Bourne, Lincolnshire
Encyclopedia
Bourne is a market town
and civil parish on the western edge of the Fens
, in the District of South Kesteven
in southern Lincolnshire
, England.
upon which it was built, and also to the exceptionally fine-quality water supply derived locally from natural springs. The name “Bourne” (or “Bourn”, as the town was originally known) is a common name for a settlement and derives from the Anglo-Saxon
meaning “water” or “stream”. The town lies on the intersection of the A15 and the B1193 (formerly A151
) roads at 52°46.0920′N 0°22.6320′W. As well as the main township, the civil parish includes the hamlet
s of Cawthorpe, Dyke
and Twenty
. In former years Austerby was regarded by some as a separate settlement, with its own shops and street plan, but is now an area of Bourne known as The Austerby.52°52.763′N 0°0.370′W
The ecclesiastical parish of Bourne is part of the Beltisloe
Deanery
of the Diocese of Lincoln
and is based at the Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, in church walk. The incumbent is The Revd Chris Atkinson. Several other religious denominations are represented in the town, including the Methodist, Baptist
and United Reformed
churches, and the Roman Catholic church.
The town's economy was based on rural industries. The coming of the railway opened up a market for mineral water
s bottled locally. Today the local economy is still mainly rurally-based, revolving around agriculture
and food preparation and packaging geared towards the modern system of supermarket
s, but there are also important light engineering and tourism activities. The district as a whole has one of the fastest-growing housing markets in the whole country, with much of the new building taking place in Bourne. The town's population is now (2006) nearer to 15,000 than the 12,000 or so given in the 2001 Census
data. There are approximately 5,424 households in Bourne as of 2007.
was first successfully grown as an English crop, in the fenland
east of Bourne, after trials elsewhere in the country had proved unsuccessful, by British Sugar Ltd. It had been developed in Germany
and France
in the early 19th century. Although Britain
's demand for sugar was mostly fulfilled by Europe
an beet imports until shortly after 1900, the successful sugar beet production in areas such as that around Twenty
, fulfilled the nation's sugar
requirements during the 20th century's two world wars.
Much of Bourne's 19th century affluence came from the corn trade boom following the mechanisation of fen drainage, and the production of wheat is still important. In the 21st century hydroponic food production plants have been built on the edge of the fen.
Bourne Abbey:
Bourne Castle:
Bourne East:
Bourne West:
From 1899 to 1974, Bourne had an urban district council
in the former Parts of Kesteven
. Under the Local Government Act 1972
, Bourne UDC was dissolved into the newly-formed South Kesteven
district. Urban districts which disappeared in this way formed successor parish
es and were given a dispensation to call their "parish" councils "town" councils, and the chairman is given the title town mayor. These town councils were allowed to adopt the coat of arms
granted to the former UDC.
A Bourne Rural District
also existed from 1894 to 1931, when it was abolished to form part of a larger South Kesteven Rural District
. The parish of Bourne had formed part of Bourne RD from 1894 to 1899. South Kesteven R.D.C. had its own distinct coat of arms which disappeared along with that of Kesteven
in 1974, and very few copies of either remain in existence.
with Doudeville
, Seine Maritime, France
.
s, The Black Sluice IDB and the Welland and Deepings IDB.
Many houses in Bourne pay additional drainage rates to these authorities. Details of the designated flood risk areas can be found on a number of government web sites.
inspection accorded the school a Grade 1 (outstanding). Some former pupils of the school are now scattered worldwide, as far as Australia. The school hosts its own pre-school facility, the Bluebird Pre-school Playgroup. As of 2009, the school is an award holder in the schools section of the Clean Air Awards Scheme, under the auspices of Lincolnshire County Council. It was cited as a Flagship School for the Food for Life Partnership 2009 to 2010 achieving a bronze award, partly with respect to its cookery club. In 2010 it won Best School Garden in the East Midlands and a gold medal with Britain in Bloom
. In 2009 the school had won a silver gilt medal in the same competition. This was one of the first schools to be rated as a National Healthy School in the programme of the same name; it has been given the gold award for the quality and range of its sports provision under the Active Mark Scheme. A pupil at the school received The Local's Rose Award in 2009 for caring for his mother during illness. Local respect was demonstrated in 2008 for this school's educational and fundraising work, when its school fete received a flypast by a Spitfire
and Dakota. In 2007 and 2008, pupils filled 200 shoe boxes with gifts for needy children as part of the Operation Christmas Child
appeal. Pupils continue charity work outside the school; for example a pupil has contributed to the local newspaper's appeal to send gift boxes to military personnel serving abroad.
In response to Bourne's tradition of agriculture
and Lincolnshire's horticulture
, and to its site and environment as detailed below, the school has its own gardening clubs and grows its own vegetables. It has organised voluntary maintenance of public flower beds in Bourne by pupils since 2009. An orchard has been donated to the school, and this has been maintained by the pupils with the aim of provision of some fruit to the school. Besides the Food for Life partnership award and the cookery club as mentioned above, the pupils cook pancakes for the Pancake Day
celebrations. The school has a choir which also sings in Bourne Methodist Church. The choir has performed at local public events, such as the turning on of the Christmas lights in Bourne in 2007, and charity events such as the Bourne Round Table
dinner for pensioners in 2008. As Lincolnshire champions and as representative of the East Midlands
, the school's rugby team reached the finals of the Tag 2 Twickenham rugby tournament
and competed at Rugby School
in Warwickshire
in 2009. Cycling has been supported by the school, with a six-week Go-Ride cycling skills programme taking place in 2008. Some pupils from the school take part in other sports such as motocross
and skateboarding
; a pupil asked the council for a local skatepark
in 2002, and the idea was being resurrected by the council as of 2010. One pupil won three gold medals in the Cambridgeshire
Gymnastics
floor
and vault
competition in 2008.
The school was built on the site of Westfield. Between the 9th and 20th centuries, Westfield was a set of three fields arranged as and used as an existing medieval agricultural three-field system, which was a form of crop rotation
in use from the Middle Ages
. It is this site which accounts for the name of the school. On Google Earth
, the 2010 aerial photograph of the school playing field at 52°46′08″N; 0°23′19.23″W shows cropmark
s which may indicate the archaeological site of these three fields. The site is close to and associated with Car Dyke
, and this may imply a connection between the three-field system and the dyke
, involving drainage, irrigation and transport of crops and materials. The historical association between Westfield and Car Dyke for crop and materials transport is a strong probability because droving
roads and the later turnpikes
were less viable than waterways
until the A151 road
was built. In the tradition of UK primary schools, the pupils are taught geography and history in the context of the school's site environment as well as contemporary and worldwide context. That is to say, the school's site and environment directly affects the education of the pupils.
The original modern building was created in 1963 by a team of architects in Lincolnshire Council's building department. It would have been a flat-roofed building. Since then, there has been a series of extensions which are now fused to form a cohesive unit. The most recent two projects on the site were designed by Wilson and Heath of Stamford
, who built a covered courtyard and library at the school. This architectural firm has worked on Fishmongers' Hall in London and the University of Exeter
, and has won a civic award in Stamford
. Two more classrooms and a covered way are now being planned by the school, which is again using the same architects.
to the east and the B676 from the west (the article A151 road
explains) before the B676 was redesignated as an extension of the A151 to Colsterworth
. The A151 was diverted from the town centre via Cherry Holt Road and a newly-opened relief road in 2005. When the rapid expansion of the town was first proposed in the early 1990s, development was scheduled to the north-east of the town, and part of this would have been a north/south bypass on the A15 under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
. However, the chosen site was shifted to the south-west of the town, and the proposed by-pass was lost. A large volume of traffic is generated within the town, with the result that the A15 between Bourne and Peterborough
is one of the busiest roads in the county. To the west of the town, the A6121
branches from the A151 and takes traffic towards Stamford
Confusion: When the relief road opened, the section of the A151 in the town centre was renumbered. However, ever since then some published road maps are incorrect. The A151 now follows Cherry Holt Road, it no longer continues to the town centre. The only reliable map is the Ordnance Survey: . The error seems also to affect satellite navigation systems, causing large lorries to attempt a tight corner in the town centre rather than keeping to the correct roads.
at the top of North Street.
