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Bedehouse Bank
One of the oldest areas of Bourne is
Bedehouse Bank, lying to the south of Eastgate on the other side of the
Bourne Eau and connected by several bridges and accessed via Willoughby
Road.
The land originally formed part of the Manor of Bourne and was therefore owned
by the Marquesses of Exeter who held the lordship, consisting mainly of
cottages and gardens let out to tenants.
Properties in Bedhouse Bank were sold off piecemeal during the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, usually to sitting tenants, and the interests of
the then Marquess of Exeter [William Thomas Brownlow] and his family were
finally disposed of by auction during a sale at the Angel Hotel, Bourne,
on 5th June 1947.
The sale comprised 13 lots consisting of cottages and gardens in
Willoughby Road and the Bedehouse Bank area. They were:
Lot 1: Dwelling house on 570
square yards at 7 Willoughby Road, occupied by F Deacon.
Lot 2: Dwelling house on 2,115 square yards at 2 Bedehouse Bank occupied
by T H Parker.
Lot 3: Dwelling house on 2,115 square yards at 23 Bedehouse Bank occupied
by L Parker.
Lot 4: Dwelling house on 1,175 square yards at 26 Bedehouse Bank occupied by G
Rippon.
Lot 5: 2 plots drying and garden ground covering 455 square yards occupied by
Braithwaite and Mrs Hubbard.
Lot 6: Garden ground of 498 square yards occupied by L Parker.
Lot 7: Accommodation yard of 394 square yards occupied by L Parker.
Lot 8: Garden, orchard and disused cottage at 17 Bedehouse Bank covering
1,088 square yards occupied by F G Windsor.
Lot 9: Garden ground of 379 square yards occupied by J W Riley.
Lot 10: Garden of 1,143 square yards occupied by W R Laxton.
Lot 11: Orchard and garden of 1,104 square yards occupied by Mrs K
Mitchelson.
Lot 12: Garden ground of 554 square yards occupied by W L Darnes.
Lot 13: Garden and orchard of 3,287 square yards occupied by Mrs A Graves.
The best known of the properties in
Bedehouse Bank in recent years was No 15, a mediaeval thatched cottage made
from mud and wattle, a building method rare in Lincolnshire, and so the
property was unique to Bourne where it had been in continuous use for more
than 250 years. The dwelling was known as Miss Adams' cottage, after the
last tenant who had died, when it was condemned by the local authority as
being unfit for human habitation and had been put up for sale in 1977 as a
redevelopment site but failed to find a buyer. A public meeting was held
in an attempt to save it but although the campaign failed and the cottage
was subsequently demolished, it provided the impetus for the formation of
the Civic Society which thrives today to ensure that our heritage is
preserved.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Security of tenure for those living in rented
accommodation or tied cottages was unknown during the 19th century
and there were many evictions for unpaid rent, because the property
was not being maintained satisfactorily or because of disputes over
ownership. Such incidents were a cause of tremendous interest in the
neighbourhood and whenever the bailiffs arrived, everyone turned out
to watch, as reported on this occasion by the Stamford Mercury
on Friday 25th April 1856: "On the 17th inst., some excitement again
prevailed in the Eastgate, occasioned by the Sheriff's officer
executing three writs of ejectment from the tenements in the
occupation of Mary Grummitt, William Hewitt and Daniel Cole. The
latter two were occupied under Elias Byford, of Spalding, and the
former in her own right. Mrs Grummitt was from home when the house
was broken open and the things placed in the street. Hewitt and
Cole, it is said, surrendered. Some of their goods were removed from
the house as a matter of form and the doors locked by the officers
after which the parties were allowed to go in again and it is said
they have the privilege of being set down tenants of the Marquis of
Exeter. These tenements, with upwards of 100 others, are situate in
the Eastgate, near the Wharf, on a piece of land which some term the
Bedehouse Bank, and which at sundry times and under divers titles
has been claimed by the agents of Lord Exeter. It will be remembered
that on the 10th and 11th of April, 1854, ejectments were enforced
against E Knott, H Norman and W Walker. From that time until the
present occasion, the services of the Sheriff's officer has not been
put into operation but the time has been occupied in endeavouring to
bring the 'hundred-and-one-refractories' to some terms."
HOUSE COLLAPSES - BUILDING FALLS INTO RIVER;
OCCUPANTS ESCAPE
An alarming incident occurred on Tuesday
morning when a portion of a house on Bedehouse Bank in Bourne
collapsed and fell into the river adjoining. The building was
occupied by Mrs Starkey Parker and in the portion which collapsed,
her son was sleeping. He was awakened in the early morning by the
cracking of the walls and just managed to get from his bedroom to
the one adjoining when the portion he had left collapsed. Among the
debris were some of the bed clothes which Mr Parker had thrown off
when he escaped, together with a quantity of personal belongings,
but money and other property was not recovered although the river
was partially dredged.
The house is one of a number erected many years ago on what was then
waste land and still retains the name of Bedehouse Bank, but the
property has now passed to the Marquess of Exeter, as Lord of the
Manor. The portion which fell was an annexe to the original
building. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 5th
September 1924. |
See also
The Civic Society
Lost cottages
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