Wake House under threat

WAKE HOUSE is by no means an architectural gem but it is part of our heritage and as such should be preserved. There is also official backing for this because the owners, South Kesteven District Council, included the building in their survey of historic properties in July 1977 when it was given a Grade II listing which means that it cannot be altered or demolished without special permission from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The house is the large property on the west side of North Street, Bourne, and is best known as the home of Charles Frederick Worth, son of a local solicitor, who was born here on 13th October 1825 and later found international fame in Paris where he established his famous fashion house which dressed the world‘s rich and titled women.

The listing document describes the building thus: “Early 19th century. Three storeys. Rendered. Modern tile roof. Heavy carved wood eaves cornice on brackets. Plinth. The doorway has been replaced by a modern three light canted brick bay window. Three windows, double hung sashes, flat arch, flush frame, marginal glazing, stone sills. Left hand section, later, of two storeys, one flat arched window to each storey. Interior altered, but plain staircase remains. Recently modernised.”

The house was built on the site of the old Waggon and Horses public house which was pulled down as part of the development, and became the home of William Worth, a local solicitor, after he married Mary Ann Quincy in 1816, using the ground floor as the offices for his practice as an attorney at law. The couple had five children, William (1819), Harriet (1821), Sarah (1824) and Charles (1824) who died in infancy followed by another son, Charles Frederick, who was born on 13th October 1825 when the couple followed the practice that was usual at the time of giving him the same name and he was destined to become the Charles Worth of fashion history.

William Worth had an extravagant lifestyle of drinking, gambling and bad investments which led to bankruptcy and in 1836 he finally deserted his wife and children after his affairs collapsed and they left Wake House to live with wealthy relatives at Billingborough where she was employed as a housekeeper. When Charles was 13, he was put on a stage coach to London to take up a job with a leading drapery firm, later leaving for Paris to pursue his career and by the time he died in 1895, he had become an international celebrity in the world of fashion.

But his father’s impoverishment had cost the family Wake House which he had been forced to sell and the new owner was William Darwin of Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire but it was later acquired by G W Willders, a solicitor, who had taken over Worth's practice. In 1853, two years after Willders died, the property was bought by the solicitor Mr Stephen Andrews, remaining a legal practice until the early years of the last century when the property was sold to South Kesteven Rural District Council for use as offices and during this time iron railings and a narrow strip of garden adorned the frontage and the authority’s coat of arms can still be seen above the bay window. Following the re-organisation of local government in 1974, ownership passed to South Kesteven District Council who remained in occupation until 1993 when they moved their local offices into the Town Hall.

Wake House then stood empty for a time awaiting a buyer and soon took on an abandoned appearance with a For Sale sign nailed to the front but in 1997, it was handed over to a voluntary organisation, the Bourne Arts and Community Trust, which was given a three-year lease of the premises for a peppercorn rent of £5 a year. Fund raising began immediately to turn it into an arts, crafts and community centre that was officially opened in September 2000 by Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, who lives at nearby Grimsthorpe Castle. Memorabilia associated with the house and with Charles Worth are displayed in the Baxter Room, formerly the council chamber while the rest of the house is now fully used in its new role.

For some years, there was a small metal plate commemorating the birth of Charles Worth fixed to the outside wall of the building by South Kesteven District Council but this was removed during restoration work and now hangs on the wall in the entrance foyer while an application was made for a prestigious blue plaque from English Heritage. These distinctive signs draw attention to buildings of interest because of their associations with famous people, provided they have been dead for at least 20 years and (1) are regarded as eminent in their profession, (2) have made some important contribution to human welfare or happiness, (3) had such an outstanding personality that the well-informed passer-by immediately recognises the name, or (4) simply that they deserve recognition.

Charles Worth was adjudged as falling into one or more of these categories and was so honoured in December 2002 when the vacant space was filled by a prestigious blue plaque marking its connections with the famous Paris designer who is described as the "Father of Haute Couture" and there have been suggestions that the building should now be renamed Worth House rather than Wake House which remembers an entirely different character in the shape of Hereward the Wake.

Unfortunately, the future of Wake House is currently in the balance with the building deteriorating, the window sills and doorcase crumbling and the rendering on the frontage in need of urgent attention while other work is required around the property, including the security fencing at the back as negotiations over its future continue with the trust trying to obtain a conditional 25-year full repairing lease from SKDC. “This will enable us apply for grants to carry out the necessary work to bring the building up to standard”, said the trust chairman, Mrs Jean Joyce. “But until we get it we are unable to do a thing.”