The Bourne Institute

LEISURE PURSUITS in past times, before the arrival of television and clubbing, embraced a wide range of intellectual and cultural activities that were popular during the period such as reading, debating, music and amateur dramatics.

Opportunities were few and there were several attempts during the 19th century to establish a meeting place in the town where like minds could gather but eventually the most successful venture of its kind in our social history began with the opening of the Bourne Institute at No 63 West Street.

The imposing building on the corner of St Peter's Road is a perfect example of Victorian ostentation. It was once a farmhouse but its wealthy owner gave it a Gothic style façade during the 19th century and the porch contains ballflower decoration and wheat sheaf capitals while the date 1872 has been included in the arch rosette above the upper window on the side of the front and the owner’s initials J G are also visible to the discerning eye in a similar position above the upper central window.

This reminds us that the original red brick house and grain store attached once belonged to Mr John Gibson, a corn merchant and brewer, who improved the property in that year, adding the imposing stone front and stained glass windows that depict the four seasons of the barley growing cycle which is also featured in the decoration over the front door.

Gibson lived there with his family for 25 years but he got into financial difficulties and in 1896 the property was offered for rent on a three-year lease to the newly formed social organisation. A public meeting on Tuesday 20th October that year outlined the aims and objectives of the Bourne Institute, the club to be non-sectarian and non-political run by a popularly elected committee to provide for healthy recreation, education and intellectual improvement and to offer a wide range of activities such as a music room and piano, musical and debating societies, billiards and other games and a modest library.

The club opened its doors the following month with Mr Robert Gardner, a local bank manager and magistrate, as president and membership was soon nearing the 200 mark. In the event, the library became the most popular amenity, quickly amassing 400 books, a remarkable collection at a time when they were prized possessions and eagerly sought after by those anxious to read and expand their knowledge of the world. Many were donated by members and friends, including the local M P, Mr William Younger, member for the Stamford division and a keen supporter of the institute, who presented the library with a complete set of recently published volumes of The Queen’s Prime Ministers while Mr Gardner handed over two handsome volumes of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s The Farthest North.

The debating society was another popular feature of the institute’s activities, robustly discussing a wide range of current topics, both local and national, such as the session on Friday 11th November 1898 when a crowded meeting heard impromptu speaking on an eclectic mix of subjects including a proposed tax on cycles, Britain’s role in retaining control in Egypt, socialism and whether a time limit should be imposed on Parliamentary speeches.

There was also an active theatrical section, in particular the Amateur Minstrels, who specialised in giving concerts of songs, dances, monologues and sketches, performed by actors wearing black face make-up under the direction of a chairman, a form of entertainment that has disappeared in recent years.

In 1897, the committee was given the opportunity to buy the building which was due to be sold off to meet Mr Gibson’s creditors and a series of events were held to help raise the purchase price of £900. The biggest of these was a grand bazaar to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, held on Wednesday 9th June that year, a grand occasion under the patronage of the Countess of Ancaster. Unfortunately, the weather was inclement and plans to hold it in a large marquee in the grounds were abandoned and the stalls were set up in the billiards room and adjoining granary, all decorated in red, white and blue bunting to mark the royal occasion. During a concert in the evening, a series of tableaux were staged to illustrate the leading events in the Queen’s reign and there were also music, songs and dancing, and as the weather improved, decorated gondolas took guests on short trips along the Bourne Eau.

The money raising continued until the total reached over £300 and in 1899, the committee completed the purchase with £600 borrowed at an interest rate of 3½% but an appeal for a further £350 was then launched to pay for pressing repairs to the building.

The success of the project became apparent at the annual general meeting on Tuesday 30th January 1900 when Mr Gardner, after being re-elected as president, reported that the institute had assets of over £1,000 and he told members: “This handsome block of buildings, splendidly adapted for the purpose, is now the property of the institute and during the year the value has been enhanced by their being put into a thorough state of repair. Every department of the institute shows activity and progress. The membership is 187 and we confidently hope that this might well be increased to 300 very soon.”

In 1921, Mr Gardner was presented with an antique jardinière to mark his 25 years as president, an office he held until his death in 1926 when he bequeathed a generous endowment to help the institute pay off the outstanding balance on its mortgage of the premises.

The golden jubilee was celebrated in October 1946 with a gathering at the Corn Exchange when tribute was paid to those who had put in so much work to make the project a success.

In July 1953, the committee approved leasing one of its rooms to Kesteven County Council for use as a branch library for Bourne at an initial rental of £1 a week and although the original agreement was for a five-year period, it continued until the town's present library was opened in South Street in 1969.

The first billiards table had been bought for the club in 1900 and a second in 1908 and this began the tradition for the game on these premises that continues today. In 1975, the Bourne Institute was renamed the Pyramid Club whose activities are devoted mainly to billiards and snooker, as the name implies, although the traditions of the original organisation are proudly maintained.

NOTE: This article was published by The Local newspaper on Friday 17th November 2006.