The corn trade warehouses

THE ACQUISITION of the old red brick warehouse in Burghley Street to become part of the town centre redevelopment scheme is a reminder of the corn trade which flourished in Bourne during past times.

The warehouse is one of several built during the 18th and 19th centuries for the distribution of wheat and barley grown in the surrounding fertile acres of fenland and which provided the basis of many family fortunes.

Corn has been grown hereabouts since Roman times and was moved north along the newly constructed Car Dyke by low barge or raft to feed the empire‘s advancing armies while other consignments were exported for their troops in Germany and Gaul. Five hundred years later, as the population increased, grain had become an even more valuable crop for local farmers and improvements were made to the Bourne Eau to make it navigable and facilitate easier transportation with the result that warehouses sprang up to cater for the movement of corn in bulk.

From the period 1500-1640, when Bourne was one of 37 market towns in Lincolnshire, the main commodity was corn and successive legislation affecting the drainage of the fens and the subsequent reclamation of land was instrumental in improvements to all existing waterways. By the end of the 17th century, the new cut known as the South Forty Foot Drain had linked several of them to form what was described as “a navigable river from Bourne to Boston, a distance of 24 miles” and so Bourne therefore had a direct link with the North Sea.

The improvements led to a boom in waterborne trade with the Midlands and Yorkshire with boats leaving laden with corn and returning with coal and other vital commodities for the local economy and later, the grain trade was to be supplemented by leather and sheepskins from the fellmonger's yards in Eastgate. Today, the river is overgrown and neglected and the only reminder of our maritime past is the 18th century Anchor Inn, once a popular haunt of boatmen who plied their trade along the waterway.

Grain therefore has always been a vital part of the local economy and was even the cause of rioting. In 1740, a gang of angry townspeople tried to prevent a consignment from being sent by barge along the Bourne Eau on its way to Spalding. This was a year of rising prices and a scarcity of food and they resented corn grown locally being sent to feed people in other parts of the country when they themselves were hungry. John Halford of Bourne wrote to local landowner Sir John Heathcote at his residence in Epping Forest: "We have had a disturbance by the mob which cut some sacks of wheat in the boat and obstructed its passage to Spalding for a time but was quelled by officers of the town and five women were committed to the House of Correction."

Wherry's warehouse in South Road was probably the busiest of these red brick buildings which sprang up during the late 18th century and continued in business for almost 200 years. Wheat, barley and oats grown by local farmers was brought here by horse and cart which waited outside while the sacks were unloaded and hauled up the gantry. Older inhabitants have fond memories of some of the animals used in this work, particularly a white Shire called Flower owned by the proprietors and regarded with some public affection, continuing in employment until 1967. This warehouse, now listed Grade II, is currently being converted into six retirement flats although the outward appearance will be retained as a reminder of its past use.

One of the biggest of the warehouses was in Eastgate on the north bank of the river in the 18th century, a massive building four storeys high with an uninterrupted view of the surrounding fens and on a clear day you could see Boston Stump, the 272½ ft. high tower of St Botolph's Church, the second highest church tower in Britain, which was almost 20 miles away as the crow flies. This imposing warehouse survived until 1967 when it was pulled down and the site is currently being redeveloped for new houses.

The four-storey grain warehouse overlooking the car park in Burghley Street also had another agricultural use when flax became a small but thriving industry in Bourne during the early years of the last century. This plant has been grown in the area since the earliest times for the manufacture of linen and its cultivation was revived during and after the Great War of 1914-18 when the building was converted for the processing and providing a large number of jobs, mainly for women.

Bringing in the flax harvest also attracted dozens of itinerant workers who were brought in by lorry, rather like the gangmaster system which now operates in some areas of the Lincolnshire fens. In the summer of 1918, for instance, 500 workers were encamped on the Abbey Lawn for several weeks assisted by troops from various regiments while harvesting operations were underway in the surrounding countryside.

In recent times, the warehouse was owned by Nursery Supplies (Bourne) Ltd which closed down in 2001 and was then acquired by the printing firm Warners Midlands plc and used for storage but has been standing empty for several years. South Kesteven District Council has bought the building for £300,000 but it is not yet known which role it will play in the town centre redevelopment although earlier plans included the building as an integral part of the design by being converted into flats. The old warehouse is not protected as a listed building but there are hopes that it will be preserved in some way as part of our agricultural heritage.