Abbey Lawn fencing

THE DECISION TO fence off the Abbey Lawn to deter vandals has dismayed many people who fear that unrestricted access to a popular open space may be lost. For the past two centuries, the grounds have been a focal point for the people of Bourne and therefore synonymous with the community spirit.

The site originally formed part of the grounds of Bourne Abbey but over the years the public were allowed to use it at the discretion of the vicar. There is no record of anyone ever being banned from using the Abbey Lawn and so it became the town's unofficial recreation ground and has been in use for such purposes for at least 200 years.

The only time it has ever been enclosed was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries although for a very different reasons. Fencing was erected to keep in livestock which was regularly grazed there but had disappeared by the time Bourne United Charities took over forty years later when a major overhaul was undertaken to prepare the area for its future role as a public playing field.

The site has also been the scene of many other events over the years such as maypole dancing by schoolchildren on May Day during Victorian and Edwardian times, the annual Whit Monday sports, a notable feature during the 19th century which continued for over 30 years when top athletes from around the country competed, and even ladies’ cricket matches. When flax was grown in the area to help the national effort during and after the Great War, itinerant workers who were brought in for the harvest each year camped under canvas on the Abbey Lawn and in the summer of 1918, there was a tented town catering for 500 people assisted by troops from various regiments.

Church feasts and treats were celebrated there and gatherings for other national and royal occasions such as Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee in 1887 and patriotic meetings and military parades during two world wars.

The land was eventually acquired by a syndicate of local businessmen who rented out the rights for cricket and football but when it came under threat from housing development, Bourne United Charities decided to buy it for the benefit of the town. The Charity Commissioners were approached and in January 1931 the purchase was sanctioned subject to a satisfactory valuation and by May that year, the transaction was agreed in the sum of £700, to which the cricket club, one of the main users, made a token donation of £20.

The trustees made the purchase with the intention of preserving it as an open space and sports ground for the town and since then there has been a continuous programme of improvement and upkeep for both the sports playing areas and the outdoor swimming pool which is part of the complex.

The idea for the purchase came from Horace Stanton (1897-1977), a local solicitor and clerk to the charity trustees who was responsible for the negotiations which he regarded as a way of providing Bourne with a playing field in perpetuity, drawing up the final design for the layout of the grounds himself.

A great deal of the labour was done by young men attending the labour camp or instructional centre which was then operating from a complex of twenty huts made of wood and corrugated iron on the outskirts of Bourne Wood, a site which has since been swallowed up for residential development and is now the grassy area between Beech Avenue and Woodland Avenue. The camp was run by the Ministry of Labour in an attempt to combat high unemployment and the policy was for inmates to join in the community life of the town and so when asked by Bourne United Charities to contribute to the project, officials readily agreed and the men completed most of the work of turning the land into the Abbey Lawn that we see today while the landscaping was added to mark a royal occasion.

When the grounds were opened, a plaque was installed on the left hand column at the main gate saying: "These grounds were purchased in the years 1931-34 by the Trustees of Bourne United Charities in order to preserve the same as an open space for ever and the work of levelling and laying out the grounds was carried out by trainees from the Ministry of Labour Instructional Centre, Bourne." There was a second notice on the opposite column that said: "The trees and shrubs in these grounds were planted to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of HM King George the Fifth, 6th May 1935."

The main gates were also added about this time, handsome and hand-forged from wrought iron, they were originally made during the 18th century and formerly graced an estate entrance to a stately home in Derbyshire but were acquired and installed in 1933 by the trustees while the side gates were made to match by William Friend, an agricultural engineer and specialist in metal work who was in business in Bourne at that time. These gates have recently been removed for restoration and have now been re-installed with new supporting brick pillars as an enhancement to the Abbey Road entrance.

Since those days, the grounds have become the main centre for many sports, notably football and cricket, but also tennis, bowls, swimming and petanque. Hockey was played there until recently and during the last century there was a putting green which was a great attraction during the summer months, a popular pastime, especially for courting couples on hot and sunny Sunday afternoons when the ice cream man was waiting nearby with his Stop-Me-And-Buy-One pedal cart.

The Abbey Lawn has therefore served the town well but recent events have prompted the trustees to seek planning permission to erect iron railings around the perimeter after repeated outbreaks of vandalism that have caused widespread damage including arson attacks on the premises of both the cricket and football clubs and work is due to begin later this year. Fencing is regarded as the only solution, perhaps even accompanied by a dusk to dawn curfew, a development regarded as necessary but not desirable and, as described at a recent meeting of the town council, a sad day for Bourne.