by REX NEEDLE

THE NAG'S HEAD is an imposing building at the corner of South Street and Abbey Road and had an important place in the social life of the town in past times, used by many local organisations as headquarters, for meetings, dinners and other important occasions. In fact, its role rivalled that of the Angel Hotel across the market square as the venue for celebration and revelry.

There has been a hostelry on this site for many years but the present building dates from the early 19th century, built of yellow bricks, probably made at Little Bytham, with a Collyweston slate roof, since replaced with stone pantiles, and appears to have assumed the name of the Nag's Head Hotel after it was discarded by the Angel around 1800. This has been shortened in recent years to just the Nag's Head, a name that reflects the Englishman's affection for the horse in this agricultural community although it is interpreted in some districts as a shrewish wife and therefore a place of refuge for husbands who are so victimised.

Its importance as a meeting place is reflected in the many organisations it attracted. For instance, Bourne Cricket Club was formed there during a public meeting on Friday 17th March 1882 under the chairmanship of the local general practitioner, Dr Tom Harker, and the present Bourne Town Football Club came into being in 1897 (not 1883 as is popularly believed) during a public meeting on Tuesday 24th August under the chairmanship of Robert Gardner, bank manager and magistrate. The Bourne Angling Association also owed its existence to an inaugural meeting at the Nag’s Head on Monday 11th March 1895 when businessman and landowner Thomas Baxter gave permission for members to fish his waters along the Bourne Eau and River Glen and he was subsequently elected club president.

Much of the popularity of the inn was due largely to the landlords and the most prominent of these in past times was John Baxter Shilcock (1850-1927), a member of a family that rose to prominence during the early 19th century. His father, Robert Shilcock (1823-1908), had moved to Bourne as a young man and made his fortune as a miller and maltster and in 1872, son John married Alice Thornton whose parents kept the Nag's Head. When her father died, Alice's widowed mother, Mrs Maria Thornton, ran the pub for a while with her son Thomas and daughter Martha until the tenancy was taken over by John who moved in with his wife Alice in 1895.

It was an astute move because he was to preside as mine host for a quarter of a century, proving to be not only a model landlord who increased custom dramatically in the bars of the public house, but also specialising in outside catering and there were few social occasions in Bourne for which he did not provide the food and the drink which soon became a very profitable sideline.

He and Alice kept the Nag’s Head for 25 years and their six daughters became one of the attractions, Alice Mary (born 1873), Annie Beatrice (1875), Fanny (1877), Martha Louise (1880), Ida Maud (1885) and Ethel, known as Effie (1886). All were renowned for their beauty and keenly sought as wives and in 1898 Annie married Thomas Mays, a successful businessman in the town, their son William Raymond rising to eminence as the world-famous racing driver, builder of fast cars and founder of the BRM organisation.

Shilcock's time was now being increasingly taken up with his two consuming passions, the church and local affairs. His father had been a long-serving people’s warden of the Abbey Church and when he retired, his son succeeded him, the office being a prestigious one at that time and much sought after and it also carried with it a trusteeship of the Bourne United Charities, an appointment he held until four years before his death. His interest in community matters prompted him to stand for election to the first parish council ever formed in Bourne, following the Local Government Act of 1894, coming second in the polls and when Bourne Urban District Council was formed in 1899, he became one of its first members and its very first chairman, being elected again in 1921-22.

But despite being a pillar of society, there is evidence that Shilcock was prepared to cut corners when it came to turning a penny. It was while he was landlord of the Nag's Head that he fell foul of the rationing restrictions during the Great War of 1914-18 which led to his appearance before the magistrates at Bourne Town Hall on Thursday 26th September 1918 when he was summoned for three breaches of the regulations but pleaded not guilty on all counts. The court was told that Shilcock was a licensed caterer and received from the Food Control Committee a permit to purchase 28 lbs. of meat each fortnight for which he had to make a return, accompanied by coupons taken from the customers who had been supplied, but in the cases before the court, the numbers surrendered were short of the requisite amounts.

He told the bench that the coupons had been collected by the servants in his house and placed on one side and as it was impossible to supervise them at all times, that no doubt accounted for some of the missing coupons. The chairman of the bench, Mr Edward Smith, obviously did not believe the excuse because he fined Shilcock five shillings on each of the three summonses and ordered him to pay one guinea in costs.

Nevertheless, despite this example of unpatriotic behaviour, Shilcock’s successful career as landlord continued until 1920 when he and his wife retired and went to live at a house in North Road where he died on 14th June 1927, aged 77. Alice survived him by ten years, passing away on 9th October 1937, aged 84, and they are buried in the same grave at the town cemetery.

In later years, from 1966 until 1979, the late Denys Clark was landlord of the Nag’s Head and, coincidentally, his wife also set a local government record by becoming the first woman chairman of South Kesteven District Council, holding office for two terms from 1990-1992. She continues to serve the community at the age of 87 as Councillor Marjorie Clark, a member of the town council and twice Mayor of Bourne.

NOTE: This article was published by The Local newspaper on Friday 22nd September 2006.