The hamlet is on the B1253 Bridlington to North Grimston road, 17 miles (30 km) north from the county town of Beverley, 2 miles (3 km) east from the village of Sledmere, and 2.5 miles (4 km) north-west from the parish hamlet of Cottam.

[1] Older names for the settlement were 'Colume' and 'Coleham', and the Domesday Book lists the manor as 'Colnun'.

Cowlam in 1066 was in the Hundred of Toreshou, of eighteen geld units—taxable units assessed by hide area—and contained 5.6 households and three ploughlands.

[1][2] Cowlam was previously a Bronze Age encampment, evidenced by earthworks, 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the hamlet, and a later medieval village that was deserted in the late 17th century.

The living of the parish was held by the family of Barnard Foord Bowes.