Bob Bowes

Robert William - "Bob" - Bowes (November 19, 1922 - December 1979) was an English actor and teacher.

His only film appearance is in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes. Bob Bowes played the headmaster Mr Gryce in the adaptation of Barry Hines' novel "A Kestrel for a Knave", in which a teenage boy from Barnsley, Yorkshire, Billy Casper, finds and trains a young kestrel and in doing so develops a sense of self-respect and discovers his individuality.

The character of Gryce - known behind his back as "Gryce pudding" to his pupils, is severe, perfunctory and abrupt. He appears constantly in a temper, and does not listen, inflicting punishment even on a boy who has simply been sent to convey a message to him by another teacher. In contrast to the pastoral approach shown by the teacher Mr Farthing - portrayed in the film by Colin Welland, he shows no interest in Billy as a pupil or faith in him as a future member of society ("heaven help your future employer"), and regards the young people of the school as being of little worth. At a time when grammar schools were considered superior, the character of Gryce, head of a secondary modern school, emerges as a frustrated and rather pathetic character. One critic has described Bowes' portrayal of him as "comically vicious...a twentieth-century update of Wackford Squeers, the appalling Yorkshire headmaster of Dotheboys Hall in Nicholas Nickleby", and in subsequent performances of the play actors playing Gryce have tended to remain close to presentation of the character by Bowes.

Bowes

Coordinates: 54°30′58″N 2°00′32″W / 54.516°N 02.009°W / 54.516; -02.009

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 administration

Civic history

Bowes 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.

History

The 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. The pub has closed down as of 2014. 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.

Bowes (disambiguation)

Bowes is a village in County Durham, England.

Bowes may also refer to:

See also

Bowes (surname)

Bowes is a surname shared by several notable people. In Ireland, it is an anglacised form of Ó Buadhaigh.