Bourne Diary - April 2014

Saturday 5^th April 2014

The origins of Wake House and the connection it has with Charles Worth have been discussed in a recent article which appeared in The Local (Friday 28th March) although we are able to provide further information and correct any false impressions that may have been given.

It was written on behalf of the Bourne Preservation Trust and implies that the great man may have lived there for only four years in his infancy but this would appear to be incorrect. The article also questions the date when Wake House was built and quotes from A History of Bourne by J D Birkbeck but research has moved on during the forty years that have elapsed since it was published in1976 and we can now add to our knowledge of these matters considerably.

The property dates back to the early 19th century and although the article suggests 1836, a more exact date of construction is 1821-24. William Worth, a solicitor, moved from Horbling to Bourne and set up his law practice in 1820 when the Waggon and Horses was on the market, a public house that was demolished to make way for a large three-storey town house that later became known as Wake House. We know this date to be correct because the Waggon and Horses had disappeared from the list of taverns in the town by the time William White published his directory of 1826.

Worth was married in 1816 to a local girl, Mary Ann Quincey, and already had a son and a daughter, William (1819) and Harriet (1821), but as more children were to follow, a large house would be needed as a family home with room for his law offices and as he was undoubtedly the first tenant we can also safely assume that he built it. Money does not appear to have been a problem at this time because by 1820 he had a prosperous practice with offices in both Bourne and Folkingham which was offering substantial mortgages from wealthy clients and so he had access to unlimited funds.

Three more children were subsequently born at the house, Sarah (1824) and Charles (also in 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 the following month he was baptised at the Abbey Church (November 10th) which would not have occurred if he had not been born in Bourne.

Worth became overwhelmed by money problems and deserted his wife and children in 1836 after his affairs collapsed, leaving them destitute, and in desperation, Mrs Worth sought help from wealthy relatives living at Billingborough who employed her as a housekeeper. Charles was forced to leave school at the age of 11 and after an unhappy spell as a printer’s apprentice he went to work at a local linen shop where we have the first signs of his future career because to help earn his keep, he often delighted the ladies of the village by making them intricate lace caps.

Employment was subsequently arranged for him with the linen drapery firm of Swan and Edgar in London and at the age of 13 he was put on a stagecoach to begin a new life in the capital and the rest, as they say, is history. His time living at Wake House was therefore 11 years and not the four suggested in the article while his father, William Worth, did not practise law in the area after 1836 and is believed to have departed for London. The house was heavily mortgaged and the mortgagee may well have been William Brown Darwin, a wealthy landowner of Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, a nephew of the celebrated Charles Darwin, because ownership reverted to him and he leased it to a Spalding solicitor, Gervase William Willders, who had taken over Worth's practice four years before, but when Darwin died in June 1841 he bought the property.

Willders himself died in September 1851 and this gives us a glimpse of the interior of the house because the entire contents were sold by auction at a two-day sale on the premises the following month consisting of furniture, books, a large quantity of silver cutlery and other items weighing 200 ozs., linen, china, glass and fine wines, revealing a gentleman’s residence of some style with even a piano made by the famous Robert Wornum in the drawing room and a small brewery near the kitchen.

Two years later, in 1853, the property was sold to another solicitor, Stephen Andrews, whose legal firm remained in occupation until it was converted for use as offices by various local authorities, including Bourne Urban District Council, formed in 1899, and later South Kesteven Rural District Council, formed in 1931, and it was during the latter's tenancy that extensive alterations were made to the frontage including the removal of the porch which was reinstated on the adjoining extension to the left between the house and the Old Windmill public house and replaced by the bay widow we see today with the authority’s coat of arms embossed above.

The article goes on to suggest that the porch be restored to its original position, presumably with the removal of the bay window, and the house returned to its initial design, a purist theory that is unlikely to win much support because there are many who will regard this as unrealistic and financially unviable, a case of turning back the clock two centuries to reinstate an unprepossessing building which had little to commend it from the start, as my photograph indicates, whereas repair and continued maintenance of the structure in its present form which has since become a familiar part of the street scene would be a far more desirable and practical way to proceed.

The other questionable aspect of the article is the inference that Charles Worth was not born there in 1825 and if this were so then the prestigious blue plaque erected by English Heritage in December 2002 which clearly marks the building as his birthplace was done so in error together with the metal plate that preceded it, placed there by Bourne Urban District Council in 1955 and which has since been relocated to a wall in the foyer. This will irritate many people in the town, not least those who run Wake House and the Charles Worth Gallery in South Street, but fortunately there is no evidence for this assertion and so the provenance remains secure.