The town's bus services are provided by Delaine
, a family-owned and run company which has been operating in Bourne for many years.
There is a daily long-distance coach from Grimsby
to London Victoria that stops at Bourne bus station around 11.00am, the return journey arriving just after 5.30pm.
of Bourne Woods
, although much reduced, is still extant and is now managed by the Forestry Commission
.
The earliest documentary reference to Brunna, meaning stream, is from a document of 960, and the town appeared in the Domesday Book
as Brune.
Bourne Abbey
, (charter 1138), formerly held and maintained land in Bourne and other parishes. In later times this was known as the manor of 'Bourne Abbots'. Whether the canons knew that name is less clear. The estate was given by the Abbey's founder, Baldwin fitz Gilbert de Clare, son of Gilbert fitz Richard
, and later benefactors. The abbey was established under the Arrouaisian
order. Its fundamental rule was that of Augustine
and as time went on, it came to be regarded as Augustinian
. The Ormulum
, an important Middle English
Biblical
gloss, was probably written in the abbey in around 1175.
Bourne Castle
was built on land that is now the Wellhead Gardens in South Street.
Bourne was an important junction on the Victorian railway
system, but all such connections were severed after the Second World War (see Rail heading). The business stimulus it brought caused major development of the town, and many of the buildings around the medieval street plan were rebuilt, or at least refaced. Improved communications allowed a bottled water industry to develop, and to provide coal deliveries for the town's gas works.
The then local authority, Bourne Urban District Council, was very active in the interests of the town, taking over the gas works and the local watercress beds at times of financial difficulty and running them as commercial activities. Large numbers of good quality council house
s were built by them in the early 20th century.
Bourne sent many men to both of the 20th century's world war
s, as did any other town in Britain, but was otherwise only lightly affected. During World War II
a German bomber crashed onto the Butcher's Arms public house in Eastgate, after being shot down. Nine people were killed, including the bomber's crew. In a separate incident a number of bombs were dropped on the approved school
, a row of wooden huts adjacent to the woods that may have been mistaken for a military camp. Charles Richard Sharpe
was injured in the second incident, but he was no stranger to fighting the Germans, having been awarded the Victoria Cross
in the first conflict of the century.
's estate railway, which ran from the East Coast Main Line
at Little Bytham
, through the Grimsthorpe
estate to Edenham
.
Later Bourne had a railway station which was on both the Great Northern
line from Essendine
to Sleaford
and the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
connecting the Midlands
to East Anglia
. Both these were closed to timetabled passenger service by the end of February, 1959 and the lines were closed to occasional use by the Beeching Axe
. With the exception of the Red Hall, the principal station buildings were demolished in 1964, the year after the Beeching Report. The main goods shed survived however, just into the new century and there remains an unusual survival: a goods store of wooden construction. The mechanism of the locomotive
turntable is now in the Wansford depot of the Nene Valley Railway.
or Bourne Old Ea connected the town to the sea in Roman times.
Until the mid-19th century, the present Bourne Eau
was capable of carrying commercial boat traffic from the Wash
coast and Spalding
. This resulted from the investment following the Bourne Navigation Act
of 1780. Passage became impossible once the junction of the Eau and the River Glen
was converted from gates to a sluice in 1860.
and the junior club runs teams for young people at all ages in local league competitions. Bourne Cricket Club
is one of the strongest in the Lincolnshire Premier Division and often provides players for the Lincolnshire Minor Counties
team. These teams play their home games at the Abbey Lawn
, a recreation ground privately owned by the Bourne United Charities
. Also at "The Lawn" are the tennis
and bowls
clubs, Bourne Rugby
Club is based outside the town at Milking Nook Drove 52°46.2420′N 0°20.2560′W, with senior teams and thriving Junior and Mini sections. The hockey
club is obliged to play elsewhere, as there is not a suitable all-weather playing surface in the town. Bourne also hosts a number of other sporting clubs, particularly in the field of martial arts
, and efforts to build a skate
park continue. The leisure centre is attached to Robert Manning College and caters for a number of indoor activities, including a swimming pool.
For the past 80 years, Bourne has been noted in the field of motorsport
under the names of Raymond Mays
, ERA
, BRM
, the Hall brothers and Pilbeam Racing Designs
.
The two famous racing car marques English Racing Automobiles
and British Racing Motors
were both founded by Raymond Mays, international racing driver and designer. ERA started in 1934. BRM's first car was unveiled in 1949 at Folkingham Airfield
.
The former workshops are now occupied by a firm of auctioneers who use them as a saleroom, but the achievements of Raymond Mays and the motor racing connection with Bourne are remembered with a Memorial Room at the town's Heritage Centre (Baldock's Mill in South Street). It should be noted that Raymond Mays said many times that he could not have been as successful as he was without his PA and good friend, Trissie Carlton, whose daughter Anne Boggitt has helped to keep the memory of Raymond Mays alive by donating many trophies to Baldock's Mill Museum. The room is filled with photographs, memorabilia and an impressive display of silverware won by BRM cars and drivers on international circuits. Following on from a uniquely memorable Sunday in August 1999 when a collection of BRM cars paraded around the streets of the town watched by hundreds of spectators, a superb memorial to Raymond Mays and the town's motor racing heritage was unveiled in South Street in 2003.
Bourne continues to be closely connected with the motorsport industry. In 1975, BRM's former Chief Designer, Mike Pilbeam, set up Pilbeam Racing Designs
which is still based in the town. Pilbeam is particularly known for its outstanding successes in hillclimbing
in the 1980s and early 1990s.
There are currently 71 listed buildings in the parish of Bourne, the most important being Bourne Abbey
and Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
(1138) which is the only one scheduled Grade I. The others are Grade II, the most colourful being the aptly named Red Hall (ca. 1620), finished in red brick with ashlar quoins, many gabled and featuring a fine Tuscan
porch. From 1860 to 1959, it was the town's railway station booking office and waiting room. At two stages, in the 1890s and 1960s, it came close to demolition but the building is now well preserved by Bourne United Charities
. The former station booking office serves as the BUC's office.
Baldock's Mill (1800), once a corn-grinding water mill, together with the miller's house, has been converted by Bourne Civic Society
to serve as the town's Heritage Centre. It houses many interesting artefacts, most recently a water-wheel has been installed and a newly-created replica of a Charles Frederick Worth
dress is on display.
The Baptist Church building dates from 1835 but the church itself was established here in the 1640s. This building, the Methodist Church (1841) and the United Reformed Church
(1846) are all still in active use.
was housed in a fine red-brick building with a Collyweston
roof, built in the 17th century and largely rebuilt in 1738. The school closed in 1904, and the building, which stands in the Abbey churchyard
, has since been used for a variety of purposes. Maintenance has been lacking for many years and the roof was condemned as unsafe in April 2003 but has now been repaired. The building is in need of a good use but problems of access make finding one difficult.
