Vintage photographs

GLIMPSES OF Bourne prior to 1850 are rare because only a few engravings and paintings exist while photography did not achieve its popularity until later in the century. But there were pioneers, amateurs who were sufficiently fascinated by the medium to invest time and money and it is their work and perseverance that enable us see the few rare views of the town that have survived from past times.

The first photographer to make a living here was probably Joseph Tye Flatters (1841-1885), a bell ringer at the Abbey Church and enthusiastic part-time soldier with the Lincolnshire Rifle Volunteers, who worked from premises in North Street. He concentrated on portraits which were popular at the time and a regular source of revenue but he also experimented with views of the town which today we would call postcard shots. He also photographed unusual events and such an opportunity came his way in 1861.

It was the habit of the Lincoln Diocesan Architectural Society to hold its annual meetings at various locations around the county and that year, Bourne was chosen to host the event which was held on Wednesday and Thursday, 5th and 6th June. Visitors came by rail from all parts of Lincolnshire, the numbers attending swelled by hundreds of local people, and the programme included a museum exhibition, displays in the various churches and tours of the locality by horse-drawn carriages. The event was ticket only and the committee promised those staying in the town overnight that due provision would be made for their convenience as well as on the journey and at table and also in securing well-aired and comfortable beds.

We know of the elaborate arrangements made to ensure that the event was a success because they were reported by a local newspaper which detailed the street decorations that had been put up by the organisers:

The visitors received a hearty welcome from the inhabitants who erected no less than four triumphal arches, all profusely decorated with foliage etc. That at the entrance to the railway station contained the inscription “Welcome to Bourne” and that at the entrance to the Castle Meadow “Castle of Brunne”. The others were erected across the two roads near the [Ostler] memorial fountain [in the market place, now the town centre].

Flatters rose to the occasion and was soon busy with his camera but taking pictures in those days was a painstaking and time-consuming task and a close examination of the shots that have survived indicate that it may have taken him much of the day to get them because the angle of the sun is evidence of the hours involved. The three photographs show the triumphal arches in West Street and North Street and the decorated frontage of the Bull Inn [now the Burghley Arms] where many of the guests stayed or called in for hospitality during the event.

The identity of the photographer was at first thought to be William Redshaw (1856-1943), probably the most famous to operate in Bourne during the past 150 years, because his stamp was on the back of each but he was ruled out once the date on which they were taken had been established as he would only have been five years old at the time. Other photographers working in the town during the 19th century were the Glendening Brothers, William Wyles and Richard Bertolle, but only a few prints of their work survive and all date from much later years.

Apart from the newspaper description of the scene, there is another indication of the date on which the photographs were taken because they were originally owned by Mrs Letitia Barsby who arrived in Bourne to live in West Street during March 1861, the year the event was staged. The elaborate arrangements she witnessed must have made an impression on an 18 year old girl from the country because in later years, when she bought a photograph album for her family portraits, she included copies of these photographs which were no doubt purchased locally.

The photographer therefore was most certainly Joseph Flatters. He emigrated with his family to Canada in 1871 by which time the young Redshaw was taking an interest in photography and, spurning the wishes of his father, John Redshaw, to join the family saddlery business, set up on his own as a photographer at the age of 18. This would have needed some capital but as his father was a prosperous businessman, it seems likely that he was given financial assistance to take over the premises in North Street vacated by Joseph Flatters.

By 1874, the family business founded by Thomas Redshaw (1793-1874) had considerable property and business interests in North Street with a fancy goods department run by John's wife, Elizabeth, and so a shop dealing with photography, then in its early stages of development, would have been a natural addition. In this event, the stock accrued by Flatters, including the plates of the photographs, would have passed to him which would explain his stamp on the back when they were printed for re-sale and bought by Letitia Barsby.

Letitia died in 1921, aged 79, and is buried in the town cemetery but we are indebted to her perception in keeping a record of these events because these three photographs are among the earliest taken in Bourne showing the town as it was almost 150 years ago. Her album containing these views and many family portraits, recently surfaced at the Wimbledon home of her great grandson, Chris Kettle, who found them at the bottom of a tin trunk, a discovery that inspired this investigation and we are indebted to him for his permission to reproduce them.