The Conservative Club

The Conservative Party has had a presence in Bourne since the late 19th century. It stems from the formation of a Conservative Association for the Stamford division of Lincolnshire at a meeting held at the Angel Hotel on 30th April 1885 when Lieut-Col William Parker of Hanthorpe House presided and there was a large attendance of gentlemen from neighbouring towns and villages.

Rules for the working of the association were drawn up and Lord Kesteven was elected the first chairman with Lieut-Col Parker and J Hornsby Esq of Grantham as vice-chairmen. Colonel Fane was appointed treasurer and Mr T Ablewhite, agent for the Stamford division of the South Lincolnshire Conservative Association, was appointed honorary secretary. It was decided that in the course of the next few weeks, meetings would be held in Bourne and the surrounding villages to promulgate Conservative ideas.

Members began to gather socially and in November 1887 they formed the Bourne and District Conservative Working Men's Club meeting regularly at the Burghley Refreshment Rooms in North Street. The official launch of the new organisation was held in the New Year with a public dinner at the Angel Hotel on Friday 6th January 1888 when Mr J C Lawrance, QC, who was the division's Member of Parliament and president of the club, took the chair, supported by the vice-chairman, the Rev J P Sharp, of Edenham, Mr S W Andrews, Mr R L Wherry, Mr G A Scott, Mr J Story, Mr H Goodyear, Mr R Brothwell, Mr S R Andrews, Mr Shilcock, Mr Eldret, Mr Osborn, Mr R Gibson, Mr Chamberlain, and Mr Clarke, the club secretary, and in addition there were about 100 people present.

Mr S W Andrew said in a speech that the Conservative working men of Bourne were to be congratulated on forming such a club and he went on: "These institutions are, of all things, best calculated to promote more frequent and cordial intercourse between the various classes in this country and they are also useful in enabling working men to be more independent of their wealthier neighbours. I hope to be a member for many years, to see the club flourish and to take part in the work of the club on many occasions."

The popularity of the organisation however soon meant that more spacious accommodation was needed and the committee started looking round for its own permanent premises rather than continue meeting in hotels and other rented assembly rooms. The Marquess of Exeter, then the Lord of the Manor, offered a suitable piece of land for the erection of a new club premises, a portion of the field near Bourne railway station known as Shilcock's paddock [later Baldock's paddock and now part of the war memorial gardens], but the cost of building was prohibitive and the idea was abandoned. Then in the summer of 1888, Mr Robert Mason Mills, head of the town's thriving aerated water business, offered the club two cottages at Nos 22 and 24 West Street that could be converted for the purpose and by September, work was well underway.

During the course of the alterations, a number of interesting relics were discovered, among them a Roman coin and an ancient hunting knife with an elaborately carved handle and in an excellent state. Both were handed over to Mr Mills, a well known collector of such artefacts whose passion was so well known that workmen always called him in whenever they came across something old and interesting, knowing that they would be suitably rewarded.

A contemporary description of the cottages that appeared in the Stamford Mercury on Friday 14th September 1888 said: "The original building was evidently a commodious and substantial barn. In the process of time, this by the simple device of knocking a hole in the roof for the exit of smoke, one or two more in the wall for the ingress of light, and a liberal application of fen mud for filling up the chinks and crannies of the barn, was transformed into what, for our forefathers, would be a desirable and comfortable dwelling house. Subsequently, windows and doors were put in. The various stages of this architectural evolution are clearly discernible in the clubroom that is now rapidly approaching completion. It was thought that traces of a manor house mentioned in ancient records as existing in the locality might be found but up to the present this conjecture has not been verified". 

The official opening of the new Conservative clubroom took place on Thursday 1st November 1888 followed by a celebration public tea at the Corn Exchange on Wednesday 14th November. It was also proposed at this time to hold a regular Parliamentary debating class as part of the club's regular events during the year,

The two cottages, and a third adjoining at No 26, were sold when the estate of Robert Mills was disposed of after his death in 1904 and in 1952 ownership of the properties passed to the Baptist Church but they were subsequently demolished to make way for the new Post Office that was built on the site in 1981. 

Since March 1987, the old National School in North Street has been the constituency headquarters of the Grantham and Stamford Conservative Association. The South Lincolnshire Conservative Club also opened on the premises in November that year when the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor John Wright, pulled the first pint, but despite several rescue attempts, it closed down ten years later because of continuing financial problems.

See also The National School

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