However, the article does stress that Wake House should be restored before it deteriorates further and no one can argue with that. Unfortunately, the situation is the same as that which is holding up work on the cemetery chapel, a reluctance by those who hold the reins of power over these buildings to allow volunteers take charge and implement the work that is badly needed and until we have a change of heart by both South Kesteven District Council over Wake House and the Diocese of Lincoln over the chapel, then the current impasse will continue.

The fate of Bourne’s much loved black swans has aroused indignation in the columns of The Local newspaper after one of the present pair was killed by a fox (March 28th). This has been a problem since the first of these stately birds were introduced to St Peter’s Pool fifteen years ago and several have been lost to predators as a result.

Mrs Anne Wright of Essex Way, Bourne, fears that the practice of clipping their wings may be a contributory factor by preventing them from flying off when danger threatens and she has sent a letter of protest in an attempt to end this practice. “If we take away their ability to protect themselves”, she writes, “we should not leave them as easy prey for the next hungry fox or out of control dog. We don’t clip the wings of the ducks and they stay for the easy and plentiful food so surely the swans will do the same.”

This is a worthy sentiment but unfortunately sympathy is not enough in this case because the wings of black swans are pinioned by law. Strict restrictions are required in the keeping of these birds as outlined in 2005 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds which cited new government regulations that required anyone keeping non-native species to ensure that the birds do not escape to prevent them from breeding in the wild. This includes our own black swans and their cygnets which are therefore pinioned to prevent them from flying away and although bird lovers may not approve, it does appear to be a wise precaution.

Our black swans have been in residence at St Peter’s Pool since the first pair arrived in 1999, a gift from the Wildfowl Trust and have since become an icon for Bourne, having been featured on the front page of the town guide and frequently on the Bourne web site which is read around the world. Unfortunately, the original pair are now dead and others that have arrived to take their place, the last in May 2012, have suffered a similar fate.

Another mating pair has now been ordered from Belgium by the trustees of Bourne United Charities who administer the Wellhead Gardens. They are due to arrive in the next few weeks and we can only hope that their stay will be longer and safer. Although the latest attack is believed to have been carried out by a fox, dog walkers have been urged to remain vigilant and keep their pets on a lead.

One of the surprises that has ensued from the magnificent victory by Jade Etherington in the 2014 Winter Paralympics at Sochi has been a decision by the town council to grant her the freedom of the town and the ceremony was held at the Corn Exchange where a certificate honouring her new status was handed over by the mayor, Councillor David Higgs.

She therefore becomes the first person to receive the freedom, an honour which is the highest the authority can bestow but has only been available to parish councils since 2009. Our town council is, in effect, a parish council, formed in 1974 but in view of its historic status was given special dispensation to become a town council with a chairman who is also the mayor. Until recently, the granting of such freedoms  was confined to municipalities upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary, arising from the medieval practice of granting respected citizens freedom from serfdom and the tradition still lives on although today the title of freeman which goes with it confers no special privileges.

The freedom can also be granted to military units which have earned the city's trust, as with Peterborough which conferred such an honour on the RAF base at nearby Wittering in 1983, allowing the airmen to parade through the streets with bayonets fixed and drums beating as an affirmation of the bond between the service unit and the citizenry.

Honorary freedoms were governed by the Local Government Act of 1972 which enabled the councils of cities and boroughs give one to "persons of distinction and persons who have, in the opinion of the council, rendered eminent services" to the local area. However, the act was extended in 2009 to include parishes and county councils provided the freedom was approved by a two-thirds majority of the authority. In the case of Jade Etherington, the decision by the town council on Wednesday 26th March was unanimous.

We may now expect her to become a familiar face at gatherings in Bourne where her presence will be eagerly sought, not least at our schools where she has been an inspiration to many pupils. Jade, aged 23, of Mountbatten Way, Bourne, who is training to be a teacher, is a visually impaired skier who won three silver medals and one bronze at Sochi, making her the most decorated British athlete in a single winter Paralympic games. We gather that competing has left her in debt and she is now having problems with funding that may deter her from further competition but in view of her past resilience and determination it is doubtful if this will remain a major setback for long.

Thought for the week: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us. – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), American poet, lecturer and essayist.

