The YMCA hut on the Abbey Lawn

A small hut once stood on the Abbey Lawn, erected in 1920 with the permission of the vicar, then Canon John Grinter, who charged a nominal rent on behalf of the church which owned the land. It remained there for a quarter of a century during which time it was in continual community and religious use.

The small building with a corrugated iron roof was originally sited outside Victoria Station in London where it was used by the Young Men's Christian Association, the international organisation devoted to promoting morality and good citizenship through practical help.

It was offered for sale nationally by the YMCA in 1918 and there was a move in Bourne to buy it for use as a club by ex-servicemen who were returning from the Great War with the expectation that the Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers' and Sailors' Federation would contribute towards the annual upkeep in return for a room being set aside as office space.

A flurry of fund raising got underway with a YMCA Hut Week that included house to house collections, a flag day, auction sale and garden fete, all of which raised more than £500. In the event, the federation was unable to make any financial contribution with the result that in March 1920, a local committee was formed to raise the outstanding balance and buy the hut outright for the town. The cost was estimated at £2,800 for the building itself, £80 for it to be transported here by rail and a further £120 to have it erected on site on what is now the garden area north east of the cricket pavilion.

The hut remained in use as a club for ex-servicemen for three years but as they began to settle in civilian life, interest waned and the last members vacated the premises in the winter of 1923. The following year, it was bought by the Salvation Army for use as a meeting hall and the official opening was held on Saturday 6th September 1924.

Part of the building was damaged by fire which wrecked the nearby pavilion owned by Bourne Cricket Club in the summer of 1965, making one of the two meeting rooms unusable. But the rest of the hut continued in use by the Salvation Army until they moved out in 1980 when it was taken over by Bourne United Charities which owned the Abbey Lawn. The building stood empty for a spell before being demolished to make way for the Horace Stanton memorial garden which was opened at the Abbey Lawn in 1983.

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