At the cemetery
owned and run by the town council is a chapel, built in 1855. In recent years, the building has not been used as a chapel, and the fabric has deteriorated. This is attributed to a lack of maintenance by the council due to financial constraints, however, the shallowness of the foundations is said to be the principal cause. The chapel now requires considerable expenditure if it is to survive, but on 23 January 2007 the town council took the decision to demolish it. In 2007, local campaigners obtained a Grade II listing from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
, which secures the building from demolition for the foreseeable future. In 2008, the effort is now under way to identify a source of funding (estimated around £400,000) to render the building fit for long-term community use.
In July 2008, the Ostler Memorial in the town's cemetery, an ornate Gothic
water fountain originally erected in the market place in 1860 to the memory of local benefactor John Lely Ostler (1811–59) but neglected in recent years, was also given a Grade II status by DCMS bringing the total number of listed buildings in Bourne to 71.
.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish on the western edge of the Fens
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
, in the District of South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...
in southern Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England.
The town
The town owes its origin to the Roman roadRoman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
upon which it was built, and also to the exceptionally fine-quality water supply derived locally from natural springs. The name “Bourne” (or “Bourn”, as the town was originally known) is a common name for a settlement and derives from the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
meaning “water” or “stream”. The town lies on the intersection of the A15 and the B1193 (formerly A151
A151 road
The A151 road is relatively minor part of the British road system. It lies entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Its western end lies at coordinates otherwise, 1...
) roads at 52°46.0920′N 0°22.6320′W. As well as the main township, the civil parish includes the hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
s of Cawthorpe, Dyke
Dyke, Lincolnshire
Dyke is a hamlet in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies within the civil parish of Bourne.The name Dyke arises from its lying on Car Dyke, a once much larger Roman ditch, which runs along the western edge of The Fens...
and Twenty
Twenty, Lincolnshire
Twenty is a small, somewhat remote hamlet, east of the market town of Bourne, in Lincolnshire, England. Agriculture is the major industry.-Location:...
. In former years Austerby was regarded by some as a separate settlement, with its own shops and street plan, but is now an area of Bourne known as The Austerby.52°52.763′N 0°0.370′W
The ecclesiastical parish of Bourne is part of the Beltisloe
Beltisloe
Beltisloe is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln England, and a former Wapentake.The Wapentake of Beltisloe, was an old administrative division of the English county of Lincolnshire. In England a wapentake was the division of a shire for administrative, military and judicial purposes under the...
Deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of the Diocese of Lincoln
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
and is based at the Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, in church walk. The incumbent is The Revd Chris Atkinson. Several other religious denominations are represented in the town, including the Methodist, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and United Reformed
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
churches, and the Roman Catholic church.
The town's economy was based on rural industries. The coming of the railway opened up a market for mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
s bottled locally. Today the local economy is still mainly rurally-based, revolving around agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and food preparation and packaging geared towards the modern system of supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s, but there are also important light engineering and tourism activities. The district as a whole has one of the fastest-growing housing markets in the whole country, with much of the new building taking place in Bourne. The town's population is now (2006) nearer to 15,000 than the 12,000 or so given in the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
data. There are approximately 5,424 households in Bourne as of 2007.
Agriculture
Sugar beetSugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
was first successfully grown as an English crop, in the fenland
Fenland
Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in March, and covers the neighbouring market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, and Wisbech, often called the "capital of the fens"...
east of Bourne, after trials elsewhere in the country had proved unsuccessful, by British Sugar Ltd. It had been developed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the early 19th century. Although Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's demand for sugar was mostly fulfilled by Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an beet imports until shortly after 1900, the successful sugar beet production in areas such as that around Twenty
Twenty, Lincolnshire
Twenty is a small, somewhat remote hamlet, east of the market town of Bourne, in Lincolnshire, England. Agriculture is the major industry.-Location:...
, fulfilled the nation's sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
requirements during the 20th century's two world wars.
Much of Bourne's 19th century affluence came from the corn trade boom following the mechanisation of fen drainage, and the production of wheat is still important. In the 21st century hydroponic food production plants have been built on the edge of the fen.
Manufacturing
Although the Autocast foundry has closed because of the shrinking British car industry, there are a number of small machine shops and fabricators in the south and east of the town. These include Pilbeam Racing, in Graham Hill Way, and Trackline International, manufacturers of 'crawler undercarriage systems'. There are also plants producing pre-prepared salads and vegetables for the supermarket trade. Bourne has two printing companies, and manufacturers of double glazing and fibreglass mouldings.Warehousing and distribution
In the same area are distribution warehouses for a large brewer and general transport and storage companies, and a game merchant operates from one of the smaller factory estates.Retail
As well as town centre shops, there are garden centres in Cherry Holt Road, furniture and decorating shopping in Manning Road, and specialist suppliers of kitchen, decorative, catering and light engineering supplies.Lincolnshire County Council
Bourne has two County Council wards:Bourne Abbey:
- Mark Horn (ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
). (Economic Wellbeing Scrutiny Panel): (Economic Development Policy Development Group).
- Councillor Horn resigned the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
whip at LincolnLincoln, LincolnshireLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
over a disagreement with his colleagues on 25 June 2008. Following a further dispute involving a possible reference under the StandardsStandards Board for EnglandStandards for England, formerly known as the Standards Board for England, is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Established following the Local Government Act 2000, it is responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local democracy...
Code, Councillor Horn resigned from Lincolnshire County Council on 1 August 2008, precipitating a by-election. The by-election between seven candidates took place on 2 October 2008. Nick Boles was elected as his replacement.
Bourne Castle:
- Charlotte Farquharson (Conservative).
- Mrs Farquharson was elected after a by-election was held on 6 July 2006. The previous Councillor, Ian Croft (Conservative), appeared before the Adjudication PanelStandards Board for EnglandStandards for England, formerly known as the Standards Board for England, is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Established following the Local Government Act 2000, it is responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local democracy...
on 31 March 2006 and was found guilty on several charges of misconduct. He was an associate of disgraced former Leader of the Council, Jim Speechley, succeeding him as Leader. The Panel ordered that Mr Croft be suspended from office as a Councillor for fifteen months. He did not lodge an appeal, and resigned from the Council.
South Kesteven District Council
Bourne has two District Council wards, each electing three councillors:Bourne East:
- David Higgs (Conservative).
- Bob Russell (Conservative).
- Judy Smith (Conservative).
Bourne West:
- Trevor Holmes (IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
). - Linda Neal (Conservative).
- John Smith (Conservative).
- Councillor Mrs Neal is the current Leader of South Kesteven District Council.
Bourne Town Council
Bourne Town Council has two wards which are identical to the South Kesteven District Council wards. Bourne East elects seven councillors to the town council and Bourne West eight.From 1899 to 1974, Bourne had an urban district council
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
in the former Parts of Kesteven
Kesteven
The Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...
. Under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, Bourne UDC was dissolved into the newly-formed South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...
district. Urban districts which disappeared in this way formed successor parish
Successor parish
Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council created by the Local Government Act 1972 in England. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs that were abolished in 1974. Most successor parish councils exercised the right to...
es and were given a dispensation to call their "parish" councils "town" councils, and the chairman is given the title town mayor. These town councils were allowed to adopt the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
granted to the former UDC.