Saturday 12^th April 2014

South Kesteven District Council has finally accepted what everyone knew already, that the new Community Access Point at the Corn Exchange is too small. This has been discussed in this column, in the letters pages of the local newspapers and in the streets of Bourne, yet it has taken the council two years to accept that you cannot put a quart into a pint pot.

The latest issue of their magazine sktoday (Spring 2014) tells us that they have finally listened to the people who use the place and redesigned the entire main floor in an attempt to create additional space and make it more user friendly although the fact remains that we which we have now is by no means what we had before.

The CAP opened in March last year to concentrate all council services at town, district and county level together under one roof including the public library from South Street, the register officer from West Street and the district and town council offices from the Town Hall, the reason for the new arrangement being to save money in the current round of public spending cuts. The work cost £600,000 which was three times over budget and within weeks of the opening, it was apparent that the place was too small with insufficient room for the public library, an inquiry desk and the staff required to deal with visitors with the result that complaints about the cramped conditions soon became commonplace.

The council has now revised the entire arrangement, a major reshuffle to utilise available space to the best advantage, as pictured above. Councillor Linda Neal (Bourne West), the council leader, told the magazine: “We have now re-arranged the customer service and library areas and have moved all of the computers into the main area of the library, giving our residents more space. We have also moved the booths used by our staff to meet with customers, into the area previously used as the computer and study area. This gives staff and customers more privacy when they are meeting.” The other issue was the cramped conditions while waiting around the meet and greet area which has also been redesigned to create more space.

Problems with space were inevitable from the start, even with the slimmed down services in the public library but at least the council has finally listened to what was being said because the changes have been made as a result of feedback from customers about the lack of space. “This shows that not only are we listening to what they want but also know how important it is that residents let us know if they think we could make improvements”, said Councillor Neal.

On the plus side, the new CAP is a very convenient one-stop call, offering 31 council services under one roof including benefits advice, enquiries about waste disposal, council housing, planning, repairs and licensing information while story time sessions for children are held on Tuesday afternoons and you can also pay your council tax, rent the latest DVD and audio CD and even register to vote. It is here to stay and perhaps in a year or two we will wonder what all the fuss was about.

Meanwhile, the fate of the Town Hall still hangs in the balance. After serving this town for almost two centuries, it now stands in the main street empty and unused, a forlorn relic of our past civic pride but now with an uncertain future and as these are changing times and money dictates events, it is doubtful if it will ever again fulfil a public role but will eventually be sold to the private sector, perhaps even becoming a night club and how could we have possibly explained that to those who have gone before.

There has at last been at attempt to reduce the waiting time to see the doctor in Bourne with one clinic introducing appointments on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings. The inordinate delay which has been a major talking point around the town for several months has now reached three and sometimes four weeks with the result that patients have been seeking advice from pharmacists and even going to the A and E departments at local hospitals but a far more serious scenario is that some have been putting up with their illnesses which could have drastic results.

Earlier this year, the Hereward Group Practice in Exeter Street introduced an open access clinic on Monday mornings from 9.30 am until 11.30 am and although this may mean a long wait, patients are seen by rotation according to when they book in and all are promised a consultation with a doctor before they leave. The clinic has now announced extended hours for additional appointments to see a doctor on Monday evenings and most Saturday mornings and appointments to see a nurse are also likely to be available very soon

This column reported last month (March 29th) that the Royal College of General Practitioners has warned that a funding crisis and increased demand for care has put general practice in this country "under severe threat of extinction" and that some were already closing due to lack of staff. It has also been suggested that the system nationally is being disrupted by too many people who do not turn up for appointments and, equally culpable, by patients who could easily solve their problem by self-medication or advice from a pharmacist.

Then there are time wasters, hypochondriacs and the idle seeking sick notes, all of whom are also eating into the resources of the clinics and we suggested that perhaps the time has come to impose a charge for an appointment, say £10 or £20, which would cure this misuse at a stroke and leave room for those who are really ill. The following week there was a national debate over whether everyone should pay £10 a month levy before they get treatment and although this failed to attract government attention, some form of additional funding seems quite likely in the future to prevent a financial crisis in the National Health Service which is struggling to meet the needs of the increasingly ageing population. One thing is certain, this is not a good time to be ill.

Sex is now one of the main ingredients for television and films, an element considered essential by producers to sell their products and the last taboos have long gone. Nothing is now left to the imagination and that which cannot be found in mainstream viewing can be sought out in the more remote channels after midnight or in the murky recesses of the Internet.

