James Burdwood

James Watson Burdwood

1837 - 1916

The man responsible for public health in Bourne and the surrounding district for many years during the latter half of the 19th century was James Watson Burdwood, a doctor and surgeon.

He was first appointed by the Board of Guardians on Thursday 6th February 1873 as Medical Office of Health for the Rural Sanitary Authority, which comprised all 36 parishes in the Bourne Union, at a salary of £150 a year, and then with Bourne Rural District Council when it was formed in 1894 and Bourne Urban District Council when it came into being in 1899.

His other official appointments included that certifying factory surgeon, medical officer responsible for infectious diseases and surgeon to the Great Northern, Spalding and Bourne Railway Company and the Midland Railway Company. He was also in private practice in the town and his name can still be seen on a stone tablet on the wall of his surgery which was then located at South Lodge on the corner of Coggles Causeway in South Street.

Photographed in September 2001

During his time in office, he was called upon to provide expert help and advice during many important events of the time, including giving evidence during a court case in 1888 when the Bourne Waterworks Company was sued for supplying water that was unfit for brewing, providing a report on the deplorable sanitation conditions in Bourne in 1890 and during the smallpox outbreak of 1893.

Apart from his work, Dr Burdwood had many interests and was a past master of the Hereward Lodge of Freemasons as well as being busy in many aspects of life in the town including social and community functions, frequently taking the chair at public meetings. One of his particular interests was the grammar school where his magic lantern lectures were well received by the boys and the workhouse where he and Mrs Burdwood were frequent visitors with gifts of food and other necessities for the inmates. He was also interested in sport, particularly soccer, and was one of the prime movers behind the formation of Bourne Town Football Club in 1897.

After retiring from public life in 1906, he went to live in Adeline Road, Bournemouth, where he died in October 1916, aged 79. His body was brought back to Bourne and after a funeral at the Abbey Church on Saturday 28th October, he was buried in the town cemetery alongside his wife who had predeceased him.

Dr Burdwood's mother lived with him in Bourne during her final years and a news report of her death in the Grantham Journal on Saturday 22nd June 1889 revealed many colourful and adventurous experiences when she was young:

AN EVENTFUL LIFE: We have to record the death at an advanced age of Mrs Watson, mother of Dr Watson Burdwood, of Bourne. In early life she passed through many stirring scenes, having accompanied her father, who was a captain in the army, during a portion of the Peninsular campaign, and being taken prisoner, with her attendant, when in Spain. Mrs Watson was present with her father at the memorable ball given in the Duchess of Richmond's ballroom at Brussels on the eve of Waterloo. Her father was killed at the battle of Waterloo and the government awarded her a pension.

BURDWOOD'S PIT

Photographed circa 1880

Burdwood's Pit which existed in the late 19th century was owned by Dr Burdwood and used for leisure pursuits by himself and his friends. Several boats were moored there and it was also a popular fishing spot containing many fish. In March 1897, a pike weighing 14lb. was caught there. The pond was little more than an extension of the Car Dyke and located at the base of the embankment of the Bourne to Sleaford railway line with a depth of 16 feet at the south end although the north end was shallower. In 1891, it was considered as a possible site for a new outdoor swimming pool but the idea was rejected in favour of the present location adjoining the Abbey Lawn and the pond has since been filled in.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

On Tuesday evening, Dr and Mrs Burdwood generously provided an excellent supper for the scholars attending the grammar school. An entertainment in the shape of a magic lantern exhibition was afterwards given. The lantern was cleverly manipulated by the headmaster, the Rev H R F Canham M A. Several visitors were present and the interesting illustrative descriptions given by the headmaster were thoroughly enjoyed. Several of the slides exhibited were prepared by Mr Montague Glendening, artist and photographer, Bourne, during a tour of the Thomas in the summer. The artistic ability displayed in them was of a high order of merit and they were heartily appreciated. Hearty cheers were given by the grammar school boys for the donors of the feast and for the popular headmaster. - news item from the Grantham Journal, Saturday 19th January 1889.

TRAP ACCIDENT: On Saturday morning, as Dr Watson Burdwood was driving from Morton, the kicking strap broke and, falling down on the horse's haunches, started the animal kicking. Both Dr Burdwood and the groom were thrown out and received slight injuries. The harness and trap were damaged, one shaft being broken. - news item from the Grantham Journal, Saturday 9th March 1889.