SIGNIFICANT DATES AND EVENTS
IN  OUR HISTORY

  47       The 9th Roman Legion advancing north occupies Bourne
120 c    Car Dyke built through the Bourne area
877 c    Danish invaders reach Bourne

1070     Hereward the Wake flourished
1086     Land and properties in Bourne listed in the Domesday Book
1086     Oger the Breton becomes the biggest landowner in Bourne
1138     Abbey Church established by Baldwin Fitzgilbert
1166 c  Hugh Wake marries Baldwin’s daughter Emma and becomes Lord of Bourne
1180 c  Orm the Preacher working on religious texts at Bourne Abbey

13th century

1209 c  Geoffrey de Brunne appointed first vicar of Bourne
1279    King Edward I grants Bourne a market charter
1298    Geoffrey, Lord of Bourne knighted by Edward I
1301    Butchers supply meat for Edward I’s parliament meeting in Lincoln
1303    Robert Manning moves from Sempringham to study at Bourne Abbey
1303    Robert Manning finishes his influential literary work Handlyng Synne
1330    Edward III visits Bourne
1330 c  Sir John Fisher appointed headmaster of the grammar school
1338    Robert Manning completes The Chronicle of England
1340    Robert Manning dies after almost 40 years as Master at the Abbey
1348 c  Black Death wipes out large sections of the population
1349    Simon de Watton, Abbot of Bourne, excommunicated for disciplinary reasons
1359    Abbot of Missenden imprisoned at Bourne Abbey for forging a coin
1380    Potter Street in Eastgate is the centre of a thriving pottery industry
1397    Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, buried at Bourne Abbey

The 16th century

1520    William Cecil born at a house in the market place, now the Burghley Arms
1536    Bourne Abbey dissolved and many buildings dismantled
1538    Bourne Abbey granted to Sir Richard Cotton
1540 c Antiquarian John Leland describes the remains of a castle at Bourne
1549    Fen Code drawn up concerning the correct use of fenland and farm animals
1550    The New Inn built by Thomas Dawkins in Spalding Road
1550    Job Hartop born into a local farming family
1558    William Cecil appointed principal adviser to Elizabeth I
1561    Thomas Trollope opens a mill for making linen and clothing
1562    Register of burials begins at the parish church
1563    Register of baptisms begins at the parish church
1564    Market rights acquired by the Cecil family (later the Earls of Exeter)
1564    Register of marriages begins at the parish church
1567    Job Hartop sails with Sir John Hawkins for Africa and the West Indies
1568 c Job Hartop captured by the Spanish in the Bay of Mexico
1571    William Cecil becomes the first Lord Burghley
1571    Violent storm floods streets and houses and many farm animals perish
1586 c William Cecil bestows a new Town Hall on Bourne
1589    Robert Harrington born and baptised at the Abbey Church
1591 c Job Hartop returns home after 23 years as a galley slave and prisoner
1595    Job Hartop dies aged 45, debilitated by his years of suffering
1598    William Cecil dies in London, aged 77

The 17th century

1603     John Jackson, Vicar of Bourne, censured for non-conformism
1605     Great Fire of Bourne rages for three days and devastates much of the town
1605     Red Hall built by Gilbert Fisher, a London grocer
1609 c  Robert Harrington leaves for London to seek his fortune
1611     John Jackson, Vicar of Bourne, suspended for non-conformism
1620 c  Monkstone House in West Street built
1620     Wiliam Fisher endows almshouses for six poor women in South Street
1629     Thomas Gibson dies, “the worthiest schoolmaster ever to teach in Bourne”
1632     Edmund Lolley, Vicar of Bourne from 1612 buried in the church chancel
1633     Gilbert Fisher dies in debt as a result of expenditure on the Red Hall
1633     William Fisher leaves an annuity of £4 a year for the poor of the parish
1636     Fierce gales wreck properties and bring down trees
1636     Landowner William Trollope leaves bequest to establish a grammar school
1636     Nicholas Rand leaves income from eight acres of land to the poor of the parish
1637     Fire destroys the town's pottery industry centred on Eastgate
1638     Record number of 126 burials caused by fresh outbreaks of the plague
1643     Elizabeth Gee shot by soldiers during the Civil War, reason unknown
1644     Parliamentary forces pass through Bourne on their way south
1645     Bourne Castle (or garrison) bombarded by Cromwell's troops