It was not always so. In years past, local watch committees and the Lord Chamberlain vetted suspect material before it was shown on stage or screen while the cinema had its own controls through the British Board of Film Censors. Almost fifty years ago, a controversial film came to Bourne designed to teach young people about sex but before it was given a public screening at the Tudor Cinema in North Street [now a Chinese restaurant] it needed the seal of approval from the authorities.

Accordingly, a specially invited audience went along to the cinema in the spring of 1969 for a screening of Helga, an 80-minute film made under the auspices of the German Ministry of Health and the first full length sex feature to be shown universally. They included the chairman of Bourne Urban District Council, Councillor Ted Kelby, the clerk, Mr Frank Mason, together with doctors, clergymen, school governors and a number of officials from organisations dealing with the youth of the town.

The film explaining the rudiments of sex and its consequences was intended as a guide to adolescents, young couples, parents and educationalists and had already been granted an “A” certificate by the board which enabled young people below the age of 16 to see it provided they were accompanied by an adult but the cinema owners decided that it would be better if it received official approval before being shown to the public. In the event, the film was given their endorsement and for five days from May 11th, attracted full houses of parents, young people and even escorted school parties.

Helga was part of a now legendary German sex education series that started in 1967 and there were several sequels. It was written and directed by Erich F Bender and contained scenes never shown on screen before from the actual moment of conception to the birth of the baby, the complete and intimate story of a young girl’s sexual awakenings. When it was shown in Bourne it was hailed as an essential part of education for young people but today it has been described, perhaps unfairly, as soft porn for teenagers dressed up as sex instruction for youngsters experiencing puberty.

History is not everyone’s strong point although most people know the circumstances and events relating to the two great conflicts which dominated the 20th century but not, it seems, staff at the Radio Times. This august publication, currently revelling in the title of Magazine of the Year, has been busy of late filling its columns with news and reviews about radio and television programmes devoted to the forthcoming anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 yet its editorial staff appear to be unaware of even the basic facts.

There was, for instance, on Saturday 14th March, a review in Today's Choices of the Radio 4 programme “1914-18: the Cultural Front” although the writer, Claire Webb, showed a remarkable ignorance of the major milestones because she referred to "Hitler's brutal occupation of Belgium in September 1914” when of course she was floundering helplessly in the wrong war by quoting events that occurred a quarter of a century later.

This magazine is intended to be a beacon of knowledge for listeners and viewers but this hardly reaches the standards to which it normally aspires and so my wife emailed the magazine pointing out their glaring error but there was no reply and so she wrote again, this time reminding them of "The Radio Times Promise" printed therein which states that "we cherish our editorial integrity as we strive to give you accurate and discerning guidance" which has a hollow ring in the light of this experience.

However, such scathing criticism did this time elicit a response from one David Hodges of Reader Services. “You are quite right and I am not sure what on earth we were thinking about the inclusion of Hitler in our write up on this programme”, he said. “Thank you for taking the trouble to contact us.”

But hang on a minute. What about a retraction in accordance with the editorial policy? After all, a mistake of this magnitude is the responsibility not only of the writer but also of the sub-editor and, most importantly, of the editor who is accountable for every word in the magazine. Not a hope. The staff were digging in because Mr Hodges replied: “We won’t as it is so long after the publication now. But it won’t be happening again.”

Well, of course it was a long time after publication because no one had replied in the first place, a policy perhaps of leaving a problem long enough and it will go away and the first letter of complaint had undoubtedly gone straight into the proverbial wpb. But should mistakes of this magnitude be allowed to fester, even in the file copies of the Radio Times, a permanent reminder for future generations of the staff’s inadequate knowledge of modern history? After all, World War One was a long time ago yet we are hearing enough about it now in the pages of this publication and the least they could do is get it right and if not correct it and apologise.

As it is, silence from the perpetrators so beware of anything you read there about WWI from now on. The events they quote might well be from WW2 or any other war that comes to hand.

Thought for the week: Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes. - Confucius (551 - 479 BC), Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and social philosopher whose teachings have influenced world thought.

Saturday 19^th April 2014

A photograph handed over to the archives of Bourne Civic Society has brought back memories of a wartime romance at the military hospital which was opened in the town during the First World War of 1914-18 to care for wounded soldiers from the front. The portrait is of a pretty young nurse who worked there, one of the many girls who volunteered for medical service as the casualties began arriving from the trenches in France and she has been identified as Ida Shilcock, daughter of John Shilcock, landlord of the Nag's Head which he kept for 25 years.

