The 1972 re-opening of the Red Hall

The re-opening of the Red Hall in 1972 was one of the biggest heritage events for Bourne in recent years because it signalled the end of the uncertainty over its future and the dawn of a new era in its role as a community centre.

The acquirement of the freehold, the refurbishment programme and raising the finance, was largely the inspiration of one man, Councillor Jack Burchnell, father of Bourne Urban District Council, who saw it as a dream come true, the peak of his achievement after 24 years as a councillor and his later role as chairman of Bourne United Charities.

He was also chairman of the appeal committee which had raised £35,000 towards the cost of restoration [£600,000 at 2012 values], £20,000 had already been contributed when the Red Hall re-opened on Saturday 2nd December 1972. The money came from the Pilgrim Trust at Boston (£2,000), the Department of the Environment (£5,000), Kesteven County Council (£800), Bourne Urban District Council (£1,300), South Kesteven Rural District Council (£1,000) and the balance from local fund raising.

The restoration was carried out to ensure that the hall retained its Tudor charm and its reputation as one of the finest Elizabethan buildings in the country, an amenity of immense local value and an attraction for tourists and the Stamford Mercury reported:

A three-storey building whose floors are linked by priceless English oak stairways, the hall will include an arts centre, a local museum, luxury reception suite, lecture hall, assembly hall seating nearly 100 people, boardroom, anterooms, kitchen and toilets. The late Mrs E C B Dunbar generously paid for furnishing and curtaining the boardroom and appropriately, this room will also contain furniture given by BUDC which was used by the council until it changed its meeting place from the Corn Exchange to the Town Hall. There is a possibility that the parish council to replace the urban council under local government reorganisation will hold its meetings in the Red Hall boardroom.

Restoration has been going on since the hall was given to Bourne United Charities in 1962 soon after the railway station closed but it is only the last year or so that progress has been speeded up. Six months ago, the gardens surrounding the hall were an overgrown shambles but members of the Bourne Round Table, working during summer evenings and at weekends, cleared them. Now they are ready for Tudor landscaping by Mr John Codrington, who is an international expert, introduced to BUC by Councillor Burchnell. In addition to these gardens, there will be a spacious car park.

The official opening was held at 3 pm by the Earl of Ancaster who was joined by celebrities from around the county. There were guided tours by the wives of the trustees and pupils from Bourne Secondary School prepared and served tea while pupils form Bourne Grammar School set up a museum.

Councillor Burchnell said afterwards: "This is just another example of the tremendous benefits the town receives from Bourne United Charities."

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