Inns & hostelries

Inns and other hostelries

Bourne has never been short of hostelries and in 1857 there were eleven taverns or public houses in the town and fourteen by the end of the century. Since then, there has been a fluctuating pattern of closures and openings with the most dramatic developments occurring during the final years of the 20th century when the face of the traditional public house began to change, influenced by varying ownership, an increase in opening hours, the ban on smoking in public places, a decline in drinking habits and a demand for food to be served.

Among those that have survived include the Golden Lion in West Street, opened circa 1844, and the Red Lion in South Street, a favourite haunt of young people, especially at weekends, while across the road is the stone built Mason's Arms.

One of the most recent of our public houses was opened in May 2002 in a converted shop on the west side of North Street. A grocery business founded by John Smith in 1857 operated from this three-storey listed building until it closed in December 1998. Planning permission was subsequently granted for it to be turned into a public house but the new owners have incorporated several of the original features in the refurbished premises, including the Victorian window and the old enamelled trade plates on the front, and they have also retained the original business name, Smiths of Bourne, by which the new public house is now known.

Other newcomers to the scene are The Jubilee, opened across the road at No 30 North Street in 2006 in a building with a chequered history as an ironmonger’s shop, garage and blacksmith’s forge but retaining features from all three, and Firkin Ale, also established in former retail premises nearby at No 36 North Street, although in 2014 this changed hands to become Archie's Bar.

The Sugar Mill in South Road began trading in December 2012 as a public house and restaurant, one of the national chain owned by the brewers Marstons plc, so bringing a new standard of quality and service to Bourne. The premises were busy on the opening day, Monday 3rd December, and the initial reaction from customers was so favourable that it will undoubtedly attract a lot of business away from existing public houses.

The Crown in West Street ceased trading in March 1991 followed by the Royal Oak which closed in 2009 after serving the North Street neighbourhood for almost two centuries and has since been converted into three flats while the Marquess of Granby in Abbey Road closed in 2011 and the building sold for commercial development.

Not all of the other public houses in Bourne are doing good business either, as recent changes in managership have shown with some vacancies unfilled for several months while at least one other is up for sale, and so more closures may soon become a possibility, so dramatically changing the familiar appearance of the town.

The Mason's Arms in South Street

Anchor Inn

The Anchor in Eastgate

The Red Lion photographed in 2010

The Red Lion in South Street

THE CHANGING FACE OF BOURNE

One of the most popular hostelries in Bourne since the early 19th century has been the Golden Lion in West Street which is seen here at its best in 2002. In later years, the Grade II listed property deteriorated (below) and was eventually sold by the brewery to a private buyer who planned a complete restoration during 2015 when it was closed for the work to be completed.

Photographed in 2010

No 36 North Street

The shop premises (above) were once occupied by a leading tailors and
outfitters but were converted for use as a real ale outlet known as Firkin Ale and then Archie's Bar in 2014, while the Sugar Mill (below) is another new public house and restaurant which opened in South Road in December 2012.

Photographed in December 2012

PUB CLOSURES

Photographed in 2009
The Royal Oak which closed in 2009.

Photographed in 2001
The Marquis of Granby which closed in 2011.

TAVERNS AND PUBLIC HOUSES IN BOURNE PAST AND PRESENT Those in brown type have since closed
Anchor Inn, 44 Eastgate Angel Hotel, Market Place Arxhie's Bar, 36 North Street Boat Inn, South Fen Burghley Arms, 6 North Street (formerly the Bull Hotel) Butcher's Arms, 32 Eastgate Crown Hotel, 8 West Street Elephant and Castle, North Street Firkin Ale, 36 North Street Fox and Hounds (address unknown) Golden Lion, 49 West Street Greyhound Inn, Spalding Road Greyhound Inn, 6 North Fen Horse and Groom, 10 West Street Horse and Jockey (address unknown) The Jubilee, 30 North Street King's Head, Bedehouse Bank Light Dragoon, 17 Star Lane (Abbey Road) Marquis of Granby, Abbey Road (formerly Star Lane) Mason's Arms, 15 South Street Nag's Head Hotel, 2 Abbey Road New Inn, 9 Victoria Place New Inn, Eastgate New Inn, South Fen New Inn, Star Lane (Abbey Road) Odd Fellows (1845 - location unknown) Old Wharf Inn, Eastgate Railway Tavern, 15 Austerby Red Lion Inn, 14 South Street Royal Oak, 74 North Street Six Bells, 35 North Street Smiths of Bourne, 25 North Street The Sugar Mill, South Road Three Horseshoes, North Fen Waggon and Horses, 41 North Street Wharf Inn, Eastgate White Hart (address unknown) White Horse, West Street Old Windmill Inn, 39 North Street Wishing Well, Dyke (formerly the Crown) Woolpack Inn, Eastgate
BEER HOUSES known to be in business on the dates shown
William Bannister, North Fen (1856) William Bannister, Eastgate (1872) Thomas Bell, Eastgate (1856) Samuel Bolton, North Fen (1913) Thomas Brown, Dyke (1842) William Cunnington, Market Place (1872) Thomas Ford, Eastgate (1856) John Frost, Eastgate (1856) John Jackson, Tongue End (1876) Edward & Sarah Knott, Eastgate (1856) Edward Lancaster, West Street (1842) John Mansfield, Eastgate (1842) William Mason, Eastgate (1876) John Morton, North Fen (1913) Samuel Nixon, Eastgate (1872)	Joseph Pell, Eastgate (1842) Richard Robinson, Eastgate (1856) William Sardeson, Dyke (1842) John Sherwin, West Street (1842) Henry Sims, North Fen (1872) John Smith, North Fen (1856) Thomas Steel, Eastgate (1842) Henry Stubley, Austerby (1876) Fanny Thistleton, Eastgate (1872) John Thorpe, Star Lane (Abbey Road) (1856) George Walker, Eastgate (1842) John Walker, West Street (1842) James Watson, North Street (1856) William Wilkinson, North Street (1876) James Woodhead, Eastgate (1872)
NOTE: The sale of beer is now controlled by the licensing justices but in early 19th century England, licenses could be obtained without application to the magistrates. The passing of the Wine and Beerhouse Act in 1869 regulated the sale of beer and owners were taxed on the amount sold. There has been continuous taxation on beer since and as the running of a beer house became a less attractive business proposition, so their numbers declined and by the turn of the century they had almost disappeared completely.

