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Horse-drawn carriages and carts rather than motor cars and lorries
indicate that this view of North Street dates from over a century ago, a
tranquil scene from Edwardian Bourne.
The hanging sign on the left says Townson's Angel Hotel, referring to Mrs
Annie Townson who kept it from 1902 until 1916, originally with her
husband, a retired army officer, who died within a few months of taking
over but under her ownership, the hotel became a central point for the
social life of the town. She died on 29th December 1934 and was buried in
the town cemetery alongside her husband.
The unhurried pace of life is evident from the delivery barrows awaiting
loading at the kerbside ready to be pushed to their destination with
newly-bought goods while signs of the modern age are emerging with
telegraph poles carrying phone wires along the street, the new form of
communication having reached the town in 1878 and although few homes had a
telephone, most businesses were by now connected. |
