In The Beginning

The Lady Bowen Hotel was named after Contessa Diamantina Bowen who was the wife of Governor George Ferguson Bowen who was the governor of the colony at the time. It was one of the first hotels in the Thames area and stood on what was then the main road of Grahamstown (as that side of Thames was then known).

 The building was originally much smaller than what it is now and in 1882 the proprietor, Mr W Mahoney dismantled the hotel and used the materials when rebuilding and expanding the hotel into the two storied building we see today. After the renovations the following was reported in the Thames Star on 30 September 1882:

"Unquestionably the Lady Bowen is one the most complete and furnished hotels on the Thames, and in some matters, notably, the size and fitting up of the bedrooms surpasses, perhaps, anything in Auckland. "

This charming building has a very interesting history and has had many uses over its 157 years.

The Lady Bowen Bed and Breakfast was the original Lady Bowen Hotel from 1868 until 1950, when it's name and liquor license was transferred to another building ( then called the Park Hotel) located just across the road.  This left the building with no use,  no liquor license and no name so it became a boarding house.  Over the years the building has had many other uses including a guest house, a brothel and for storage.

When Barbara and Stu Caisley purchased the building in 2018 they brought the name Lady Bowen back to the building.  

 Today the building is the Lady Bowen Bed and Breakfast and has a Historic Places Category 2 listing. Guests can stay a night or two (or longer) in this charming old building which has been lovingly renovated into very comfortable accommodation. The layout of the building is much as it was in 1882, with bedrooms and guest bathroom upstairs and the bar (now guest lounge) and dining room downstairs. Of course it is a lot more comfortable these days but still retains the integrity of the original building. We look forward to sharing this lovely historic building with you.