A Bourne Rural District
Bourne Rural District
Bourne was a rural district in Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven from 1894 to 1931.It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Bourne rural sanitary district...
also existed from 1894 to 1931, when it was abolished to form part of a larger South Kesteven Rural District
South Kesteven Rural District
South Kesteven was a rural district in Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven in England from 1931 to 1974.It was formed under a County Review Order in 1931, by the merger of the Bourne Rural District and the Uffington Rural District....
. The parish of Bourne had formed part of Bourne RD from 1894 to 1899. South Kesteven R.D.C. had its own distinct coat of arms which disappeared along with that of Kesteven
Kesteven
The Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...
in 1974, and very few copies of either remain in existence.
International links
Since October 1989, Bourne has been twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with Doudeville
Doudeville
Doudeville is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:Called the flax capital, the town is situated at the centre of the Pays de Caux, the chalk plateau in High Normandy and one widely known for its fields of blue-flowered flax.*...
, Seine Maritime, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Drainage
Parts of the west of Bourne are drained by one of two Internal Drainage BoardInternal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management within drainage districts...
s, The Black Sluice IDB and the Welland and Deepings IDB.
Many houses in Bourne pay additional drainage rates to these authorities. Details of the designated flood risk areas can be found on a number of government web sites.
Education
- Bourne Abbey Church of England SchoolBourne Abbey Church of England SchoolBourne Abbey Church of England Primary School is in Abbey Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. It has a roll of 628.-History:Originally opened in 1877 as Star Lane Board School the original building was two schoolrooms and an attached Schoolmaster's house. These buildings form the core of the...
(Primary) - Bourne Grammar SchoolBourne Grammar SchoolBourne Grammar School is a co-educational selective state secondary school in Bourne, Lincolnshire. The school has been awarded Arts College Status. It is situated on South Road .-Heraldry:...
- Robert Manning College
- Bourne Westfield Primary School (Primary)
- Willoughby School (Special Needs)
Bourne Westfield Primary School
Built in the 1960s as part of the large expansion of housing to the west of the town, it has been twice enlarged to cope with increasing rolls. It has a roll of 629. A November 2008 OfstedOfsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection accorded the school a Grade 1 (outstanding). Some former pupils of the school are now scattered worldwide, as far as Australia. The school hosts its own pre-school facility, the Bluebird Pre-school Playgroup. As of 2009, the school is an award holder in the schools section of the Clean Air Awards Scheme, under the auspices of Lincolnshire County Council. It was cited as a Flagship School for the Food for Life Partnership 2009 to 2010 achieving a bronze award, partly with respect to its cookery club. In 2010 it won Best School Garden in the East Midlands and a gold medal with Britain in Bloom
Britain in Bloom
RHS Britain in Bloom, supported by Anglian Home Improvements, is the largest horticultural campaign in the United Kingdom. It was first held in 1963, initiated by the British Tourist Board based on the example set by Fleurissement de France. It has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society ...
. In 2009 the school had won a silver gilt medal in the same competition. This was one of the first schools to be rated as a National Healthy School in the programme of the same name; it has been given the gold award for the quality and range of its sports provision under the Active Mark Scheme. A pupil at the school received The Local's Rose Award in 2009 for caring for his mother during illness. Local respect was demonstrated in 2008 for this school's educational and fundraising work, when its school fete received a flypast by a Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and Dakota. In 2007 and 2008, pupils filled 200 shoe boxes with gifts for needy children as part of the Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian humanitarian organization that works worldwide to assist people in physical need alongside their Christian missionary work. The organization’s president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham...
appeal. Pupils continue charity work outside the school; for example a pupil has contributed to the local newspaper's appeal to send gift boxes to military personnel serving abroad.
In response to Bourne's tradition of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and Lincolnshire's horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, and to its site and environment as detailed below, the school has its own gardening clubs and grows its own vegetables. It has organised voluntary maintenance of public flower beds in Bourne by pupils since 2009. An orchard has been donated to the school, and this has been maintained by the pupils with the aim of provision of some fruit to the school. Besides the Food for Life partnership award and the cookery club as mentioned above, the pupils cook pancakes for the Pancake Day
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
celebrations. The school has a choir which also sings in Bourne Methodist Church. The choir has performed at local public events, such as the turning on of the Christmas lights in Bourne in 2007, and charity events such as the Bourne Round Table
Round Table (club)
Round Table is a social networking and charitable organisation for men in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, founded in Norwich, England, in 1927. It is open to all men aged between 18 and 45...
dinner for pensioners in 2008. As Lincolnshire champions and as representative of the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
, the school's rugby team reached the finals of the Tag 2 Twickenham rugby tournament
Tag Rugby
Tag Rugby, also known as rippa rugby, flag rugby league or flag rugby, is a non-contact team game in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it, or shorts with velcro patches. The mode of play is based on rugby league with many similarities to touch rugby...
and competed at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in 2009. Cycling has been supported by the school, with a six-week Go-Ride cycling skills programme taking place in 2008. Some pupils from the school take part in other sports such as motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
and skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
; a pupil asked the council for a local skatepark
Skatepark
A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...
in 2002, and the idea was being resurrected by the council as of 2010. One pupil won three gold medals in the Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
Gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
floor
Floor (gymnastics)
In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.A spring...
and vault
Vault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
competition in 2008.
Westfield archaeological site
The school was built on the site of Westfield. Between the 9th and 20th centuries, Westfield was a set of three fields arranged as and used as an existing medieval agricultural three-field system, which was a form of crop rotation
Crop rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.Crop rotation confers various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals...
in use from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. It is this site which accounts for the name of the school. On Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
, the 2010 aerial photograph of the school playing field at 52°46′08″N; 0°23′19.23″W shows cropmark
Cropmark
Cropmarks or Crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform...
s which may indicate the archaeological site of these three fields. The site is close to and associated with Car Dyke
Car Dyke
The Car Dyke was, and to large extent still is, an eighty-five mile long ditch which runs along the western edge of the Fens in eastern England. It is generally accepted as being of Roman age and, for many centuries, to have been taken as marking the western edge of the Fens...
, and this may imply a connection between the three-field system and the dyke
Ditch
A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank...
, involving drainage, irrigation and transport of crops and materials. The historical association between Westfield and Car Dyke for crop and materials transport is a strong probability because droving
Droving
Droving is the practice of moving livestock over large distances by walking them "on the hoof".Droving stock to market, usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs, has a very long history in the old world...
roads and the later turnpikes
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
were less viable than waterways
Waterways in the United Kingdom
Waterways in the United Kingdom is a link page for any waterway, river, canal, firth or estuary in the United Kingdom.-Related topics:*Waterway, water power, navigable, navigable aqueduct, navigable river, navigable waters, navigability, Waterway society, List of waterway societies in the United...
until the A151 road
A151 road
The A151 road is relatively minor part of the British road system. It lies entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Its western end lies at coordinates otherwise, 1...
was built. In the tradition of UK primary schools, the pupils are taught geography and history in the context of the school's site environment as well as contemporary and worldwide context. That is to say, the school's site and environment directly affects the education of the pupils.
School buildings
The original modern building was created in 1963 by a team of architects in Lincolnshire Council's building department. It would have been a flat-roofed building. Since then, there has been a series of extensions which are now fused to form a cohesive unit. The most recent two projects on the site were designed by Wilson and Heath of Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
, who built a covered courtyard and library at the school. This architectural firm has worked on Fishmongers' Hall in London and the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, and has won a civic award in Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
. Two more classrooms and a covered way are now being planned by the school, which is again using the same architects.
