A POPULAR CROP for farmers in past times was flax and a small but thriving industry became established in Bourne during the early years of the 20th century. 

Flax is a plant grown for its fibrous stems from which linen and other products are made. They are long, unbranched and wiry with narrow and hairless lance shaped alternate leaves and small bright blue flowers. It belongs to the family Linaceae and has the botanical name Linum usitatissimum. 

Flax fibres are among the oldest crops in the world and their use for the production of linen goes back at least to ancient Egyptian times. Dyed flax fibres that were found in a cave in Dzudzuana (prehistoric Georgia) have been dated to 30,000 years ago and pictures on tombs and temple walls at Thebes depict flowering flax plants. The use of flax fibre in the manufacturing of cloth in Northern Europe dates back to Neolithic times and in North America, flax was introduced by the Puritans who began migrating to New England in the 17th century. 

The fibre is soft, lustrous and flexible and bundles of it have the appearance of long blonde hair, hence the literary description of flaxen. It is stronger than cotton but less elastic and the best grades are used for linen fabrics such as damasks, lace and sheeting while the coarser grades are used for the manufacture of twine and rope.

The fibre is also a raw material in the high quality paper industry and used for printed banknotes, rolling paper for cigarettes and tea bags.  

Mills for spinning flaxen yarn were invented by John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse of Darlington in 1787 and were soon in use in many of the major growing areas, including the fens. 

Flax had been familiar in South Lincolnshire from the earliest times, spinning and weaving being practised by the Britons and was still being grown in large quantities in the 18th century. The growing of flax was very similar to that of hemp, the process being to sow the seed in May and harvest at old Lammas (August 1st), usually by being pulled up by hand, not cut, in order to maximise the length of fibre. It was then bound into sheaves, steeped in water or retted and then laid on an eddish (stubble) field where it remained for two or three weeks before being tied into bundles, taken to the barn or mill where it was swingled, that is beaten and scraped with a long wooden implement to remove the coarser particles, and then sent to market. 

There was a good profit on an average crop in the late 19th century with several flax mills in the county to handle it, notably at Surfleet, and there was also an annual fair for the sale of flax at Spalding which was held on April 27th. 

The cultivation of flax continued during the 19^th century despite a mistaken belief by some farmers that the crop was likely to “hurt the land” and could be damaged by hedges and trees. But production on a much larger scale was revived during and after the Great War of 1914-18 and the old grain warehouse at the corner of Wherry's Lane and Burghley Street was converted for the processing, providing a large number of jobs for workers who flooded in from all parts of the county to take advantage of the seasonal opportunity to earn extra money. 

A local newspaper reported on Friday 10th January 1919: “The de-seeding of the flax harvested in the Bourne district has already commenced in the building which has been unoccupied for several years and has undergone considerable structural alterations, having been adapted for the purpose, and suitable machinery installed. As soon as possible, they will be working all night as well as day. The majority of the straw, after being through the mill, is being loaded on rail. The work is finding employment for a considerable number of hands, chiefly females.” 

Bringing in the flax meant the daily movement of large numbers of itinerant workers who were transported from field to field by lorry to keep pace with the harvest, rather like the gang master system which operates today in some areas of the Lincolnshire fens. In the summer of 1918, for instance, 500 casual 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.  

The encampment soon became a small tented town with all of its own facilities, a first aid centre and temporary hospital, a canteen where the workers ate, and even a small marquee which was used as a church. Harvesting flax was back breaking labour and involved long hours but the workers did have some time for leisure in the evenings and at weekends when they took part in the social life of the town, using the public houses, shops, churches and other amenities and many made friends among the local population. 

Today, the growing and harvesting of flax, also known as linseed, means mechanisation and diversification. The plant has become the source of linseed oil, flax fibre and a protein-rich stock feed and the seeds are harvested with a combine, crushed to extract the oil and then processed into linseed cattle cake.  

Alternatively, the plants may be uprooted using special flax-pulling machinery and then processed for the fibre in the stem. Despite this versatility, it has been a rare crop in recent years because it also needs a warm dry climate to do well but is slowly making a comeback in the fields of Lincolnshire where many acres of countryside turn an attractive blue as the crops come into flower during late spring and early summer although the days when large labour forces were needed at harvest time such as in Bourne in 1918 have long gone.