The Old Windmill Inn

THE OLD WINDMILL INN

The public house at No 39 North Street was run by a woman in 1835, a rare occurrence. She was Mary Banks who prided herself on selling "foreign spirits" which no doubt referred to the strong rum of the period. It continued in business until 1965 when the building was incorporated with Wake House next door, the last tenants being Ron and Elsie Hargreaves who kept it for ten years.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

PIGEON SHOOTING and OPENING DINNER - GOLDEN LION, BOURNE
Thomas Banks respectfully announces to his sporting friends and the public generally that his opening dinner will take place on Wednesday the 7th February 1844 on which occasion their company will be esteemed. A SILVER CUP will be shot for, the first bird to fly at ten o'clock. Tickets five shillings each, including a pint of wine. Dinner on the table at four o'clock.
T B begs to acknowledge the patronage with which he has been favoured since his residence at the above inn and to inform his friends that he has made such alterations as enable him to furnish every possible accommodation to them. Well-aired beds, choice wines and spirits, excellent stabling, loose boxes and lock up chaise house. - public notice from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 26th January 1844.

ROYAL OAK INN, BOURNE
Edward Lancaster, having taken and entered upon the old established inn, begs to solicit the support of his friends and the public and to assure them that it will ever be his study to secure the approbation of his guests by blending comfort with economy and by using every exertion in the management of his house to render it worthy of their patronage and support. Note: Good well-aired beds and good stabling. - public notice from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 26th April 1844.

Speaking at the opening of the Kesteven Sessions at the Town Hall, Bourne, on Monday, the chairman, Lieut-General Johnson said he deemed it advisable to notice the disgraceful manner in which some public houses, particularly in Bourne, had been conducted. There being great difficulty in convicting publicans of irregularities, owing to the reluctance of parties to give information, the magistrates had determined to give orders that they should be narrowly watched. The consequence was that he held in his hand a list of public houses in Bourne where disorderly conduct had prevailed: among these were the Red Lion, the Golden Lion, the Odd Fellows and the New Inn.. The last named house had been particularly remarkable for its irregularities and he (the chairman) had no doubt that the magistrates would refuse to renew this licence. An attempt had been made, by a trick, to get out of the consequences: the present landlord had made a sort of bargain with another person to dispose of the house and transfer the licence, but it would be the duty of the magistrates to refuse to take into further account any such change, otherwise the occupier would evade the consequences to which he had made himself liable. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 30th June 1848.

TO LET with immediate possession, the old licensed public house, the Anchor Inn, together with the butcher's shop adjoining, in Eastgate, Bourne. Inventory and fixtures small. Enquire of the tenant or of Mr Marsden, Deeping. - public notice from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 29th September 1848.

TO BE LET with immediate possession, the Woolpack, in the Eastgate, Bourne, in which an extensive business as a butcher has also been carried on for many years. The tenant is not required to take any fixtures. Apply to Mr Spreckley, Eastgate Brewery, Bourne. - public notice from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 13th October 1848.

PIGEON SHOOTING - Old Windmill Inn, Bourne
A FAT HOG WEIGHING 20 stone will be shot for on Thursday the 30th January inst., by ten subscribers at 10s. each. First bird to fly at 10 am. Dinner at four o'clock. Tickets 2s. 6d. each may be had of W Banks, Old Windmill Inn.
- public notice from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 24th January 1851.

REVISED OCTOBER 2014