1654     First workhouse erected in North Street at junction with Burghley Street
1654     Robert Harrington dies, aged 65, and leaves fortune to his home town
1660     Thomas Wilcox leaves income to support a workhouse in Bourne
1678     Free Grammar School built next to the Abbey Church

The 18th century

1705     Quaker meeting house established at two cottages in West Street
1717     Burghley Arms then known as the Bull and Swan
1720     The Railway Inn built in the Austerby (a private house since 1901)
1729     A son William is born to the Vicar of Borne, the Rev William Dodd
1729     Corn mill built in Eastgate, later known as Notley’s Mill
1729     Peal of six bells installed in the tower at the Abbey Church
1729     James Organer leaves £40 to buy bread for the poor on St Stephen’s Day
1740     Five women sent to jail after rioting in the street over rising corn prices
1742     Bequest from Matthew Clay begins the White Bread Meadow tradition
1749     Road from Bourne to Stamford turnpiked (maintained but tolls charged)

1750     Earthquake tremors shake houses and shops in and around the town
1755     William Dodd, Vicar of Bourne from 1727, buried in the nave
1756     Road from Bourne to Colsterworth turnpiked
1756     Toll gate operating at Wherry’s Mill in North Road (until 1882)
1764     Abbey House built by George Pochin, Lord of the Manor of Bourne Abbots
1765     Act of Parliament empowers draining the fens north of Bourne
1766     Regular stagecoaches connect Bourne with London
1776     Act of Parliament encloses Bourne Fen and common land at Dyke and Cawthorpe
1776     Brook Lodge built in South Street as the new vicarage
1777     William Dodd publicly hanged for forgery at Tyburn Tree
1768     Troops called in to disperse rebel fenmen destroying land reclamation works
1781     Act of Parliament enables cargo boats use the Bourne Eau as far as Tongue End
1782     Evangelist John Wesley reputed to have preached in the Market Place
1790     The Maltings in West Street destroyed by fire
1792     Earthquake tremors felt in Bourne but no serious damage
1796     Eastgate House built by John Chamberlain
1798     Jeremiah Ives leaves income from £100 for the poor of the parish

