A Victorian Christmas

THE TRADITIONAL evocation of the festive season will be forever associated with Charles Dickens whose novels have inspired millions of greetings cards featuring the fireside, the Yule log, snow covered rooftops and a decorated tree and presents, and it is this depiction that we most associate with scenes of Christmas past.

The Victorian perception of Christmas has resulted in stylised pictures of towns such as Bourne as it was in the 19th century full of shops with quaint bow windows, streets with stage coaches passing through, ladies in bonnets and muffs and ruddy-faced urchins throwing snowballs.

In 1887 for instance, the shop windows in Bourne during the festive season did have that resemblance, the grocery, butchery and bakery shops crammed with appetising wares and the millinery and drapery stores displaying the latest fashions. But there were no illuminations, street gas lamps having only just been introduced and the Christmas lights we know today did not arrive until 1967.

The annual Christmas Fatstock Show was a regular feature of farming life during this period and beasts were bought for slaughter in readiness for the boom in business, the meat proudly displayed in their windows and sides of beef hung outside on hooks awaiting buyers. That year, one butcher alone, George Mays of Eastgate, killed 300 sheep, one weighing 211 lb, and nine cattle, to meet the demand, and at that time he was only one of nine butchers in the town when the population was under 4,000.

Christmas Day was ushered in with carols from Bourne Brass Band playing in the market place and peals of bells from the Abbey Church which was the centrepiece of the Christmas story, the interior of the 12th century stone building beautifully decorated by a small army of helpers in readiness for the three choral services that day.

The altar bore the inscription “Emmanuel, God with us” in white letters on a scarlet ground with an arrangement of evergreens interspersed with flowers while the pulpit was decked with seasonal holly and ivy and crosses made of chrysanthemums. Biblical texts worked in white on a scarlet ground and encircled with wreaths and evergreens adorned the sills of the windows in the north and south aisles and the font was decorated with chrysanthemums and the base encircled with ivy and a variety of prettily frosted evergreens.

The public houses were full throughout the Christmas period yet despite the large number of licensed premises in Bourne, this was the age of temperance and there was always someone ready to warn against the perils of the demon drink. In 1887, Mr Thomas Rosbottom, a celebrated Lancashire lecturer, paid a Christmas visit to address meetings at the Victoria Hall in Spalding Road (now demolished) where he was given a rousing welcome. His speech was filled with humorous and pathetic anecdotes about the effects of drinking on marriage, the family and human relationships, and eloquent exhortations to abstain, claiming that he had induced thousands to sign to pledge promising to give up alcohol in the future.

On the two days after Boxing Day, a grand fancy fair similar to our modern pantomimes was staged at the Corn Exchange where the hall had been turned into an imaginary international bazaar, the work of Alfred Stubley, a painter and sign writer, of West Street, Bourne, a man with a vivid imagination who was noted throughout Lincolnshire for the stage sets he designed for amateur musical productions.

A local newspaper description of the colourful setting said: “The scene was laid in Canton and a peculiar conglomeration of Oriental and European architecture was depicted with realistic effect. The enterprising traveller passed in succession a Persian residence, an Indian cottage, a Chinese house, a delightful Japanese village, a Tyrolese chalet, a snug mountain home covered with snow and having icicles hanging from the roof, a magnificent Buddhist temple having its elaborate exterior embellished with representatives of the Oriental deity and dragons, and the last abode in the curious street was an Australian log hut.

“The articles exhibited on the stalls were both useful and ornamental. Various entertainments were given in the evenings. Vocal and instrumental musical items and presentations were performed at intervals which were very popular. The promoters of the enterprise are to be congratulated on the success which has deservedly crowned their efforts.”

But not everyone could afford to buy what was displayed in the shop windows and those who could not queued up at the National School in North Street (now the Conservative Party headquarters) where the Vicar, the Rev Hugh Mansfield, assisted by his churchwardens and officials from various charities, made their annual distribution among the deserving poor, the gifts including 700 yards of flannel, 50 blankets, 700 yards of calico and 170 tons of coal.

Much of this was paid for by Harrington’s Charity, a bequest from Robert Harrington (1589-1654), a Bourne man who made his fortune in London and left it for the benefit of the town, a legacy that is still enjoyed today and administered by Bourne United Charities. There were also gifts of food and clothing brought in by townspeople.

At the workhouse (now demolished), the Guardians of Bourne Union gave their annual treat to the inmates on Boxing Day where the monotonous and unappetising food normally served was replaced with roast beef and plum pudding with beer and tobacco to follow. They were not, however, allowed to forget the generosity that had been bestowed upon them and grateful thanks were expressed for what they had received while the children who could write were urged to show their gratitude to the guardians by letter. The workhouse also reminds us that although the Victorians observed Christmas with great celebration, this was a time of hardship and of poverty for many.

Today, Christmas has become a spending spree for most and few will go short of food, drink, presents and other luxuries. Despite the economic situation with many families cutting back, the average person will be spending around £400 on gifts and entertainment while online shopping alone is expected to exceed £6 billion.