Ida was born in the town in 1884 and later enjoyed a busy social life taking part in many activities, even playing cricket in matches organised by Bourne Ladies held at the Abbey Lawn where she proved herself to be a competent batsman and a successful bowler. But when the war broke out she joined many other young ladies who trained as nurses to staff a new temporary hospital set up in Bourne by the War Office in conjunction with the British Red Cross to provide medical care for wounded soldiers returning from the front to convalesce.

Bourne Military Hospital opened in makeshift premises at the Vestry Hall in North Street in December 1914, with additional accommodation at the National School next door, and between then and November 1918, the unit’s forty beds were in continual use while the medical staff and orderlies recruited by the British Red Cross cared for almost 950 servicemen. Among them was a young officer in the Machine Gun Corps, Lieutenant Charles Morton Wiggin, who had been gassed and wounded. He was there for six months before returning to the front but their friendship continued by letter and they met again after the war had ended.

Ida Shilcock’s dedication to duty during her work at the hospital was acknowledged in the summer of 1919 during a ceremony at the Abbey Lawn when she was among 19 former Red Cross nurses who received a gold bar brooch with the inscription "Bourne V A D Hospital, 1914-18" in recognition of her work. The presentations were made by the hospital commandant, Dr John Gilpin (1864-1943), a local family doctor, who had been awarded the MBE in June 1918 for his services in conducting the unit in such an efficient manner.  

Then in January 1922, medals were issued by the Red Cross to 39 nurses and orderlies who had each devoted 1,000 hours in attending the sick and wounded at the hospital, the presentation being made by the Countess of Ancaster, president of the Bourne branch. Ida Shilcock was again among the recipients, although by then she was Mrs Wiggin, having married her former hospital patient, Charles Wiggin, at King’s Norton, Birmingham, in 1920.

The Vestry Hall, built in 1867 as a Calvinist chapel, still stands in North Street and after varied uses over the years was converted into a private home in 2004 although the original bronze plaque commemorating its role during the First World War can be seen over the front door in the entrance foyer.

John Shilcock, who was mine host at the Nag’s Head from 1895 until 1920, was also the first chairman of Bourne Urban District Council when it was formed in 1899. He and his wife, Alice, had six daughters, all renowned for their beauty and keenly sought in marriage and each of them found suitable partners, Alice Mary (1873) married Dr Arthur Boulton from Horncastle in 1895, Annie Beatrice (1875) married Thomas Mays in 1898, Fanny (1877) married Harry Dellow from Croydon in 1896, Martha Louise (1880) married John Agnew from Sleaford in 1903, and Ethel, known as Effie (1887), married Harold Twell in 1917.

Annie became the mother of Raymond Mays who went on to a distinguished career in international racing and designer of the BRM. Ida, who had been a bridesmaid at her wedding at the Abbey Church in June 1898, had two daughters, Joan and Barbara. Charles Wiggin, died in 1947, aged 68, and she passed away in 1974, aged 89.

Joan married and became Mrs Joan Johnson who died in 2009, aged 88, when the photograph of her mother in her nursing uniform passed to her son, retired civil servant Lindsay Johnson, aged 59, who lives at Bromley, Kent, and has now provided this copy of his grandmother for display at the Heritage Centre as a reminder of the role Bourne played during the First World War l00 years ago and the romance that blossomed from it.

From the archives – 140 years ago: The young men in the shops and offices of Bourne seem determined to employ the summer months ahead in a helpful manner. The Star Football Club has been re-organised, and commenced play on the evening of Monday last. In the morning many of them enjoy the national game of cricket before commencing business, the wickets often being pitched soon after five o'clock. - news item from the Grantham Journal, Saturday 25th April 1874.

Petitions are in the air at Bourne at the moment as angry citizens use this age-old method of trying to right perceived wrongs although as nothing is ever done immediately, it will be a matter of time before we know whether their endeavours are successful.

A petition is a request to those in charge do something, most commonly addressed to government or public organisation and has come to mean a document for the attention of authority and signed by numerous individuals. The earliest we know of were used in pre-modern imperial China where court secretaries read petitions aloud to the emperor. They could be sent by anybody, from someone of rank to a common farmer and frequently used to impeach questionable and corrupt local officials. They were also a frequent form of protest in the House of Commons during the 18th and 19th centuries while in the United States, the First Amendment to the constitution guarantees the right of the people "to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Today, the petition is a popular instrument at local level to gain public attention over an issue and to persuade those in charge to do something about it and as there is much that needs to be done in most communities there is always a petition somewhere seeking more signatures, copies being posted in shops and supermarkets although the Internet is fast becoming the most popular place for people to signal their support.

