Dales Diary: More of Crawford Bowen - former vicar of Skelton, Guisborough, Gainford and Bolam; the mystery of Mrs Wiggan's Lead between Cockfield and Burnthouses and the private police forces of Teesdale and Weardale

It involved a whirlwind romance which cost him a great deal of money. But it gave him something much more important: a stable marriage that lasted 48 years and produced five children.

He was ordained at York in 1860 and that year took up his first post as curate at Skelton in Cleveland, when he was aged 25.

He took lodgings in North Terrace, where his landlord was John Tate, a farm labourer and carrier, who lived there with his wife Mary and family.

It did not take the new clergyman long to fall for Tate's daughter Hannah, who was 17 and described as beautiful. She must have felt the same way about him for they were married in Skelton church that year.

Before long their first baby was on the way. But members of the curate's well-heeled Norfolk family opposed the match, feeling it beneath their standing.

He had been assured of their patronage for his church career, but this was instantly withdrawn, so he never became as financially secure as he expected.

He had received a privileged education in the arts. He became an admirable musician, playing the organ in churches. He composed a work called Bowen's Te Deum.

The Reverend Crawford Bowen and his wife Hannah at Bolam vicarage in later life

He was a skilful artist, with some fine watercolours to his name. He did sketches during his balloon trip and showed them while giving talks about the adventure. He lectured on astronomy, so he was multi-talented. 

Grateful thanks go to Dr Tony Nicholson, former history lecturer at Teesside University, for all this information and photographs.

When he moved into an old house at Brotton near Skelton he found in the attic a vast collection of old letters giving a deep insight into the Bowen family.

They amounted to a valuable treasure trove of absorbing real-life stories from the past. They had been left many years earlier by Crawford and Hannah's daughter in law, Annie Johnson.

She married their son Augustus, who was branded as devious and unreliable, even by his own mother, before he met a tragic end.

After his spell at Skelton, Crawford became curate at Guisborough and then Gainford before being appointed vicar of Bolam in 1870, so his young bride would be well known in those places.

The Reverend Crawford Bowen with his daughter Liebe at Bolam vicarage

He was chiefly responsible for the restoration of St Andrew's Church and foundation of the village school in Bolam. 

He was vicar for 38 years, always on a modest income, before he died in 1908 at the age of 73.

He was taken back to be buried in the old churchyard at Skelton. Hannah moved back there to spend her final years in the cottage where she grew up, on the right of the village hostelry, the Royal George.

Hannah Bowen, who married at 17 after a whirlwind romance

She died three years later aged 69 and was laid to rest beside him. Crawford's father, the Reverend Jeremiah Bowen, born in Cambridge in 1801, was married to Sarah Cole, who must have been considered a suitable wife as he went on receiving the family patronage. 

The head patron was Chauncy Hare Townshend, an immensely rich man with estates in Norfolk, London and Switzerland.

He was a chronic invalid and close friend of Charles Dickens, who dedicated Great Expectations to him.

Charles Dickens

The way he opposed young Hannah makes him sound like a grotesque Dickens character.

Dr Nicholson, who still has some duties at the university, was so impressed by the letters and other paperwork that he is writing a book about the vicar and his fascinating life.

It is nearing completion and he hopes to have it published this year. It seems certain to create a lot of interest, and not only in this part of the world. He says he has grown fond of Crawford while doing all the research.

Can anyone remember walking down a path called Mrs Wiggan's Lead?

If they did make their way along it they may well up ended up to their knees in mud.

It was a route between Cockfield and Burnthouses that became notoriously dirty back around 1890. The word "lead" seems to have been a local term for a lane.

Exact details of Mrs Wiggans are not known, but historian John Hallimond says there was a woman of that ilk who ran a Cockfield hostelry for a time, and there were other folk in the village with that surname.

There was also a Wiggan's Yard in the village. Conditions on the path became so bad that residents at both ends of it joined together in a plea to Barnard Castle highway board to take responsibility for it and make it up as a roadway.

Their spokesman, Samuel Walker, said it was a public road, but had never been kept in good order.

He pointed out that Burnthouses people contributed to the highway rate so they had every right to have this route put right.

Others agreed it was a dirty lane, and that children walking home from school on it were often nearly up to their knees in mud and filth.

But the board refused to do any work, so the young ones had to go on trundling through the splodge.

Mr Hallimond couldn't remember seeing it called Mrs Wiggan's Lead, but says it may have been one that was later known as Whitehouse Lane, as that was also often clarty.

By the way John has now finished his task of photographing all 840 houses in Cockfield parish, but means to retake a few pictures he is not satisfied with.

John Hallimond taking pictures of Cockfield houses

The complete set will be valuable in the future as a priceless record of the village in this era. He means to include an enlarged picture from each road in his next exhibition. His displays are always popular.

Several parts of the dales set up their own organisations to fight crime in the early 1800s before police forces were established.

The work of several have been mentioned here at times, with those around Wolsingham, Staindrop and Barnard Castle doing their bit to keep law and order.

They helped to put a considerable number of villains behind bars. But most faded out after police units were set up in the 1840s.

The Barnard Castle Association was formed in 1802 to deal with anyone guilty of felony, larceny, trespass or misdemeanour.

It offered tempting rewards for information about crimes, and at one stage its members went on patrol around the town, armed with cudgels, to try to stop burglaries.

They didn't catch any thieves but probably scared some away. But it was also a social organisation.

One year it recorded that its highlight was the annual meeting, at which there were songs, comical stories and a hearty feast.

There was a strict rule that any member who did not turn up for the annual dinner would have to pay the full price for his meal plus his share of expenses.

That shows they felt it important to have a full turnout. They reported successes in dealing with vandalism, including damage to public seats, window smashing and destruction of gardens.

They dealt with complaints about apprentices who ran away from masters, and employers who treated apprentices badly.

They also tried to put a stop to big gang fights which were common on the Demesnes. One crime they dealt with was a raid on Michael Johnson's silversmith shop near the Market Cross in 1836.

Barnard Castle Market Cross

It was stripped of all its valuables. The association offered a reward of 30 guineas for information about the culprits but they were never found.

The organisation folded in April 1840. The last entry in its minute book was for the election of officers. There were spaces for the president, treasurer and committee members, but they were not filled in.

It meant that its 38 years of crime fighting, and hugely enjoyable annual dinners, had quietly come to an end.