Road
Bourne Market Place is at the crossroads of the A15 road and the B1193. Strictly speaking, it was a staggered pair of T-junctions where the A15 was met by the A151 from SpaldingSpalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
to the east and the B676 from the west (the article A151 road
A151 road
The A151 road is relatively minor part of the British road system. It lies entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Its western end lies at coordinates otherwise, 1...
explains) before the B676 was redesignated as an extension of the A151 to Colsterworth
Colsterworth
Colsterworth is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village, together with the hamlet of Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, had a population of 1,508 according to the 2001 census. It lies half a mile to the west of the A1, seven miles south of Grantham...
. The A151 was diverted from the town centre via Cherry Holt Road and a newly-opened relief road in 2005. When the rapid expansion of the town was first proposed in the early 1990s, development was scheduled to the north-east of the town, and part of this would have been a north/south bypass on the A15 under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is an act of the British Parliament regulating the development of land in England and Wales-Section 1:...
. However, the chosen site was shifted to the south-west of the town, and the proposed by-pass was lost. A large volume of traffic is generated within the town, with the result that the A15 between Bourne and Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
is one of the busiest roads in the county. To the west of the town, the A6121
A6121 road
The A6121 is a short cross-country road in the counties of Lincolnshire and Rutland, England. It forms the principal route between Bourne and Stamford and the A1 in Lincolnshire, continuing on through Ketton in Rutland to its junction with the A47 at Morcott. Its south-western end is at and its...
branches from the A151 and takes traffic towards Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
Confusion: When the relief road opened, the section of the A151 in the town centre was renumbered. However, ever since then some published road maps are incorrect. The A151 now follows Cherry Holt Road, it no longer continues to the town centre. The only reliable map is the Ordnance Survey: . The error seems also to affect satellite navigation systems, causing large lorries to attempt a tight corner in the town centre rather than keeping to the correct roads.
Bus
There is a bus stationBus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
at the top of North Street.
The town's bus services are provided by Delaine
Delaine Buses
Delaine Buses is a bus operator based in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. They operate many East Lancashire Coachbuilders buses including the first ever Olympus.-Current Bus Services:See company timetable...
, a family-owned and run company which has been operating in Bourne for many years.
There is a daily long-distance coach from Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
to London Victoria that stops at Bourne bus station around 11.00am, the return journey arriving just after 5.30pm.
History
The Ancient WoodlandAncient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
of Bourne Woods
Bourne Woods
The woods near Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. In particular, Bourne Wood.National Grid reference TF0821. Co-ordinates: O°24'W, 52°46'N.Bourne Wood is owned by The Forestry Commission England. It is managed by Forest Enterprise as part of Kesteven Forest...
, although much reduced, is still extant and is now managed by the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
.
The earliest documentary reference to Brunna, meaning stream, is from a document of 960, and the town appeared in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Brune.
Bourne Abbey
Bourne Abbey
Bourne Abbey and the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a scheduled Grade I church in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The building remains in parochial use, despite the 16th century Dissolution, as the nave was used by the parish, probably from the time of the foundation of the abbey in...
, (charter 1138), formerly held and maintained land in Bourne and other parishes. In later times this was known as the manor of 'Bourne Abbots'. Whether the canons knew that name is less clear. The estate was given by the Abbey's founder, Baldwin fitz Gilbert de Clare, son of Gilbert fitz Richard
Gilbert Fitz Richard
Gilbert Fitz Richard was son and eventual heir of Richard Fitz Gilbert of Clare and heiress Rohese Giffard. He succeeded to his father's possessions in England in 1091; his brother, Roger Fitz Richard, inherited his father's lands in Normandy. Gilbert's inheritance made him one of the wealthiest...
, and later benefactors. The abbey was established under the Arrouaisian
Arrouaise (Abbey and Order)
The Abbey of Arrouaise was the centre of a form of the Augustinian monastic rule, the Arrouaisian Order, which was popular among the founders of abbeys during the decade of the 1130s. The community began to develop when Heldemar joined the hermit Ruggerius in 1090 but its first abbot, elected in...
order. Its fundamental rule was that of Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
and as time went on, it came to be regarded as Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
. The Ormulum
Ormulum
The Ormulum or Orrmulum is a twelfth-century work of biblical exegesis, written by a monk named Orm and consisting of just under 19,000 lines of early Middle English verse...
, an important Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
gloss, was probably written in the abbey in around 1175.
Bourne Castle
Bourne Castle
Bourne Castle was in the market town of Bourne in southern Lincolnshire .A Norman castle was built by Baldwin FitzGilbert. In medieval times there was motte and double bailey castle which formed an unusual concentric plan. The castle was destroyed after being used by Cromwell's troops in 1645 and...
was built on land that is now the Wellhead Gardens in South Street.
Bourne was an important junction on the Victorian railway
Bourne railway station
Bourne was a railway station serving the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire which opened in 1860 and closed to passengers in 1959.-History:The station was on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway main line between the Midlands and the Norfolk Coast. it was finally closed in 1959 when the M&GN...
system, but all such connections were severed after the Second World War (see Rail heading). The business stimulus it brought caused major development of the town, and many of the buildings around the medieval street plan were rebuilt, or at least refaced. Improved communications allowed a bottled water industry to develop, and to provide coal deliveries for the town's gas works.
The then local authority, Bourne Urban District Council, was very active in the interests of the town, taking over the gas works and the local watercress beds at times of financial difficulty and running them as commercial activities. Large numbers of good quality council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
s were built by them in the early 20th century.
Bourne sent many men to both of the 20th century's world war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s, as did any other town in Britain, but was otherwise only lightly affected. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a German bomber crashed onto the Butcher's Arms public house in Eastgate, after being shot down. Nine people were killed, including the bomber's crew. In a separate incident a number of bombs were dropped on the approved school
Approved School
Approved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
, a row of wooden huts adjacent to the woods that may have been mistaken for a military camp. Charles Richard Sharpe
Charles Richard Sharpe
Charles Richard Sharpe VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
was injured in the second incident, but he was no stranger to fighting the Germans, having been awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in the first conflict of the century.
Railways
The first local railway was the Earl of AncasterGilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster
Sir Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 6th Baronet, 1st Earl of Ancaster PC , known as 2nd Baron Aveland from 1867 to 1888 and as 25th Baron Willoughby de Eresby from 1888 to 1892, was a British Liberal politician and court official.Born Gilbert Henry Heathcote, he was the son of Gilbert...
's estate railway, which ran from the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
at Little Bytham
Little Bytham
Little Bytham is a small village in South Kesteven in south Lincolnshire, situated between Corby Glen and Stamford on the B1176, which is straddled by brick railway viaducts of the East Coast Main Line as the road passes through the village.On the edge of the village to the east is the West Glen...
, through the Grimsthorpe
Grimsthorpe Castle
Grimsthorpe Castle is a country house in Lincolnshire, England four miles north-west of Bourne on the A151. It lies within a 3,000 acre park of rolling pastures, lakes, and woodland landscaped by Capability Brown...
estate to Edenham
Edenham
Edenham is a village in Lincolnshire, England situated about north-west of Bourne on the A151. The village is part of the civil parish of Edenham Grimsthorpe Elsthorpe & Scottlethorpe.-The Village:...
.
