| Bourne | |
|---|---|
| Town andcivil parish | |
 Bourne town centre | |
  Bourne Location withinLincolnshire | |
| Population | 17,981 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TF094202 |
| • London | 90 mi (140 km) S |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BOURNE |
| Postcode district | PE10 |
| Dialling code | 01778 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Bourne is amarket town andcivil parish in theSouth Kestevendistrict ofLincolnshire, England. It lies on the eastern slopes of the limestone Kesteven Uplands and the western edge of theFens,[2] 11 miles (18 km) north-east ofStamford, 12 miles (19 km) west ofSpalding and 17 miles (27 km) north ofPeterborough. The population at the 2011 census was 14,456.[3] A 2019 estimate put it at 16,780.[4]
Theancient woodland ofBourne Woods is still extant, although much reduced. It originally formed part of the ancient Forest of Kesteven and is now managed by theForestry Commission.
The earliest documentary reference toBrunna, meaning stream, is from a document of 960, and the town appeared inDomesday Book of 1086 asBrune.[2]
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 founder of the Abbey, Baldwin fitz Gilbert de Clare, son ofGilbert fitz Richard, and later benefactors. The abbey was established under theArrouaisian order. Its fundamental rule was that ofSt Augustine and as time went on it came to be regarded asAugustinian. TheOrmulum, an importantMiddle EnglishBiblical 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.[5][6][7]
Bourne was an important junction on the Victorianrailway system, but all such connections were severed after theSecond World War (seeRailways section). 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 coal to be delivered to the town's gas works.
The local authority at the time, Bourne Urban District Council, was active in the town's interests, taking over the gas works and the local watercress beds at times of financial difficulty and running them as commercial ventures. Large numbers of good-qualitycouncil houses were built in the early 20th century.
Bourne sent many men to bothworld wars but was otherwise not much affected. During the Second World War a German bomber shot down in May 1941 crashed into theButcher's Arms public house inEastgate. The landlord, his wife and eight soldiers billetted across the road were killed, as were the bomber's crew.[8] In a separate incident several bombs were dropped on the Hereward Camp.[9]
The town is located on aRoman road now known asKing Street. It was built around some natural springs, hence the name "Bourne" (or "Bourn"). which derives from theAnglo-Saxonburna orburne meaning "water" or "stream".[2] It lies on the intersection of two main roads: theA15 and theA151. The civil parish includes the main township along with thehamlets ofCawthorpe,Dyke andTwenty.[10] In former yearsAusterby was regarded as a separate settlement, with its own shops and street plan, but is now an area of Bourne known as The Austerby.(52°45′47″N0°22′12″W / 52.763°N 0.370°W /52.763; -0.370 (The Austerby)).[11]
The ecclesiastical parish of Bourne is part of theBeltisloeDeanery of theDiocese of Lincoln and based at theAbbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, in Church Walk.[12] Other religious congregations in the town includeMethodist,Baptist,United Reformed and aRoman Catholic church (St. Gilbert's Catholic Church).
Much of Bourne's 19th-century affluence came from the corn-trade boom that followed the mechanisation of fen drainage. TheCorn Exchange in Abbey Road dates from 1870.[13]
Bourne has two county council divisions:
Bourne has three District Council wards, two having two councillors and the new ward,Austerby, having three councillors.
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 anurban district council in the former Parts ofKesteven. Under theLocal Government Act 1972, Bourne UDC was dissolved into the newly formedSouth Kesteven district. Urban districts which disappeared in this way formedsuccessor parishes and were given a dispensation to call their "parish" councils "town" councils, with their chairs to be known as mayor. These town councils were allowed to adopt thecoat of arms granted to the former UDC.
ABourne Rural District also existed from 1894 to 1931, when it was abolished to form part of a largerSouth Kesteven Rural District. The parish of Bourne had formed part of Bourne RD from 1894 to 1899. South Kesteven RDC had its own coat of arms, which disappeared along with that ofKesteven in 1974.
Since October 1989, Bourne has beentwinned withDoudeville,Seine Maritime,France.
Parts of west Bourne are drained by one of twointernal drainage boards, The Black Sluice IDB[14] and the Welland and Deepings IDB.[15]
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.[16][17]
Bourne Market Place is at the crossroads of theA15 road and the B1193.
There is abus station at the top of North Street. The town's bus services provide a frequent public transport link toPeterborough, and are operated by the family-ownedDelaine Buses. There is a daily long-distance coach betweenGrimsby and London Victoria, which stops at Bourne bus station.
The first local railway was theEarl of Ancaster's estate railway, which ran from theEast Coast Main Line atLittle Bytham, through theGrimsthorpe estate toEdenham.[18]
Later Bourne had a railway station served by theBourn and Essendine Railway (old spelling) line fromEssendine[19] toSleaford and by theMidland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN) connecting theMidlands to East Anglia.[20] Timetabled passenger services on both lines had ceased by the end of February 1959.[21]
TheBourne-Morton Canal or Bourne Old Ea connected the town to the sea in Roman times.
Until the mid-19th century, the presentBourne Eau was capable of carrying commercial boat traffic fromthe Wash coast andSpalding. This resulted from the investment following theBourne Navigation Act 1780 (21 Geo. 3. c. 22). Passage became impossible once the junction of the Eau and theRiver Glen was converted from gates to a sluice in 1860.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire andITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from theBelmont TV transmitter,[22] theWaltham TV transmitter can also be received which broadcastBBC East Midlands andITV Central programmes.[23]
The town is served by bothBBC Radio Cambridgeshire andBBC Radio Lincolnshire. Other radio stations includingGreatest Hits Radio,Hits Radio Lincolnshire and Bourne Community Radio, a community based station.[24][25]
Local newspapers areBourne Local[26] andStamford Mercury.
Bourne Town Football Club plays football in theUnited Counties Football League,[27] whilstBourne Cricket Club plays in the Lincolnshire ECB Premier League.[28] These teams play their home games at theAbbey Lawn, a recreation ground privately owned by theBourne United Charities.[29]
The racing-car marquesEnglish Racing Automobiles (ERA) andBritish Racing Motors (BRM) were both founded in Bourne byRaymond Mays, an international racing driver and designer who lived in Bourne.[30] The former ERA and BRM workshops in Spalding Road are adjacent to Eastgate House, the Mays' family home in the town's Eastgate.[31]Pilbeam Racing Designs is also based in the town.[32]
There are currently 71 listed buildings in the parish of Bourne, includingBourne Abbey and the Parish Church ofSt Peter andSt Paul (1138), which is the only one scheduledGrade I, as well as theRed Hall.
Media related toBourne, Lincolnshire at Wikimedia Commons
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