The latest in Bourne comes from a young mother who is concerned about the state of the children’s play area at the Wellhead Field which has been in need of repair for several months. Children’s play areas are by definition well used and so regular maintenance is important, particularly this one which was state of the art when installed twelve years ago on land owned by Bourne United Charities but regulated by South Kesteven District Council when a dream became a reality for a group of Bourne residents who had been working hard to open a play park for children under the age of six. The Playwell Committee spent three years on the task of raising the £32,000 needed for the project which was officially opened in May 2002, the Queen’s golden jubilee year.

The money came from fund raising events such as craft fairs and car boot sales and was supplemented by grants from the local authorities, but it would not have materialised without the persistence of committee chairman Mrs Theresa Dimbleby who began the campaign and was appropriately asked to cut the ribbon at the opening. The park offered youngsters a fenced space to play within the existing park area and is equipped with a variety of attractions including a slide, a climb, cradle swings, playhouse, picnic benches and seating for the mums and dads who went along.

But the original impetus for this amenity appears to have been lost because mothers have told the Stamford Mercury that when they complained council officials simply taped off the area leaving it unsafe (April 10th). Some of the damaged equipment has since been replaced and an inspection and assessment is underway to determine what other repairs are needed. Hence the petition which has been launched by Mrs Anna Rogers, mother of three, of Tarragon Way, Bourne, who believes that the town deserves better because it states: “We the undersigned petition the council to update and add new play equipment to the play area and to install safety flooring that can be used in all weathers. The present equipment is old and broken and the ground boggy in winter. The fence around the site is broken in a number of places. The play area needs investment so that families can enjoy it again. Bourne is a thriving town with lots of young families and we should have a better play area to enjoy.”

Signatures of support are being added every day and under the existing regulations the protest must go to the council’s scrutiny committee for discussion if 2,500 names are added while 5,000 names will require a debate by the full council, the perfect example of people power in action.

The council says that £2,000 is already being spent on repairs and work is in hand to make the play area safer. Unfortunately, although the cause is just, expediency at the moment is governed by financial constraint on all local authorities and although every mum in the neighbourhood will want this amenity back in use as soon as possible, the council does have a problem of priorities when allocating the money it has and so it will be a matter of wait and see.

The other petition involves an equally emotive subject although this time dealing with Bourne’s beloved black swans which inhabit St Peter’s Pool in the Wellhead Gardens. The situation was outlined in this column two weeks ago (April 5th) that the birds have been repeatedly killed since the first pair was introduced in 1999, a gift from the Wildfowl Trust, and predators such as foxes have been blamed although marauding dogs that have not been kept under control by their owners are also thought to have been responsible. Replacements have always been found but in all cases their wings have been pinioned to prevent flying with the result that they cannot flee when attacked but few people realise that this is required by law, as outlined when this subject was last debated in 2005 and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds cited new government regulations that required anyone keeping non-native species to ensure that they did not escape to prevent them from breeding in the wild.

As a result of the latest deaths, there has been a call to stop this practice which is not possible but now Linda Bates, of Wexford Close, Bourne, has started a petition calling on Bourne United Charities which administers the Wellhead Gardens to stop buying more black swans only to be killed again. “They have no protection from predators because their wings are clipped”, she wrote in a letter to The Local newspaper (April 11th). “We cannot begin to imagine the pain and terror these beautiful creatures endured while being savaged.”

This presents a difficult decision for the trustees of Bourne United Charities and for those who are being asked to sign the petition because the black swans are not only a favourite with visitors to the Wellhead Gardens, especially children who feed them regularly, but they have become an icon for Bourne, having been featured on the front page of the town guide and frequently on the Bourne web site which is read around the world and it is unthinkable that we should visit St Peter’s Pool and find them no longer there.

The current restrictions governing the keeping of black swans applies equally throughout the United Kingdom and we know of no case where they are being rejected because of it. They are, therefore, in danger wherever they live in this country and as it is impossible to guard against all eventualities in life, especially when it involves animals and birds in a natural environment, then perhaps the trustees might agree that this is a risk worth taking.

