The Civic Society has been holding its annual meeting this week to celebrate 37 years of its existence, a community organisation originally founded because an old building was doomed for demolition.

The dwelling at No 15 Bedehouse Bank was known as Miss Adams' cottage after the last tenant who had died. The property was then condemned by the local authority as being unfit for human habitation and put up for sale as a redevelopment site but the owners failed to find a buyer.

The mediaeval thatched cottage made from the mud and stud method was one of the last surviving examples of its kind in Lincolnshire and so the property was unique to Bourne where it had been in continuous use for more than 250 years. Experts insisted that it was sufficiently rare to be preserved, perhaps as a museum, but costs were said to be prohibitive and the owners sought permission to pull it down.

Rod Hoyle, art master at Bourne Grammar School and one of the great conservation campaigners for Bourne, called a public meeting at the Red Hall in 1977 when a steering committee was set up and the following year a second such meeting approved a constitution for a new Civic Society to protect our heritage and promote high standards of town planning.

Although it was a listed building, the cottage was demolished in 1980 after a public inquiry when objections by the society, the Ancient Monuments Society and other conservation organisations, were overruled. But despite the failure of the campaign, the joint endeavour sparked an appreciation of the richness of the urban environment and the society vowed to help enhance our old buildings, through persuasion and criticism, to plant and landscape unattractive areas and so preserve the heritage of the town.

The Earl of Ancaster was invited to be their president and he continued in office until his death in March 1983 when he was succeeded by his daughter, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, who remains in office today. The inaugural meeting also voted to produce a regular newsletter and to bring guest speakers to the town to talk on environmental issues and both of these objectives have been achieved in the years since.

The society's greatest accomplishment however has been in persuading Bourne United Charities to grant them a lease of the Grade II listed Baldock's Mill, the early 19th century water mill on the banks of the Bourne Eau in South Street, for refurbishment as a Heritage Centre and museum and that too was achieved after many years of fund-raising and dedicated voluntary work by society members.

Restoration work began in 1983 and the centre opened in 1989 and since then there has been a steady programme of growth, the features now including many artefacts, maps and documents from Bourne's past. A large display of photographs and mementoes from the career of Raymond Mays (1899-1980), the motor racing pioneer who lived in the town, has been brought together in a memorial room which also contains a glittering display of silver trophies won during his career on the track, notably by the BRM car which he pioneered and which won the world championship in 1962.

Also on show in the centre are the stones from an Anglo-Saxon arch reputed to have been removed from Bourne Abbey during restoration work in the late 19th century together with other extensive displays dealing with the railway age in Bourne and the town’s aerated water industry while the walls are covered with memorabilia from our past.

In April 2006, a major addition came with the opening of a gallery commemorating the life and times of Charles Worth (1825-95), the solicitor's son from Bourne who established the famous fashion house in Paris, and containing copies of his creations from 1885, a collection of fashion items from the period and a photographic record of his career. This feature was a personal triumph for stalwart members Jim and Brenda Jones who organised much of the work and even invested some of their own money to ensure success of the project which won a Lincolnshire Renaissance Award in 2007 for the best new exhibition in the county.

In June 2001, the Heritage Centre was presented with a silver rose bowl by the Rotary Club of Bourne for the most outstanding community achievement during the previous 12 months, an award that was handed over to Brenda Jones as chairman of the society and the same award was presented for a second time in 2004, this time recognising the work society member Jim Jones carried out on restoring the two water wheels that originally powered the mill. This particular project has been ongoing for several years and the main water wheel is now turning permanently to produce electricity which helps power the building and reduce the bills.

As a result of this project, in the summer of 2005 he was presented with a highly commended certificate by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust for his achievement as part of an awards scheme to promote the environment and raise awareness of wildlife and conservation and in 2009 he received an MBE from the Queen during an investiture at Buckingham Palace recognising his work for the community.

The expansion continues and the latest project is now underway after the society was given the adjoining two-storey southern section of the mill building which has until now been leased to a neighbour who has been using it as a garage but Bourne United Charities have handed it over to the society for use as a new exhibition area. This will be a most welcome addition because for some years now the society has been hampered through lack of space as their archives and exhibits expand with every room and cupboard filled to overflowing but members have managed to cope although with some difficulty.

As with so many of our voluntary organisations, membership could be better and visitor figures for the Heritage Centre improved but the enthusiasm of the Civic Society remains undiminished.