Later Bourne had a railway station which was on both the Great Northern
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
line from Essendine
Essendine
Essendine is a village at the eastern end of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It lies on the West Glen, close by the earthworks of a small castle.-Geology:...
to Sleaford
Sleaford
Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
and the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway in eastern England, affectionately known as the 'Muddle and Get Nowhere' to generations of passengers, enthusiasts, and other users.The main line ran from Peterborough to...
connecting the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
to East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. Both these were closed to timetabled passenger service by the end of February, 1959 and the lines were closed to occasional use by the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. With the exception of the Red Hall, the principal station buildings were demolished in 1964, the year after the Beeching Report. The main goods shed survived however, just into the new century and there remains an unusual survival: a goods store of wooden construction. The mechanism of the locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
turntable is now in the Wansford depot of the Nene Valley Railway.
Shipping
The Bourne-Morton CanalBourne-Morton Canal
The Bourne–Morton Canal is an archaeological feature to the north east of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England. In old maps and documents it is known as the Old Ea. It was a 6.5 km artificial waterway linking the dry ground at Bourne to the ancient edge of the sea near Pinchbeck, or perhaps to a...
or Bourne Old Ea connected the town to the sea in Roman times.
Until the mid-19th century, the present Bourne Eau
Bourne Eau
Bourne Eau is a short river which rises in the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England, and flows in an easterly direction to join the River Glen at Tongue End. It is an embanked river, as its normal level is higher than that of the surrounding Fens...
was capable of carrying commercial boat traffic from the Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
coast and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
. This resulted from the investment following the Bourne Navigation Act
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of 1780. Passage became impossible once the junction of the Eau and the River Glen
River Glen, Lincolnshire
The River Glen is a river in Lincolnshire, England with a short stretch passing through Rutland near Essendine.The river's name appears to derive from a Brythonic Celtic language but there is a strong early English connection.-Naming:...
was converted from gates to a sluice in 1860.
Sport
Bourne Town Football Club, known affectionately as "The Wakes", plays football in the United Counties Football LeagueUnited Counties Football League
The United Counties Football League is an English football league covering Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, as well as parts of Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. It has a total of four divisions, two for first teams and two for reserve teams...
and the junior club runs teams for young people at all ages in local league competitions. Bourne Cricket Club
Bourne Cricket Club (Lincolnshire)
Bourne Cricket Club, located in the town of Bourne, Lincolnshire. Is an ECB Lincolnshire Premier League club who have won the competition 4 times since 2000 when it was founded, winning it in 2000,2001 and 2002, and 2010...
is one of the strongest in the Lincolnshire Premier Division and often provides players for the Lincolnshire Minor Counties
Minor counties of English cricket
The Minor Counties are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that are not afforded first-class status. The game is administered by the Minor Counties Cricket Association which comes under the England and Wales Cricket Board...
team. These teams play their home games at the Abbey Lawn
Abbey Lawn
The Abbey Lawn in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England, is a centrally-located space used as the principal recreation ground in the town. The cricket, tennis, bowls, pétanque, and football clubs play their home fixtures here. The hockey club practices here, though it now plays its fixtures on an...
, a recreation ground privately owned by the Bourne United Charities
Bourne United Charities
Bourne United Charities is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Its purpose is the joint administration of several legacies dedicated for the relief of poverty, the provision of housing and accommodation and environmental, conservation or heritage objectives in the Parish...
. Also at "The Lawn" are the tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
clubs, Bourne Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
Club is based outside the town at Milking Nook Drove 52°46.2420′N 0°20.2560′W, with senior teams and thriving Junior and Mini sections. The hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
club is obliged to play elsewhere, as there is not a suitable all-weather playing surface in the town. Bourne also hosts a number of other sporting clubs, particularly in the field of martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, and efforts to build a skate
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
park continue. The leisure centre is attached to Robert Manning College and caters for a number of indoor activities, including a swimming pool.
Motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
under the names of Raymond Mays
Raymond Mays
Thomas Raymond Mays CBE was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in the Grenadier Guards in France, he attended Christ's College, Cambridge...
, ERA
English Racing Automobiles
English Racing Automobiles was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. Currently the ERA trademark is owned by a British kit-car manufacturer.-Prewar history:...
, BRM
British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
, the Hall brothers and Pilbeam Racing Designs
Pilbeam Racing Designs
Pilbeam Racing Designs is a British company which designs and constructs racing cars, based in the Lincolnshire town of Bourne. The company was founded in 1975 by Mike Pilbeam.-Early career:...
.
The two famous racing car marques English Racing Automobiles
English Racing Automobiles
English Racing Automobiles was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. Currently the ERA trademark is owned by a British kit-car manufacturer.-Prewar history:...
and British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
were both founded by Raymond Mays, international racing driver and designer. ERA started in 1934. BRM's first car was unveiled in 1949 at Folkingham Airfield
RAF Folkingham
RAF Folkingham is a former World War II Royal Air Force flying station in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located south west of Folkingham and due east of Lenton village, approximately due south of county town Lincoln and north of London...
.
The former workshops are now occupied by a firm of auctioneers who use them as a saleroom, but the achievements of Raymond Mays and the motor racing connection with Bourne are remembered with a Memorial Room at the town's Heritage Centre (Baldock's Mill in South Street). It should be noted that Raymond Mays said many times that he could not have been as successful as he was without his PA and good friend, Trissie Carlton, whose daughter Anne Boggitt has helped to keep the memory of Raymond Mays alive by donating many trophies to Baldock's Mill Museum. The room is filled with photographs, memorabilia and an impressive display of silverware won by BRM cars and drivers on international circuits. Following on from a uniquely memorable Sunday in August 1999 when a collection of BRM cars paraded around the streets of the town watched by hundreds of spectators, a superb memorial to Raymond Mays and the town's motor racing heritage was unveiled in South Street in 2003.
Bourne continues to be closely connected with the motorsport industry. In 1975, BRM's former Chief Designer, Mike Pilbeam, set up Pilbeam Racing Designs
Pilbeam Racing Designs
Pilbeam Racing Designs is a British company which designs and constructs racing cars, based in the Lincolnshire town of Bourne. The company was founded in 1975 by Mike Pilbeam.-Early career:...
which is still based in the town. Pilbeam is particularly known for its outstanding successes in hillclimbing
Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Bourne buildings
Bourne Abbey
Bourne Abbey and the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a scheduled Grade I church in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The building remains in parochial use, despite the 16th century Dissolution, as the nave was used by the parish, probably from the time of the foundation of the abbey in...
and Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
(1138) which is the only one scheduled Grade I. The others are Grade II, the most colourful being the aptly named Red Hall (ca. 1620), finished in red brick with ashlar quoins, many gabled and featuring a fine Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
porch. From 1860 to 1959, it was the town's railway station booking office and waiting room. At two stages, in the 1890s and 1960s, it came close to demolition but the building is now well preserved by Bourne United Charities
Bourne United Charities
Bourne United Charities is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Its purpose is the joint administration of several legacies dedicated for the relief of poverty, the provision of housing and accommodation and environmental, conservation or heritage objectives in the Parish...
. The former station booking office serves as the BUC's office.
Baldock's Mill (1800), once a corn-grinding water mill, together with the miller's house, has been converted by Bourne Civic Society
Bourne Civic Society
Bourne Civic Society is a voluntary organization concerned with the development of the town and community of Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.It was founded in 1977 at a time of a rapid expansion of the town...
to serve as the town's Heritage Centre. It houses many interesting artefacts, most recently a water-wheel has been installed and a newly-created replica of a Charles Frederick Worth
Charles Frederick Worth
Charles Frederick Worth , widely considered the Father of Haute couture, was an English fashion designer of the 19th century, whose works were produced in Paris.-Career:...
dress is on display.