Thought for the week: It is always the beautiful bird which gets caged. - old Chinese proverb.

Saturday 26^th April 2014

The Town Hall which has been standing empty for over a year may now be saved for the community thanks to an encouraging initiative by the town council. Members have voted unanimously to register the Grade II listed building as a community asset for the people of the town which means that it could be retained for cultural, recreational or sporting activities in the future.

The procedure has been made possible under the Community Right to Buy scheme introduced as part of the Localism Act of 2011 which enables parish councils nominate buildings or land as an asset if they meet the definition of community value by improving its social interests and councillors believe that such a case can be proved.

The Town Hall has fallen vacant as a direct result of public spending economies that persuaded our local authorities to transfer all services at town, district and county level to a new Community Access Point which has been established at the Corn Exchange at a cost of £600,000 and since it opened in March 2013, the old building has been standing empty with an uncertain future.

Ownership is currently claimed by Lincolnshire County Council who have indicated that it might be sold, leading to speculation that a sale on the open market could result in it being turned into a coffee bar, night club or even a carpet warehouse. Intervention by the town council now means that if their application is approved, any sale would be put on hold for six months to enable the necessary finances be raised and a bid to buy the building prepared and so if all goes to plan, there will be challenging times ahead if Bourne is to retain its Town Hall for community use.

It is, however, disingenuous that the county council could possibly charge Bourne for buying the building when the records quite clearly show that it was paid for originally by the people of this town through public subscription and so ownership remains vested in them, morally if not legally, and has only passed to the county council through the various changes in our local authority system with the passing of the years accompanied by some bureaucratic sleight of hand.

The Town Hall was erected in 1821 to replace the original building which had become outdated and dilapidated. The total cost was £2,450 and the money was raised through the county rate and from the sale of salvaged materials from the previous building and, most importantly, from public contributions and a large painted board containing the names of the original subscribers and the amount they contributed is still on display in the main courtroom. The foundation stone was laid on 30th April 1821 by the Marquess of Exeter, Lord of the Manor of Bourne, and a bottle was buried within it containing coins of the realm from the reign of George IV and a document describing the ceremony and detailing those who had subscribed to the cost of the building.

Construction was completed within five months and the Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 19th October 1821: “The new and elegant Town Hall is one of the greatest improvements ever made in a town. By the removal of the old building from the market place, and the erection of this new one in a better situation, Bourne is wonderfully altered; its appearance of closeness and heaviness is removed as if by the hand of a magician, and the town puts on the ‘jaunty air’ of a lively and prosperous place.”

The official opening was performed the following week by Earl Brownlow, Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, accompanied by members of the bench of magistrates and other local and county worthies. "It was found to be admirably calculated for a Sessions House and for all the uses for which the building was designed", reported the newspaper.

And so it remained for almost 200 years, the centre of administration for this town until March 2013 when it became the victim of local authority budget economies but now stands empty and disused while the generosity of those who paid for it has been conveniently forgotten. We will therefore have to wait and see whether the initiative by the town council will be successful.

Coupled with it will be a second application for the former public library premises in South Street which also became redundant when the library was moved to the CAP. This building dates from 1965 when it was designed as the area’s Civil Defence headquarters but was converted for use as our public library four years later and gave good service until last year when it was closed and the library moved to less spacious premises, some say cramped, at its new location. There has been speculation that the site might have been snapped up for housing but the building is currently being used by the Salvation Army as a charity furniture warehouse although it would be a far more sensible arrangement if ownership did pass to the town council on behalf of the community and it is therefore hoped that both applications will succeed.

This initiative, however, is reminiscent of two other undertakings involving Grade II listed buildings currently underway in the town and although the procedures are vastly different the objectives are the same, to ensure that historic properties are protected for public use in the future, the first by Bourne Preservation Trust to take over and restore the neglected Victorian chapel in the South Road cemetery and the second by Bourne Arts and Community Trust to acquire control of the early 19th century Wake House in North Street which is badly in need of maintenance and repair. Both projects have been dragging on for several years, dogged by red tape, delay and obfuscation by those who have power over the future of these properties, and it is hoped that the town council’s justified attempt to acquire to Town Hall on behalf of the people will not be thwarted by similar bureaucratic hindrances.