The 19th century

1800     Nag's Head coaching inn becomes the Angel Hotel
1800     Baldock's Mill built in South Street on the site of an existing mill
1801     First British census reveals the population of Bourne to be 1,664
1803     First Sunday School begins at the Baptist Chapel in West Street
1803 c  A market or butter cross removed from the market place
1803     Earliest record of cricket being played in Bourne
1805     Bells of the Abbey Church restored and re-hung
1806 c  Theatre opens in building off Star Lane (demolished 1989)
1806     The Maltings in West Street rebuilt after fire
1806     Edward Wherry opens grocery and provisions store in North Street
1807     Present chancel built in the Abbey Church using ancient materials
1808     Thomas Rawnsley raises a volunteer yeomanry troop to repel Napoleon
1809     First Wesleyan (Methodist) meeting at a cottage in Star Lane (now Abbey Road)
1809     John Moore publishes his account of the history of Bourne
1810 c  Bull and Swan becomes the Bull Hotel
1810     General Johnson branch of the Oddfellows founded (still operating 1937)
1812     Small Methodist chapel established in Star Lane
1815     Local insurance company forms the town’s first fire brigade
1816     Rivers Glen and Eau carrying boats with cargoes up to10 tons
1816     William Marrat publishes his account of the history of Bourne
1817     Victoria Hall built in Spalding Road
1820 c  First clock with a single hand installed in the tower of the Abbey Church
1821     Town Hall built after being financed by public subscription
1822     Road from Bourne to Spalding turnpiked
1825     Charles Worth born at Wake House in North Street
1829     National School opens in North Street
1832     Wherry’s Mill in North Road rebuilt and tower raised to six storeys
1834     First organ installed in the Abbey Church
1830     Bourne House in West Street built as private home for local businessman
1830     Baptist missionary William Bampton dies in India, aged 43
1831     Free beer and tea served to 600 people to mark William IV’s coronation
1835     Baptist Chapel designed by Bryan Browning opens in West Street
1835     Catherine Digby leaves £500 to provide an annual salary for a church organist
1836     Workhouse with room for 300 inmates built in St Peter’s Road
1837     Bourne United Provident Association formed (wound up 1994)
1838     Queen Victoria’s coronation passes without celebration
1832     Iron bridge over the Eau between Bourne Eau House and Church Walk built
1840     Self-aiding medical club formed with 2,500 members
1840     Bryan Browning appointed architect to the Burghley Estates
1840     Gasworks opened in Eastgate by new Bourne Gas Company
1840     Savings Bank established with 600 depositors by 1882
1841     Act of Parliament secures better drainage in Bourne North and Dyke Fens
1842     Methodist chapel built in Star Lane (now Abbey Road)
1842     R M Mills moves from Sussex to take over chemist’s shop at No 1 West Street
1846     Congregational (United Reformed) Church opens in Eastgate
1848     Abbey House becomes the vicarage for the Rev Joseph Dodsworth

