ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT properties in Bourne in past times was the Abbey House, described as "a fine mansion" when it was built in the mid-18th century, but comparatively little has been known about it. 

It was immediately next to the Abbey Church on the spot now occupied by the vicarage lawn and was such a grand residence that it was known to everyone as Bourne Abbey, perhaps because it was stood on the site of the old monastic buildings of mediaeval times. The name can be found in some old documents and has led to a mistaken belief that it referred to the church itself but was in fact a private residence. 

The house was built in 1764 by George Pochin, three years after he inherited the estate of his uncle, Sir Thomas Trollope, and became Lord of the Manor of Bourne Abbots. Pochin lived there for a short time and when he died in 1798, his sister Mary stayed on until she too died in 1804 when the house passed to her sister-in-law, George Pochin's widow, Eleanor Frances Pochin, together with other manorial estates in the town. She died in 1823 and the property stood empty for a while until being leased to various tenants and it is this eventuality that has given us an idea of what the house was like. 

In February 1835, it was advertised to let “on very advantageous terms” and the accompanying description not only gives us a glimpse of a property of some distinction but also tells us about the lifestyle of the gentry in the early 19th century.  

“This capital mansion house”, said the notice, “contains coach houses, stables, granaries, dovecote and other numerous and convenient offices, also the extensive gardens, spacious lawns with other grassland, contiguous to the mansion, the whole containing about twenty acres of very rich land. The Abbey, which is partially furnished, comprises dining, drawing and breakfast rooms, 19 bed-chambers and attics, a spacious kitchen possessing every requisite for culinary purposes, housekeeper’s room, servants’ hall, brewhouse and every other suitable appendage. The tenant will also have the privilege of sporting over two manors adjoining or near the mansion.” 

The grassland and sporting estate which were said to be in the immediate vicinity were areas of green countryside that have since been swallowed up for residential and other development but the description enables us picture the rural nature of the locality at a time when Bourne had a population of under 3,000. 

The house continued in useful occupation with various tenants until 1848 when it was acquired by the church as the new vicarage for the then incumbent, the Rev Joseph Dodsworth, who had been appointed to the living in 1842. The vicarage was originally at Brook Lodge in South Street which had been in use from 1763 but a larger property was needed and the Abbey House was deemed to be a suitable place. 

Dodsworth remained there until he died in May 1877 after serving the parish as curate and vicar for more than half a century. By then, the Abbey House was covered with ivy and the indications are that it was in a poor state of repair. Soon after his death therefore, the church decided that a more modern vicarage was needed and that the property should be pulled down to provide some of the materials for its construction. Demolition began late in 1877 and building the new vicarage was well advanced by the summer of the following year. A local newspaper reported on Friday 23rd August 1878: “The new Abbey is nearly completed and though not so large as the old edifice, it is thought by most people to be more appropriate.” 

The work was not without its dangers and the newspaper reported the following week, on Friday 30th August: “A serious accident occurred on Monday when two men named Hare and Brown were engaged taking down some scaffolding and by some means a pole slipped before they were aware of it. Hare fell to the ground, breaking an arm in two places, but it is hoped that under the skilful treatment of Dr [Frederick] Glencross, he is progressing favourably.” 

The new building eventually opened in 1879 and continued in occupation until the present vicarage was built in 1986 when it was sold and converted for use as the Cedars retirement and rest home. 

But a mystery remains. No reason was given as to why the Abbey House was pulled down and no mention is made in subsequent newspaper reports. Its disappearance from the landscape is therefore a matter of speculation. Did Mr Dodsworth, like many of today's clergymen when faced with the prospect of living in large and draughty vicarages, eventually find the place too big to manage and too expensive to heat? This may have been the case because by then, Dodsworth was a widower, his second wife Ellen having passed away on 31st March 1876, and so he may have drawn up the plans for the new house, only to die before they came to fruition.  

Or perhaps his successor disliked the property. The Rev George Massey, of Uley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, having accepted the living in July 1877, arrived at Bourne on Tuesday 23rd October 1877 when a special peal was rung on the church bells to welcome him but there is the possibility that his wife did not like their future home and insisted on a more suitable one for herself and the family. There is evidence from the literature of the period that clergymen's wives were a force to be reckoned with and their husband's appointment often depended on their decision. Whatever the reason, the Abbey House had disappeared by 1879 when the new vicarage opened and Mr and Mrs Massey were the first tenants. 

But the question as to why such a substantial property should be pulled down after only 114 years persists although the answer may well lie in some dusty archive waiting to be discovered quite by chance by a future historian and only then will the mystery be explained.