Bourne Castle

- a remarkable discovery on April 1st

Photographed in 2006

Rare parchments found among the ancient timbers of Baldock’s Mill in South Street have finally established the existence of a castle in Bourne almost 1,000 years ago. One of them contains an early drawing of the battlemented fortification favoured during Norman times and is believed to be the work of a monk who lived at the abbey between the time of Hereward the Wake (1070) and Geoffrey of Bourne (1292), a noble knight and one of the first lords of the manor.

The discovery is particularly important because it reveals for the first time the design and layout of the castle, details that have eluded antiquarians and archaeologists in recent centuries, with a moat, palisade surrounds, a gateway and solid interior fortifications, much the same design as that envisaged by the archaeological dig of 1861 and the geo-physical survey carried out above ground at the Wellhead Gardens this month by a specialist team using the latest electronic equipment to test what actually lies below the surface.

The painting was among several documents found by Jim Jones, custodian of the mill, while laying new electrical cables for the computers that have been recently installed for the benefit of visitors. He climbed up into the eves to complete the wiring and quite accidentally brushed against the roof between the timbers and a large section fell away to reveal a dried sheepskin pouch containing several documents bound together with horse hair.

He took the pouch down into the office and was astounded at what he found inside and, realising the importance of the discovery, the Civic Society, which administers the Heritage Centre housed at the mill, immediately contacted the British Museum. Experts from their mediaeval manuscripts department have since visited Bourne and the documents have been taken back to London for further investigation but Professor Johannes Unsinn, a former lecturer in early European fortifications at the University of Cologne, has already issued a report on their findings.

Preliminary examination reveals that the documents date back to the 12th century to that period after the Norman invasion when the conquerors were consolidating their victory with a busy period of building castles at various vantage points throughout England and in view of the importance of Bourne, the town was an obvious choice for a battlemented fortification to help keep the population in order. It is also believed that the drawing of the castle and surrounding settlement was the work of an Augustinian canon who was resident at the abbey and who specialised in illuminated parchments and that he took his panoramic view from the top of the church tower which shows its position alongside the river, now known as the Bourne Eau, and the related waterways encircling the site, thus proving the theory of a motte and bailey much favoured by past investigations.

The painting reproduced above is thought to have been completed circa 1190 because the accompanying text is written in the same style as that employed by Orm the Preacher, the scholar and writer of homilies who flourished here circa 1175 and who may have been tutor to the artist. It shows the layout as it was soon after construction with the castle dominating the site and a large number of dwellings for serfs and servants and those who provided for their needs, small merchants and suchlike, as well as a long house for meetings, for it was this settlement that provided the basis for the Bourne we know today.

Professor Unsinn is particularly surprised at the condition of the painting because it has retained the vibrant colours in which it was originally executed. “It has hardly seen the light of day since it was completed and has not therefore deteriorated in any way”, he said. “Although painted in the naïve style of the time it does give us a good idea of how Bourne looked in the 12th century and should settle once and for all the debate about whether a castle existed on this site during that period.”

The painting is to hang in the mediaeval section at the British Museum but a copy has already been made available to the Civic Society and is now on display at the Heritage Centre.

NOTE: This article was published by the Bourne web site on Saturday 1st April 2006 and again on Facebook on 1st April 2016. The illustration above is the work of the late Michael (Mick) Smith, a retired policeman from Bourne, and is actually on display at the Heritage Centre.

Go to:     Main Index    Villages Index