The Baptist Church building dates from 1835 but the church itself was established here in the 1640s. This building, the Methodist Church (1841) and the United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
(1846) are all still in active use.
Under threat
The Old Grammar SchoolBourne Grammar School
Bourne Grammar School is a co-educational selective state secondary school in Bourne, Lincolnshire. The school has been awarded Arts College Status. It is situated on South Road .-Heraldry:...
was housed in a fine red-brick building with a Collyweston
Collyweston
Collyweston is a village and civil parish about three miles south-west of Stamford on the road to Kettering.-Geography:The village is on the southern side of the Welland valley of Tixover. The River Welland, at the point nearby to the north-west, is the boundary between Rutland and...
roof, built in the 17th century and largely rebuilt in 1738. The school closed in 1904, and the building, which stands in the Abbey churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
, has since been used for a variety of purposes. Maintenance has been lacking for many years and the roof was condemned as unsafe in April 2003 but has now been repaired. The building is in need of a good use but problems of access make finding one difficult.
At the cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
owned and run by the town council is a chapel, built in 1855. In recent years, the building has not been used as a chapel, and the fabric has deteriorated. This is attributed to a lack of maintenance by the council due to financial constraints, however, the shallowness of the foundations is said to be the principal cause. The chapel now requires considerable expenditure if it is to survive, but on 23 January 2007 the town council took the decision to demolish it. In 2007, local campaigners obtained a Grade II listing from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
, which secures the building from demolition for the foreseeable future. In 2008, the effort is now under way to identify a source of funding (estimated around £400,000) to render the building fit for long-term community use.
In July 2008, the Ostler Memorial in the town's cemetery, an ornate Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
water fountain originally erected in the market place in 1860 to the memory of local benefactor John Lely Ostler (1811–59) but neglected in recent years, was also given a Grade II status by DCMS bringing the total number of listed buildings in Bourne to 71.
Bourne people
- Bourne is reputedly the birthplace of Hereward the WakeHereward the WakeHereward the Wake , known in his own times as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile, was an 11th-century leader of local resistance to the Norman conquest of England....
(in about 1035), although the 12th century source of this information, De Gestis Herwardi Saxonis, refers in this connection only to his father as being 'of Bourne' and to the father's house and retainers there. Charles KingsleyCharles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
used the De Gestis text for his lively novel which repeats the fundamental story with much descriptive embellishment. - Orm (or Ormin) the Preacher (flourished 1180) worked at Bourne AbbeyBourne AbbeyBourne Abbey and the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a scheduled Grade I church in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The building remains in parochial use, despite the 16th century Dissolution, as the nave was used by the parish, probably from the time of the foundation of the abbey in...
during the 12th century, about a century earlier than Robert Mannyng (see below) but his presence here has only been revealed during recent research. His collection of homilies known as The OrmulumOrmulumThe Ormulum or Orrmulum is a twelfth-century work of biblical exegesis, written by a monk named Orm and consisting of just under 19,000 lines of early Middle English verse...
has been well known to linguists and language historians ever since the 17th century but its source has only recently been established as Bourne AbbeyBourne AbbeyBourne Abbey and the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a scheduled Grade I church in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The building remains in parochial use, despite the 16th century Dissolution, as the nave was used by the parish, probably from the time of the foundation of the abbey in...
. Orm's language provides a glimpse of the EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
vernacular of the time and before it was strongly influenced by the FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. It is assumed that the manuscript remained at Bourne Abbey until the Dissolution of the MonasteriesDissolution of the MonasteriesThe Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
between 1536 and 1540 and after various owners, it is now in the Bodleian LibraryBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
at Oxford University, where it is kept in conditions in keeping with its age and fragility. - Robert MannyngRobert MannyngRobert Manning was an English chronicler and Gilbertine monk. Mannyng provides a surprising amount of information about himself in his two known works, Handlyng Synne and a Chronicle...
(1264–1340) is perhaps the most notable of the town's past citizens. He is credited with putting the speech of the ordinary people of his time into recognisable form. He is better known as Robert de Brunne because of his long time residence as a canonCanon (priest)A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
at Bourne Abbey. There he completed his life's work; he popularised religious and historical material in a Middle EnglishMiddle EnglishMiddle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
dialect that was easily understood by the people of his time. His work Handlyng Synne is acknowledged to be of great value because it gives glimpses into the ways and thoughts of his contemporaries and even more, shows us the language then in common use. - William CecilWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron BurghleyWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
(1520 – 1598) became the first Lord Burghley after serving Queen Elizabeth IElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
for forty years, during which time he was the main architect of Britain's successful policies of that period, earning a reputation as a master of renaissance statecraft with outstanding talents as a diplomat, politician and administrator. He was born at a house in the centre of Bourne that is now the Burghley Arms and a plaque on the outside reminds us of this event. - Job HartopJob HartopJob Hartop was an English adventurer who enlisted as chief gunner on John Hawkins' third voyage to the Caribbean. He became stranded, was captured by the Spanish authorities and was used as a galley slave...
(1550 – 1595) was a farmer's boy working on the land near Bourne but hankered after a life of adventure and ran away to sea when he was twelve years old. After a short apprenticeshipApprenticeshipApprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
with a gunpowderGunpowderGunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
manufacturer in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he signed on with the English admiral Sir John Hawkins and sailed the Spanish MainSpanish MainIn the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
in the company of the young Francis DrakeFrancis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. He was captured by the SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on his third voyage and spent ten years as a galley slaveGalley slaveA galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley. The expression has two distinct meanings: it can refer either to a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar , or to a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to his duty of rowing.-Antiquity:Contrary to the popular image of the...
and thirteen years in a Spanish prisonPrisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
but managed to escape and make his way back to Bourne where he spent his final days recounting his adventures in the town's taverns, although the privations he suffered had taken their toll and he died at the age of only 45. - Robert Harrington (philanthropistPhilanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
) (1589 – 1654) made large bequests to Bourne from which the community benefits to this day. Legend has it that he walked to London to seek his fortune and was most successful in his endeavours and when he died, he remembered his home town by leaving shops and dwelling houses in the LeytonstoneLeytonstoneLeytonstone is an area of east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a high density suburban area, located seven miles north east of Charing Cross in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Essex...
area "for the benefit of his own people", namely the citizens of Bourne. The charity established in his name is by far the greatest currently administered by Bourne United Charities and fittingly, Harrington Street was named in his memory. - Dr William Dodd (1729 – 1777), was an Anglican clergyman, a man of letters and a forger. He was also the son of the Rev William Dodd who was Vicar of Bourne from 1727–56, graduating with distinction from Clare College, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and then moved to London where his extravagant lifestyle soon landed him in debt and worried his friends who persuaded him to mend his ways and so he decided to take holy ordersHoly OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
and was ordained in 1751. He became a popular and fashionable preacher but was always short of money and in an attempt to rectify his depleted finances, forged a bond in the sum of £4,200. He was found out, prosecuted and sentenced to death and publicly hangedHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
at TyburnTyburn, LondonTyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
on 27 June 1777. - Charles Frederick WorthCharles Frederick WorthCharles Frederick Worth , widely considered the Father of Haute couture, was an English fashion designer of the 19th century, whose works were produced in Paris.-Career:...