1850 c  Stocks for wrongdoers removed from the market place
1850     Josiah Sharpe, aged 13, killed in explosion at shop premises in South Street
1851     Census reveals the population of Bourne to be 3,717
1854     Water cart used to spray roads to keep down dust in dry weather
1854     Linen and bandages collected for soldiers injured in the Crimean War
1854     Bourne Cow Club founded to insure farm animals (wound up in 1920)
1854     William Todd, tailor, of North Street, dies from cholera, aged 56
1855     Burials end in the graveyard adjoining the Abbey Church
1855     Town cemetery in South Road opened by the Bishop of Lincoln
1855     Police warn about pickpockets attending the May Statute Fair
1856     Thomas Mays acquires Eastgate House as a family home
1856     Bryan Browning, architect of the Town Hall, dies aged 83
1856     Public dinner in the market place celebrates the end of the Crimean War
1857     Bourne Waterworks Company begins supplying the town
1857     Occasional boats still leaving Eastgate quay for Nottingham and Spalding
1857     National School built in Willoughby Road for 100 children from Eastgate area
1857     Red Hall becomes a private boarding school for young ladies
1857 c  Post Office begins a daily collection and delivery of letters
1857     Omnibus leaves Bourne each day for the railway station at Tallington
1857     John Smith opens his grocery shop in North Street
1857     William Bell, founder of West Street legal firm, dies aged 59
1858     William Webber appointed master of the Grammar School at £30 a year
1859     John Lely Ostler, landowner and philanthropist, dies aged 48
1859     Abbey Church clock refurbished and a minute hand added
1860     Weekly cattle or stock market opens in market place
1860     Red Hall sold to the railway company for use as a booking office
1860     No 15 Corps, the Lincolnshire Rifle Volunteers formed
1861     Excavations on site of Bourne Castle, reputed seat of Saxon noblemen
1861    The Rev Edward Trollope publishes his account of Bourne Castle
1861 c  Police station opens in North Street
1860     Fountain erected in the market place as a memorial to John Lely Ostler
1860     Railway line between Bourne and Essendine opens for passengers and freight
1860     John Branston opens his general store in Eastgate
1860     Car Dyke no longer navigable through neglect
1863     Public dinner at the Wellhead Field celebrates the Prince of Wales’ wedding
1863     Bourne Temperance Society formed to oppose the drinking of alcohol
1864     Robert Mason Mills launches aerated water business in West Street
1864     Weekly penny readings begin at the Angel Hotel Assembly Rooms
1864     Soup kitchen provides food for the poor during severe winter weather
1865    First public library opens behind shop premises at No 1 North Street
1865     Gales cause widespread damage around the town
1865     Charles Kingsley writes Hereward the Wake while staying at Edenham vicarage
1865 c  First Bourne Town (Silver) Band formed
1865     Bourne Agricultural Society thrives
1866     Railway line from Bourne to Spalding opens giving access to the east coast
1866     Worst thunderstorm in living memory frightens residents
1866     Marble reredos presented to the church by the Rev Joseph Dodsworth
1868     Gasworks enlarged and supply distribution improved
1868     Hereward Lodge of Freemasons founded at the Angel Hotel
1867     Calvinist chapel opened in North Street (now the Vestry Hall)
1869     Formation of the Bourne Literary Society (disbanded 1896)
1869     Iron palisade railings erected in South Street alongside the Bourne Eau
1870     Post Office moves from Abbey Road to new premises in the Market Place
1870     Bourne connected to the telegraph system and the first telegram is sent
1870     Corn Exchange opens in Church Street (now Abbey Road) at a cost of £2,000
1870     New organ built by a London maker installed in the Abbey Church
1870     Bourne Elocution Society formed and meets at the Corn Exchange
1871     Public library and reading room moves to the new Corn Exchange
1871     Bourne Temperance Club playing soccer matches against local teams
1871     Smallpox outbreak among a family living in North Road but all recover
1871     Joseph Flatters, church bellringer and town bandsman, emigrates to Canada
1872     Railway line opens between Bourne and Sleaford
1872     Acacia Villas built in West Street by William A Pochin
1872     John Northern, aged, 6, killed by a train on the South Street level crossing
1872     Mrs Ann Thurlby, aged 60, crushed to death by train at railway station
1873     Band of Hope formed for religious and temperance teaching to children
1873     Railway crossing gates in South Street demolished by weekend excursion train
1873     Christmas Fatstock Show held for the first time
1873     Bourne Quoit Club formed (disbanded circa 1910)
1873     The Lincolnshire Rifle Volunteers disbanded through lack of officers
1873     Rioting in the streets on Guy Fawkes’ Night with pistol shots and explosions
1873     Mill Drove paved for use by heavy traffic
1874     Bourne Total Abstinence Association formed to oppose drinking
1875     Boats used to rescue home owners in the town marooned by floods
1875     Library and reading room at the Corn Exchange closes through lack of support
1875 c  Bourne Athletics Club formed (disbanded circa 1914)
1876     Ice skating introduced at the Corn Exchange
1876     William North, boot maker, opens his shoe shop at No 18 North Street
1876     Village school at Twenty opens with room for 60 pupils
1876     William Hollis, a plumber, hangs himself after trying to murder his mistress
1877     Old Grammar School renovated and re-fitted
1877     The Rev Joseph Dodsworth dies after more than 50 years as curate and vicar
1877     Board School opens in Star Lane (now Abbey Road Primary School)
1877     40 men and youths charged with causing disturbance on Guy Fawkes’ Night
1878     Samuel Northern, aged 10, killed by lightning while working in Bourne Fen
1878     Bourne is connected to the telephone system
1878     60 extra police drafted in to keep the peace on Guy Fawkes’ Night
1878     Abbey House demolished and materials used for new vicarage
1878     Police report 221 convictions for drunkenness during the year
1878     First annual Whit Monday sports held at the Abbey Lawn
1878     Heating system installed in the parish church
1879     Harriet Buckerry of West Street dies from opium poisoning
1879     New vicarage opens in Church Walk (now the Cedars retirement home)
1879     Baptist Chapel built at Dyke with seating for 150 people

