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 Almost entirely residental, the area of Bowdon is set to backdrop of stunning English countryside. It was described as "a beautiful rural village, exceptionally pleasant, even for England", by a 19th Century scribe!
The name Bowdon comes from Anglo-Saxon "curved hill" and reflects the landscape of rolling hills. On of the oldest remaining buildings is the parish church of St Mary's, which dates back to before Norman times.
In 1494 the Dunham castle ruins were taken by Robert Booth. Later, in 1750, the estate passed to the Earl of Stamford. The Stamford family held the lands until the last Earl of Stamford died in 1976.
In the 1840s, landowners of began to sell off parcels of land and this led to the rapid development Bowdon as a residential area. A separate settlement in the lower part of Bowdon, known as Bowdon Vale, earned the nickname of "Soapy Town" in relation to the washing taken in from the residents of Bowdon.
Local business man and pioneer of Rugby Football, Richard Sykes cemented his fondness for his hometown by naming the area of North Dakota, USA, where he owned land Bowdon after its namesake in 1899. The author Alison Utterly is also famed for writing her Little Grey Rabbit whilst living in Bowdon from 1924-1938.
Population: 5,190.
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