Christmas 1887

THE CELEBRATION of Christmas as we know it today has its roots in the 19th century but it is evident from contemporary reports that the anticipation did not start so early and lasted no more than a few days and charity was very much in evidence for the poor and the deprived.

The traditional evocation of the festive season will forever be associated with Charles Dickens whose novels have inspired millions of greetings cards, featuring the fireside, the Yule log, stage coaches, snow covered rooftops, a decorated tree and presents, and it is this depiction that we most associate with scenes of Christmas past.

In 1887 for instance, the shop windows in Bourne had that Victorian appearance and were decorated much as they are today, the grocery, butchery and bakery shops crammed with appetising wares and the millinery and drapery stores displaying the latest fashions. The annual Christmas Fatstock Show was a regular feature of farming life during this period and beasts were bought for slaughter in readiness for the festive trade, the meat proudly displayed in their windows and sides of beef hung outside on hooks awaiting buyers. That year, one butcher alone, George Mays, of Eastgate, killed 300 sheep, one weighing 211 lb, and nine cattle, to meet the demand, and at that time he was only one of nine butchers in Bourne when the population was under 4,000.

The Abbey Church, the 12th century stone building that was the centrepiece of the Christmas story, was beautifully decorated by a small army of helpers, as described in a newspaper report: “Over the communion table in white letters on a scarlet ground was the text Emmanuel, God with us, the centre filled with a white cross. The miniature arches were adorned with an arrangement of evergreens interspersed with flowers and the reading desk decorated with ivy and holly, the panels in front being ornamented with chrysanthemum crosses. The pedestal of the lectern was adorned with a choice selection of flowers and evergreens, a fine bunch of pampas grass being especially noticeable.

"Holly berries and ivy embellished the handsome pulpit. The sills of the windows in the north and south aisles were beautified with texts worked in white on a scarlet ground, and encircled with wreaths and evergreens. The font was decorated with exquisite taste; the cover was surmounted with a fine cross and chrysanthemums; the pedestal was encircled with ivy and a variety of evergreens prettily frosted. Great praise is due to the ladies who so admirably executed the decorations."

Christmas Day was ushered in with peals of bells and carols from Bourne Brass Band and there were three main services at the church, all choral, communion at 8.30 am followed by morning and evening service when The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah brought the day of worship to an end.

The inns and public houses were busy throughout the day and full most evenings. Yet despite the large number of licensed premises in Bourne, this was the age of temperance and there was always someone ready to warn against the perils of the demon drink. In 1887, Mr Thomas Rosbottom, a celebrated Lancashire lecturer, paid a Christmas visit to address meetings at the Victoria Hall in Spalding Road (now demolished) and he was given a rousing welcome from a sympathetic audience, his speech being interspersed with anecdotes, humorous and pathetic, about the effects of drinking on marriage, the family and human relationships, and frequent moving exhortations to abstain, claiming that during his career he had induced thousands to sign to pledge promising to give up alcohol in the future.

On the two days after Boxing Day, a grand fancy fair, similar to our modern pantomimes, was staged at the Corn Exchange to raise funds for the Congregational Church in Eastgate (now the United Reformed Church) and the hall had been decorated as a street of nations or a grand international bazaar, with oriental and European architecture, the work being carried out by Alfred Stubley, a painter, paperhanger and sign writer, of West Street, Bourne, a man with a vivid imagination who was noted throughout Lincolnshire for the stage sets he designed for amateur musical productions. A local newspaper description of the colourful setting said:

“The scene was laid in Canton. The peculiar conglomeration of Oriental and European architecture was depicted with realistic effect. Proceeding down the left side of the street, the enterprising traveller passed in succession a Persian residence, an Indian cottage, a Chinese house, a delightful Japanese village, a Tyrolese chalet, a snug mountain home covered with snow and having icicles pendent from the roof, a magnificent Buddhist temple having its elaborate exterior embellished with representatives of the Oriental deity and dragons, and the last abode in the curious street was an Australian log hut.

“The articles exhibited on the various stalls were both useful and ornamental. Various entertainments were given in the evenings. Vocal and instrumental musical items and presentations were performed at intervals which were very popular. The promoters of the enterprise are to be congratulated on the success which has deservedly crowned their efforts.”

But those who could not afford to buy what was displayed in the shop windows queued up at the National School in North Street (now the Conservative Party headquarters) where the Vicar, the Rev Hugh Mansfield, assisted by his churchwardens and officials from various charities, made their annual distribution among the deserving poor, the gifts including 700 yards of flannel, 50 blankets, 700 yards of calico and 170 tons of coal. Much of this was paid for by Harrington’s Charity, a bequest from Robert Harrington (1589-1654), a Bourne man who made his fortune in London and left it for the benefit of the town, a legacy that is still enjoyed today and administered by Bourne United Charities. There were also gifts of food and clothing brought in by townspeople.

At the workhouse in St Peter’s Road (now demolished), the Guardians of Bourne Union gave their annual treat to the inmates on Boxing Day where the monotonous and unappetising food normally served was replaced with roast beef and plum pudding with beer and tobacco to follow. “The seasonable additions to the usual plain fare were apparently highly appreciated“, said a local newspaper. “A thoroughly enjoyable day was suitably concluded with a merry evening entertainment.”

The inmates, however, were not allowed to forget the generosity that had been bestowed upon them and at the end of the celebrations, grateful thanks were expressed for what they had received while the children who could write were urged to thank the guardians by letter.

Today, Christmas has become a spending spree for most and few will go short of food, drink, presents and other luxuries, with Britons expected to spend more than £12 billion, an average of £600 per family.

NOTE: This article was published by The Local newspaper on Friday 15th December 2006.