Charity begins at home
| CHARITY is generally defined
as the giving of help to those in need, either in goods, money or time,
and Bourne has a long history of wealthy citizens who were ready to share
their fortunes with those who were less well off, notably the poor,
particularly widows and orphans, the sick and disabled. Almshouses are one of the earliest forms of charity, built to provide homes for the old and infirm who are unable to fend for themselves, and there are two such places in the town today. The Tudor Cottages in South Street date from 1636 and were built with money given by William Trollope, a landowner whose family had been associated with Bourne since 1543. He also provided a yearly sum of £33 for the maintenance of six poor old men from the parish to live there and although rebuilt in later years, these houses are still in useful service today. On the other side of town, the West Street almshouses were opened in 1932 with money left by several benefactors whose names can be found on a bronze plaque at the front. Foremost among them was Robert Harrington (1589-1654) who, according to legend, walked to London to seek his fortune.
He became successful in business and
when he died, remembered his home town by leaving shops and dwelling
houses in the Leytonstone area "for the benefit of his own people", namely
the citizens of Bourne and fittingly, Harrington Street was named in his
memory. His bequest, and those of several other benefactors over the
years, are administered today by Bourne United Charities which has used
the money to provide many facilities for the town such as the Abbey Lawn.
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