Clerk to Great Bowden Parish Council
4 Elm Drive
Market Harborough,
Leicestershire
LE16 9DS
Telephone: 01858 464808
E-Mail: gbpcmartin@gmail.com
The Council wish him well in his new post and hope he settles into the job quickly and happily. One of his first tasks will be to prepare the accounts for submission to the Annual General Meeting and for the auditor. Details of both the meeting and the accounts will of course appear on the village notice board and villagers are welcome to attend the meeting and inspect the accounts should they so wish.
LRWT Great Bowden Group
Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust
www.greatbowden.org/GreatBowdenNaturalHistory - dedicated page for this group
Summer Events
Thu 20th June - 2.30 p.m. Local wild flower ramble.
Anne Banks will show us some of the wild flowers to be found in the fields and hedgerows around the village.
Thu 22nd Aug - evening Badger Watch. Cost £4, for the peanuts that are spread around for the badgers to eat.
A member of the Melton local group will take us to the hide for the viewing at Brown's Hill reserve in Holwell.
The meeting hour will be made known nearer the time.
Places on all the above are limited. For any more information and/or reserve a place please contact Bruce White (see above or below)
Meetings held at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall
Entrance fees (include refreshments) £2 for Wildlife Trust members £2.50 non-members
Bruce White on Tel: 01858 467976, Email bruceywhite@yahoo.co.uk
If you spot any wildlife or anything interesting near your home please contact Gerald Mitchell who is recording all the information. Thank you. Gerald Mitchell - Tel: 01858 462393, Email mtchg6@btinternet.com
Great Bowden - Looking out for all - Neighbourhood Watch
If you see anyone who you think is acting suspicious or vehicles in the village that seem unusual please do call, Crime prevention on 0116 222 2222 or by visiting the Force
website at www.leics.police.uk
If the sighting is of an innocent nature it can be validated. Being vigilant can stop crime.
- Description of the individual/s and location.
- Vehicle registration plate,description and location.
Read all about it!
Since 2003, Great Bowden Heritage and Archaeology Group has been collecting evidence to illustrate the life
and times of the village before the Norman Conquest. We have built a picture from digs, field walking,
metal detection, local records and wider history, compiling three booklets to give you a flavour of the
village in those times.
Free copies have been donated to local schools, but there is a charge to the public to contribute towards printing costs.
£2.50 per booklet or a set of three for £5
Contact Liz Thomas on 01858 466003
A History of Great Bowden School
A very interesting history of our school from 1839-2009 with archive material and photographs leading through to live memories and the present day.
To order a copy please click on the image below to view application form.
Books cost £6 (Book £5.00 + £1.00 P&P)
All proceeds go to the School and the Great Bowden Historical Society.
Lorries Using Village Centre
It is noticeable that heavy lorries are continuing to use the village as a through-route and in particular ignoring the lorry restriction on Dingley Road. The only way for the village to make an impact on this problem is to complain and the more people that do so the better the effect.
All that is required is to provide in written form to the Police Inspector, MH Police Station is a short note providing:
Date/time of incident
Description of lorry: type / colour of vehicle, owners name and if possible the registration number.
Direction of Travel: from or to Corby
Road being used: particularly Dingley Road
View up Station Road
Archive
* Population figures taken from the 2001 census give a total of 954 residents within Great Bowden Parish. Since 2001 new properties have been built on the site of the old Countryman pub as well as on Langton Road and more recently the conversion of Bishops House into apartments. Great Bowden Parish 2001 Census of Population.
The Village Web site
Great Bowden’s village web site was created by volunteers who are members of the Compass Group.
Information has been provided by groups and individuals within the village as well as suggestions which have shaped it into the web site we have today.
www.greatbowden.org hopes to provide information on groups and services within the village as well as information or links to, travel, tourism etc which may be of use. The much loved Village Newsletters are also available to view.
News items on meetings and events may be submitted to the details below for inclusion.
We endeavour to ensure the information on the site is up to date and accurate but if you do discover that there is a broken link or an error with information provided, please do let us know so that it can be addressed.
Contact us here or email greatbowden@aol.com
Documents available to download on this site are saved in PDF format. You will need Adobe Reader to view them. Click the link below to download the software.