1880     8,000 acres in Bourne South Fen flooded after the River Glen burst its banks
1880     Temperance Cafe and Working Men's Institute opens in South Street
1880 c  Library and reading room opened by John Morris at No 13 West Street
1880     North Street terrace built by the Marquess of Exeter
1880     Baker John Dring drowned when his cart runs into the swollen river at Toft
1882     New town hall clock installed
1882     Bourne Town Football Club formed but lasts only a few seasons
1882     Bourne Cricket Club formed with Dr Tom Harker as captain
1882 c  R M Mills gets Royal Warrant for supplying aerated water
1882     Edward Browning, architect of the cemetery chapel, dies in London aged 65
1883     Jane Redmile, Baptist church pioneer, dies aged 83
1883     New clock with two faces installed in the tower of the Abbey Church
1885     Two cottages in Manor Lane converted for use as an isolation hospital
1885     Streets lit by 58 incandescent gas lamps sited at various points
1883     R M Mills finances major restoration of west end of the Abbey Church
1885     Conservative Club founded with premises in West Street
1885     Joseph Flatters shot and killed while working as a sheriff at Aylmer, Quebec
1885     Future policewoman Lilian Wyles born in West Street, daughter of local brewer
1887     Joseph Davies appointed headmaster of the Board School in Abbey Road
1887     Bourne Town Band formed with 22 brass instrumentalists (disbanded 1914)
1887     Church service and parade for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee
1888     120 ft borehole sunk by waterworks company produces 280,000 gallons a day
1888     Ostler memorial fountain in the market places ceases to function
1888     Henry Bott, landlord of the Angel Hotel for 50 years, dies aged 77
1888     Two-day grand bazaar and art exhibition held at the Corn Exchange
1888     Bourne Ladies’ Guild of Church Workers founded
1888     Women’s Temperance Association hold five-day mission at the Corn Exchange
1888     Bourne Cycle Club formed (disbanded circa 1912)
1889     Cookery demonstrations at the Corn Exchange urge housewives to use gas
1889     Police report convictions for drunkenness during the year down to 53
1889     Fifteen tramps jailed for begging a loaf of bread
1889    Corn Exchange struck by lightning during violent storm
1890     Calvinist chapel in North Street closes because of financial difficulties
1890     Stone pulpit installed in the Abbey Church
1890     Bourne Fire Brigade officially formed
1890     William Smith begins the passenger transport business that becomes Delaine Buses
1890     Bourne Wanderers’ Football Club formed but survives only four seasons
1890     H Company, 2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Volunteer Regiment formed
1890     Boys given the Wellhead Field as a playing field after protesting to their M P
1890     James Parker, aged 17 months, drowned in the Bourne Eau in Eastgate
1890     Westbourne Villas built in West Road by Robert Mason Mills