The former matron of Bourne House Hostel in West Street, Mrs Pat Schmid, has died in Spain at the age of 83. She ran the hostel for almost 30 years during which time she cared for more than 200 children, boys and girls who had been separated from their families for various reasons. She was appointed in 1957 and her husband, Lou, later became master, and they remained until the hostel closed in 1985 when they retired to live at Torrevieja, Alicante, but the bonds they established with some of the children were never broken and many remained in touch over the years.

We met during their last visit to Bourne in the summer of 2006 when Pat reminisced about their life at the hostel and the sheer joy of giving confidence and hope to boys and girls in care who were orphans, maladjusted or had been emotionally damaged by domestic upheavals and marriage breakdowns. “We had about 225 children during my time there and to me, the most important thing we tried to do was to show them a better way than so many had been accustomed to before they came to us", she said. "This was particularly important in the case of the older girls as we had them long enough to be able to shape their lives and sow the seeds that might make them better mothers."

Pat died following a heart attack on Tuesday of last week and the funeral was held on Saturday. She is survived by Lou, now aged 87, who plans to remain in Spain, their daughter, Mrs Pauline Freer, who lives at Merstham, Surrey, and dozens of children around the country, now all grown up, who still remember Auntie Pat with deep affection.

From the archives: Auntie Pat was an exceptionally lovely lady and she and Lou shared their love with us all. I later vowed that my own three children would be loved unconditionally which they always have been, and still are to this day, and that is something I learned at Bourne House. - Mrs Ann Simmons, now married for over forty years, writing in 2012 about her time at Bourne House Hostel for A Portrait of Bourne.

The banking scandals of recent years have shocked the world yet nothing is done and financial misconduct continues. Money has become so important to government that those who administer its worth and distribution are considered to be too big to prosecute and so few people come before the courts even when offences are obvious and the effects on the populace severe, even disastrous.

The gravity of these misdeeds appears to know no bounds, from the Libor scandal in which banks falsely inflated and deflated their interest rates in order to profit from trading to the more recent sale of payment protection insurance (PPI) in which it was revealed that Britain’s banks had been aggressively selling ineffective and inefficient but highly profitable policies for more than a decade.

Today the fraud is often less apparent to the public gaze yet the prospect of gaining easy money dishonestly has always been with us although methods in past times were usually more noticeable and one case in particular is remembered because it was perpetrated by a man who came from this town. His name was Thomas Silvester, then aged 40, who had worked in Bourne as a schoolmaster, perhaps as an assistant at the Old Grammar School or even at one of the private academies in the town of which there were many in the early 19th century. He left to pursue a career in banking, joining the Lincoln and Lindsey Banking Company where he prospered and was eventually promoted to manager of their branch at Brigg. But the sight of all that money passing through every day was too much of a temptation and eventually he could resist it no longer and in the spring of 1848 he succumbed.

“We regret to state that the manager of the Brigg branch has decamped, taking away with him, it is said, about £8,000 of bank capital”, reported the Stamford Mercury on Friday 5th May. “Dabbling in railway shares is said to have been the ruin of Mr Silvester and we much fear that hundreds of men occupying respectable stations will be obliged to give way to the same cause.”

The sum of £8,000 in 1848 was big money, £¾ million by today’s values, and the theft had repercussions. “Five individuals in Boston gave security to Silvester to the amount of £5,000”, said the newspaper, “which some of them will have to pay, under circumstances of peculiar hardship, if not utter ruin.”

A reward of £200 was offered immediately for his apprehension and a description circulated to the newspapers, five feet six inches tall, broad shouldered, gait erect and strutting, sandy complexion slightly pitted from smallpox, light hair and grey eyes, dirty yellow teeth, short sighted and frequently wearing spectacles and dressed in a black surtout [frock] coat, waistcoat, trousers, cravat and a red and white cotton shawl handkerchief.

Two aspects of the description were particularly interesting in that he was known to be carrying a black leather portmanteau and a carpet bag, necessary containers for his spare clothes and, more importantly, the money he had stolen which was in gold sovereigns and banknotes. The other factors were that he was not only “well informed with a warm and pleasing address but could also speak the French language” and he also appears to have had a streak of arrogance because it was observed that he had the habit of placing the thumb of one or both hands in the armholes of his waistcoat.

Silvester was obviously well equipped for a channel ferry crossing from England to France, the first of which had just been established, perhaps heading for sunnier climes with his booty, never to be heard of again. Today the bankers responsible for our ills use more surreptitious methods when taking money from customers and after the deed is done they stay put to await promotion and even get paid a bonus.

Thought for the week: I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1846), one of America's Founding Fathers, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.

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