Red Hall petition

The petition of 1891 to save the Red Hall

The petition was handwritten and signed by 76 of Bourne's leading citizens, headed by the Vicar, the Rev Hugh Mansfield, his churchwardens and parochial church councillors, and by tradesmen and shopkeepers as well as several private citizens of wealth and importance. It contained an engraving of the Red Hall and was headed "A memorial from the inhabitants of Bourne and neighbourhood to the directors of the Great Northern and Midland Railway Companies" and stated:


We the undersigned beg respectfully to approach you on the subject of the Old Hall at Bourne now used as the railway station, in danger of being pulled down to make way for the extension of the railway from Saxby. The Old Hall is a red brick Elizabethan mansion with gabled roof and stone mullioned windows, once the residence of the Digby family, standing in park-like grounds and forms one of the many interesting historical features of Bourne. The walls are thick and strong and the roof weather tight. It has formed the subject of academy pictures and is still admired, measured and sketched by students, the fine oak staircase inside and the venerable yew tree 300 years old being objects of peculiar interest. It has attracted the attention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings who write with us in asking you to allow it to remain untouched that it may serve a useful purpose to your company and still exercise its quiet influence as an antidote to the restless spirit of its surroundings. We can ill afford to lose such picturesque and historical relics of the past and your memorialists therefore pray that it may still be presented to them.
Hugh McNeile Mansfield, Vicar Thomas T Mawby, Churchwarden R J Shilcock, Churchwarden James Measures, C C Thomas Measures, Draper Robert M Mills, Manufacturer T M Baxter, Chemist F J Clarke, Ironmonger Webber E Hill, Coal Merchant John Wolstencroft, Bourne James Gill, ditto S W Andrews, ditto John Smith, Grocer Charles Smith, ditto E Pearse, Bourne Thomas Pearse, Bourne T R Thomson, Jeweller W Belton, Bourne J E Belton, Bourne James Downes, General Dealer T Barsby Thomas E Sewell, Monumental Mason John B Roberts, Retired Chemist Robert Brown M B, Surgeon Hugh Hobson, Accountant William Harrison, House Decorator F T Peach, Confectioner David Pick, Corn & Flour Dealer Edgar J Judge, Chemist W North, Shoe Maker T S Shippey, Saddler R Stevenson, Butcher E S Dunacourt (sic), Bourne John Williamson, Bourne John T Pearse, Postmaster Arthur Bott, Brewer W J Mitchell, Bank Cashier C H Small, Bourne J Plowright Pooles (indecipherable) Bourne	John Charles Traylen, architect, Stamford W C Morris, junior, Bourne Thomas Harrison, Bourne M B Glendenning, Bourne Edward Hill, corn merchant Thomas M Glendenning, Bourne GNR J H Coggins, Bourne William Mansfield, butcher Henry William Palmer, Bourne William R Leary, ditto Joseph Ellicock, jeweller, Bourne Harry A Goodyer, Bourne James T Morris, Bookseller, Bourne Alexander Farr, Bourne Cecil W Bell, ditto John Evans, ditto John Barker, ditto W Finlay, ditto J Hinson Thomas Hardwick, ditto George Henry Mays, ditto H R F Canham, Head Master Grammar School J J Crane, Bourne Joseph J Davies, Head Master, Bourne Board Schools George Mays, butcher Joseph G Tillingham, grocer, Bourne Frederick Vinter, Bourne R L Wherry, Draper etc W Hall, cabinet maker, Bourne G Coules, butcher J Reeves, Bourne T Todd, ditto A Stubley, Art Decorator Joseph Wyles, Brewer William C H Anton, ditto John & Thomas Spencer, Editors & Publishers, Leicestershire Notes & Queries

Facsimile of the petition

NOTE: The names of those who signed were copied out by the same person in beautiful copperplate writing, presumably a clerk in the offices of the architect, John Traylen, and therefore the petition does not contain the original signatures, if indeed they were made at the time. As a result, there have been misspellings, notably with Glendening which appears here as Glendenning, Pearce (Pearse), Vintner (Vinter), Coales (Coules) and Thompson (Thomson).

A story about the battle to save the Red Hall subsequently appeared in the Illustrated London News on 9th April 1892 (page 455) together with an illustration by Burke Downing, reproduced below. Henry Philip Burke Downing (1865-1947) was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects also noted for his sketches of historic buildings and churches.

Newspaper engraving of 1892

THE OLD RED HALL AT BOURNE

Some regrets were lately occasioned by a rumour that the Old Red Hall, as it is called, near Bourne, in Lincolnshire, was doomed to destruction as standing in the way of a projected line of the London and North-Western Railway Company (sic) from Bourne to Saxby. This fine Elizabethan mansion, a place of frequent resort on account of its artistic and historical interest, was the residence of the Digby family, and is, according to tradition, the place where the conspiracy of Guy Fawkes was planned, which failed, so disastrously for the conspirators, in the object of dissolving Parliament in a more unconstitutional and expeditious manner than ever Cromwell did.
It is pleasant to hear that such excellent men of business as the directors of the London and North-Western Railway are so far touched by the romance of history that they are willing to turn aside their line to spare the famous old house, which may thus long be preserved for the benefit of the artist and of all who interest themselves in places associated with notable events in English history. Mr J C Trawlen (sic), of Stamford, architect and surveyor, drew up a memorial, which was signed by the vicar and many inhabitants of Bourne and was supported by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Bourne has, indeed, far more ancient and romantic associations, referring back to the Saxon "Hereward the Wake" and his heroic struggle against the Norman Conqueror, which is the subject of one of Charles Kingsley's most interesting tales.

NOTE: Reproduced from the Illustrated London News, 9th April 1892 (Page 455).