1891    New Sunday School building opens at Baptist Chapel in West Street
1891     85 ft borehole sunk to supply the railway station with water
1891     Cattle market moves to site off Hereward Street
1891     Work begins on building the 330-yard long Toft tunnel
1891     Coal found during excavations for Toft tunnel but not commercially viable
1891     Henry Kingston opens brickyard to exploit clay belt near Stamford Hill
1891     Outbreak of influenza closes schools for three weeks
1891     Victoria Hall in Spalding Road badly damaged by fire
1892     Petition from 75 leading citizens saves the Red Hall from demolition
1892     Avenue of elms in Star Lane (Abbey Road) felled despite protests
1892     Brickworks wins contract to supply 2½ million bricks for Toft tunnel
1892     Abbey Church gets new gabled roof and old box pews replaced
1892     Major fire at the Angel Hotel averted by landlord Arthur Bott
1892     The town consists only of four main streets but is beginning to expand
1892     Bourne Eau becoming disused and a health hazard in places
1893     Bourn changed to Bourne to avoid confusion with mail deliveries
1893     Borehole sunk in the Austerby at a depth of 125 feet
1893     Railway line from Bourne extended to Saxby
1893     Smallpox outbreak among railway navvies reaches the town with many deaths
1893     Toft tunnel opens for goods traffic
1894     First passenger trains travel through the new Toft tunnel
1894     Lee & Green open water bottling plant in Abbey Road
1894     Railway line completed between Bourne and Little Bytham junction
1894     Bourne Rural District Council formed
1894     Larger gasometer erected at gasworks to meet increased demand
1894     First parish council established for Bourne
1894     Borehole sunk in Abbey Road yields five million gallons a day from 134 feet
1895     Chancel in the Abbey Church repaired and wainscoted with oak
1895     Bourne Angling Association formed with 40 members within three years
1895     Bourne Amateurs’ Football Club formed but lasts only one season
1895     Remains of pottery workshops found during extensions at the gasworks
1896     Bourne Institute opens at rented premises in West Street
1896     Board of Guardians orders the vaccination of all children against smallpox
1896     Roman pottery remains discovered along the Car Dyke
1896     Earthquake tremors rocked houses and furniture
1896     Watercress beds established near the Wellhead by Nathaniel Moody
1897     Bourne Institute buys the premises in West Street
1897     Bourne Town Football Club formed with the Abbey Lawn as home ground
1897     2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, arrive on a recruiting tour
1897     28 fathers summonsed for refusing to have their children vaccinated for smallpox
1897     Charles Pick, aged 15, accidentally shot dead in a field off North Road
1897     Epidemic of measles closes schools for two weeks
1898     Stone-paved Roman ford found during cleaning of the river bed in Eastgate
1898     Gas explosion wrecks Thomas Carlton’s drapery shop in North Street
1898     Woodview terraces built, the first mass housing scheme in Bourne
1898     Bourne and District Ploughing Society founded (still operating in 1922)
1898     Cliffe’s grocery stores in West Street destroyed by fire
1899     Bourne Urban District Council formed
1899     Town Hall clock illuminated with gaslight to make it visible at night
1899     Bourne Nursing Association formed
1899     Public tea for 130 schoolchildren marks Queen Victoria’s 80th birthday
1899     Calvinist chapel in North Street becomes a drill hall for the Volunteers
1899     Corn Exchange purchased by Bourne Urban District Council
1899     Bourne Golf Club founded (disbanded circa 1914)
1899     Cliffe’s shop in West Street rebuilt after blaze
1899     Raymond Mays born at Eastgate House

The 20th century

1900     Unruly celebrations in the Market Place mark the relief of Mafeking
1900     Congregational Church Sunday School opens in Eastgate
1900     Bourne Institute buys its first billiards table
1900     Volunteers for the Boer War given farewell dinner at the Nag’s Head
1900     Bourne Horticultural Society thrives (still operating in 1914)
1900     Terrace of yellow brick and blue slate houses built in the Austerby
1901     Primary school in Abbey Road extended with classroom space for more pupils
1901     Census reveals the official population of Bourne to be 4,361
1901     Lorenzo Warner born at Devonport, Devon, on New Year’s Day
1901     Crowds gather in the Market Place for the proclamation of Edward VII
1901     Dinner at the Corn Exchange for soldiers returning from the Boer War
1901     Skeleton of a grizzly bear unearthed in a field near Bourne
1902     Wherry and Son Ltd open pea factory in Church Walk (closed 1967)
1902     Dances at the Corn Exchange become a feature of the May Statute fairs
1902     First painting by bank manager R A Gardner accepted by the Royal Academy
1902     Lady Ancaster opens the indoor rifle range in West Street by scoring a bull’s eye
1902     Police arrest 29 people during riotous Boer War peace celebrations
1902     Parade and public tea celebrates the coronation of Edward VII
1902     Silver tobacco boxes presented to 22 soldiers who served in the Boer War
1903     National School in Willoughby Road closes
1904    Crops badly damaged by giant hailstones during violent storm
1904     Old grammar school closed because of a falling school roll
1904     Robert Mason Mills, founder of aerated water business, dies aged 85
1904     Light Dragoon Inn built in Abbey Road (closed in 1969)
1904     Arthur Young, aged 13, dies from consumption while at school
1904     Government training camp for the unemployed opens near Bourne Wood
1904     Bourne Orchestral Society has an active membership
1905     National School in Willoughby Road opens as the Eastgate mission church
1905     John Thomas Peace, postmaster for 30 years (1875-1905) dies aged 52
1905     Roman pottery kiln found near the Abbey Road school
1906     Dr John Galletly senior builds house and surgery at No 40 North Road
1906     Major Cecil Bell stands down after commanding the Volunteers for 11 years
1907     Workers laid off as brickworks are hit by slump and go into liquidation
1908     Fire damages Branston's department store in Eastgate
1909     Joseph Butterfield leaves his house Brooklands in North Road to the town
1909     Joseph J Davies publishes his book Historic Bourne
1910     The Butterfield Hospital officially opened by the Countess of Ancaster
1910     Notley family take over corn mill in Eastgate
1910     The Great Flood causes widespread damage in Bourne South Fen
1910 c  West Street Mill, also known as Cliffe's Mill, demolished
1910     Lorenzo Warner’s family move from Devon to Elsthorpe, near Bourne
1910     George V proclaimed King from platform erected outside the Town Hall
1910     Public houses and shops close for the funeral of Edward VII