(1825 – 1895) was born in this town, the son of a local solicitorSolicitorSolicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
who lived at Wake House in North Street which survives today as a community centre. He left Bourne when still a boy to seek his fortune in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he became a world-renowned designerDesignerA designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
of women's fashionFashionFashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and the founder of haute coutureHaute coutureHaute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
. His reputation was such that the FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
government awarded him the Legion of HonourLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and when he died, 2,000 people, including the PresidentPresident of the French RepublicThe President of the French Republic colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France's elected Head of State....
of the RepublicFrench Third RepublicThe French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
, attended his funeral. - Robert A Gardner (1850 – 1926) was a bankBankA bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
managerManagementManagement in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in Bourne and also a talented artist whose work was exhibited in the Royal AcademyRoyal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. He never aspired to public office but his interest in the community inevitably resulted in a number of appointments, notably as a magistrateMagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
and chairman of the Bourne bench. But he is best remembered for his paintings and many of his works survive to this day, mostly in private ownership although some can be found hanging in the Red Hall. - Frederic ManningFrederic ManningFrederic Manning was an Australian poet and novelist.-Biography:Born in Sydney, Manning was the son of local politician Sir William Patrick Manning. His family were Catholics, of Irish origin. A sickly child , Manning was educated exclusively at home...
(1882 – 1935) wrote what is considered to be one of the finest novels dealing with World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
of 1914–18 and much of this work was completed while staying at the Bull Hotel in Bourne, now the Burghley Arms. Manning was an AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n who chose to live here after a spell at EdenhamEdenhamEdenham is a village in Lincolnshire, England situated about north-west of Bourne on the A151. The village is part of the civil parish of Edenham Grimsthorpe Elsthorpe & Scottlethorpe.-The Village:...
where he stayed with the vicar, the Rev Arthur Galton, who had been his tutor. Her Privates We (Hogarth PressHogarth PressThe Hogarth Press was founded in 1917 by Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond, in which they began hand-printing books....
, ISBN 0-7012-0702-7) was at first published anonymously, to much critical acclaim, but eight years after his death, it was published in 1943 under his own name and is still in print almost 70 years later. In the book, Manning acknowledged his affection for this town by calling his hero Private Bourne. - Lilian WylesLilian WylesLilian Wyles , the daughter of a brewer in Bourne, Lincolnshire, became a pioneer in the establishment of women as officers in the Metropolitan Police.-External links:*....
(1885 – 1975) was a major influence in the acceptance of women into the police force. She was the only daughter of the Bourne brewerBrewerBrewer may refer to:*Brewer, someone who makes beer by brewing*Brewer , a disambiguation page that lists people with the surname Brewer*Brewer, Maine, a city in southern Penobscot County, Maine, United States, near the city of Bangor...
, Joseph Wyles, and after a spell of duty on the streets of London with the new women patrols to assist young girls at risk, was promoted inspector in 1922, becoming the first woman officer of the Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan Police ServiceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
's CIDCriminal Investigation DepartmentThe Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
. - Charles SharpeCharles Richard SharpeCharles Richard Sharpe VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(1889 – 1963) was a farmer's boy from PickworthPickworth, LincolnshirePickworth is a civil parish and village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England.Pickworth was mentioned in Domesday Book of 1086 when it had forty households and a church....
, near Bourne, who ran away from home and joined the army. During World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
of 1914-18, an act of conspicuous bravery earned him the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, Britain's highest decoration "For Valour", and he subsequently inspired many young men to enlist. On return to civilian life, he worked at a number of jobs, notably as a physical training instructorPhysical Training InstructorPhysical Training Instructor is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness.-United Kingdom:...
to boys at the Hereward Camp approved schoolApproved SchoolApproved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
, who regarded him as a role model. - Raymond MaysRaymond MaysThomas Raymond Mays CBE was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in the Grenadier Guards in France, he attended Christ's College, Cambridge...
(1899 – 1980), son of a local businessman, achieved fame in the world of international motor racing, both on and off the track. After a successful career as a driver, he opened workshops in Bourne where he developed first the ERA, a design that saw much success in prewar racing, then the BRM, the revolutionary car that eventually won the world championship in 1962. Mays, who lived at Eastgate House in Bourne all his life, was honoured with a CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1978 for his services to motor racing. - William NorthWilliam North-Life:He was the son of John North, who commanded Fort Frederick in 1751, and Fort St. George in Thomaston, Maine, in 1758. He moved with his mother, Elizabeth North, to Boston, Massachusetts....
founded North Shoes in 1876, William was a boot maker from Haconby, a small village just outside Bourne. It is believed that it was his wife Sarah who instigated the business. She saw the property for sale whilst visiting the market in Bourne and proposed they sell shoes as well as make them. Boots were made on the premises until 1914 when demand became too high for the 12 employed boot makers and boots had to be sourced elsewhere. - Blake Fielder-Civil (1978). Fielder-Civil was husband to Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, and also attended Bourne Grammar School
Nearby attractions
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- Bourne Civic Society's heritage centre in Baldock's Mill, South Street is opened by volunteers on Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday afternoons (except Christmas and Boxing days) from 2 to 4.
- Bourne WoodBourne WoodsThe woods near Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. In particular, Bourne Wood.National Grid reference TF0821. Co-ordinates: O°24'W, 52°46'N.Bourne Wood is owned by The Forestry Commission England. It is managed by Forest Enterprise as part of Kesteven Forest...
; 400 acres (2 km²) of woodland which has been a resource since primeval times. There is now a sculpture trailSculpture trailA sculpture trail—sculpture walk - also known as "a culture walk" - is a walkway through open-air galleries of outdoor sculptures along a defined route with sequenced viewings encountered from planned preview and principal sight lines.-Settings:...
and the wood forms part of the 19-mile Bourne CycleBicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
Trail. - Grimsthorpe CastleGrimsthorpe CastleGrimsthorpe Castle is a country house in Lincolnshire, England four miles north-west of Bourne on the A151. It lies within a 3,000 acre park of rolling pastures, lakes, and woodland landscaped by Capability Brown...
. A landed estate, large country house and tourist attraction. The castle's web site. - Bowthorpe OakBowthorpe OakThe Bowthorpe Oak in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England is perhaps England's oldest oak tree with an estimated age of over 1,000 years.The hollow interior has been fitted with seats and has apparently been used as a dining room for 20 people in the past, although it is now home to sheep and chickens.The...
, A tree old at the time of the Domesday survey. On private land, an admission charge is levied. - The outdoor pool an open-air swimming pool maintained by volunteers.
- The Willoughby Gallery An art gallery in Corby GlenCorby GlenCorby Glen is a village in southwest Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:The village of Corby Glen is in South Kesteven District in Lincolnshire. It lies mainly to the north of the A151, a former toll road, and to the east of the West Glen River, near where the Glen flows through a small graben in...
- Thurlby Slipe nature reserve, a good place to see birds and dragonflies.
- Baston Fen nature reserve, a good place to see wildfowl.
- Dole Wood nature reserve, a good place to see bluebells.
- Pinchbeck EnginePinchbeck EngineThe Pinchbeck Engine is a drainage engine, a rotative beam engine built in 1833 to drain Pinchbeck Marsh, to the north of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in England...
beyond Spalding, a museum of Fen Drainage and the last of the steam engines. - The Hub, the National Centre for Craft & Design in SleafordSleafordSleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
. - Ayscoughfee HallAyscoughfee HallAyscoughfee Hall is a grade II* listed building, located in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour.- History :The house, currently a museum, was built for Richard Ailwyn in the fifteenth century...
, Spalding. Museum, house and gardens with attractions.