1911     Regular household rubbish collections begin by horse and cart
1911     Recreation ground opens to mark coronation of King George V
1911     Borehole sunk to boost water supplies to watercress beds
1911     Art and industrial exhibition held over four days at the Corn Exchange
1912     North Street and Woodview badly flooded during storm
1913     Police strength in Bourne is two officers, two sergeants and 17 constables
1913     Contaminated meat causes outbreak of ptomaine poisoning
1913     George Bett opened the town’s first department store in Eastgate
1914     Drill Hall sold and becomes the Vestry Hall for church meetings
1914     First 15 military volunteers leave Bourne to fight in the Great War
1914     Vestry Hall in North Street becomes a military hospital
1914     Belgian refugees arrive in Bourne to be housed and employed
1914     James Carvath resigns as Baptist minister after dispute with the deacons
1914     Thomas Redmile and his wife die during an outbreak of influenza
1915     Bourne Isolation Hospital for infectious diseases opens in South Road
1915     Charles Sharpe awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in France
1915     Alderman William Wherry, our most prominent public figure, dies aged 74
1915     Charles Sharpe receives VC from King George V at Windsor Castle
1915     Horse drawn mail cart between Bourne and Peterborough replaced by motor van
1915     Charles Sharpe VC addresses recruiting meeting in the Market Place
1915     2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, parade to boost civilian morale
1915     Wherry’s Mill in North Road badly damaged by lightning during storm
1915     Sunday dinners lost as engineering fault cuts off gas supplies for 24 hours
1915     Bourne Urban District Council buys gasworks for £14,000
1915     Bourne Volunteer Training Corps formed at public meeting
1916     Many trees brought down and rail services halted during a severe blizzard
1916     Severe snowstorm cuts off Bourne and disupts services for two days
1916     Blackout ordered after dark because of the danger from Zeppelin raids
1916     Earthquake tremors rattled windows, moved furniture and crockery
1917     Rifle range at Edenham opened for shooting practice by military volunteers
1918     Tuberculosis patients admitted to Bourne Isolation Hospital for the first time
1918     Mary Ann Buckberry, known as “the mother of Bourne”, dies aged 101
1918     Dr John Gilpin awarded the MBE for his work running the military hospital
1918     Nag’s Head landlord John Shilcock fined for breaching rationing regulations
1918     Embattled gateway to Red Hall demolished to make way for new garage
1919     Flax processing factory opens at the old grain warehouse in Burghley Street
1919     Military hospital at the Vestry Hall closes after caring for 945 wounded soldiers
1919     First motor bus purchased by Thomas Smith (later Delaine Buses)
1919     Parades and parties for the Great War peace celebrations
1919     Lorenzo Warner begins delivering newspapers for W H Smith

1920     Butterfield Hospital enlarged as a memorial to those who died in the Great War
1920     Swimmers start using the Abbey fish pond as a bathing pool
1920     Grammar school opens at temporary accommodation in the Vestry Hall
1920     Thomas Moore Baxter, partner of R M Mills, dies aged 65
1920     Albert E K Wherry awarded OBE for government work during the Great War
1920     T W Mays and Sons Ltd, chemical fertilisers, becomes a limited company
1920     Four children die during an epidemic of measles and whooping cough
1920     Joseph Davies dies at his home in North Road aged 64
1921     Bequest from Thomas M Baxter finances Lady Chapel in the Abbey Church
1921     New grammar school opens in South Road with temporary wooden classrooms
1921     Survey of the weekly street market shows 62 stalls occupying 225 feet
1921     Congregational Sports Club founded, mainly for bowls and tennis
1921     Bourne Town Band re-formed (disbanded 1939)
1921     Woman dies from sleeping sickness after 35 days
1921     Several water boreholes dry up after prolonged drought
1922     The Croft in North Road built by corn merchant Richard Gibson
1922     Bourne United Charities take over and improve the outdoor pool
1922     Nursing staff from the military hospital awarded Red Cross medals
1922     Bourne Abbey Lawn Bowling Club formed
1922     Fire destroys red brick shop at corner of Meadowgate and North Street
1922     Lilian Wyles becomes first woman detective at Scotland Yard
1923     Bourne Bowling Club lay greens on land adjoining the Abbey Church
1924     Salvation Army citadel opens in old army hut on Abbey Lawn
1924     Four ex-servicemen meet to form a branch of the British Legion
1924     Free public lending library opens at the National School in North Street
1924     Baldock's Mill ceases grinding corn when the water wheel collapses
1924     House in Bedehouse Bank collapses into the Bourne Eau
1924     Saturday market closes at 10 pm after complaints of late night noise
1924     Plans to open a sugar beet factory in Bourne abandoned
1925     John Goy retires after clocking one million miles as a railway guard
1925    Tuberculosis pavilion opens at Bourne Isolation Hospital
1925     John T Swift publishes his book Bourne and People Associated with Bourne
1925     Moving picture shows at the Corn Exchange
1925     Alexandra Terraces built by Bourne Urban District Council
1926     Forestry Commission buys Bourne Wood from the Marquess of Exeter
1926     Bourne Hockey Club formed playing fixtures at the Abbey Lawn
1926     Robert Gardner dies from pneumonia while holidaying in Italy, aged 75
1926     Legend of the Fen People by Christopher Marlowe enhances the Hereward saga
1927     Abbey Church bells restored and re-hung
1927     Waterworks company taken over by Bourne Urban District Council
1927     Lorenzo Warner forms newspaper distribution company Abbey Road shop
1927     Gasworks greatly enlarged to meet demand
1927     Four children die in measles epidemic
1928     42 council houses built in Recreation Road
1928     Fire destroys many of the town’s bus passenger fleet (later Delaine Buses)
1928     Klondyke Sanctuary opens in West Street for the humane slaughter of horses
1928     William Woolf opens garage at corner of Meadowgate and North Street
1929     Tudor Cinema opens in North Street with room for 588 patrons
1929 c  Frederick Manning writes Great War novel while staying at the Bull Hotel
1929     Youth, aged 20, kicked to death by a horse at the government training camp

1930     Bourne Eau bursts its banks at Queen's Bridge in Eastgate during severe storm
1930     Mrs Caroline Galletly appointed first woman council chairman
1930     Town fire brigade’s steam pump is replaced by a motor tender
1930     Dustbins introduced for domestic refuse collections
1930     Raymond Mays takes leading role in amateur production of The Quaker Girl
1930     Workhouse converted for use as a mental hospital (later St Peter’s Hospital)
1930     48 council houses built in George Street
1930     Delaine Buses become sole operator on many local passenger routes
1931     Twelve almshouses for the elderly built in West Street by Bourne United Charities
1931     St John Ambulance Brigade forms a division in Bourne
1931     First talking films shown at the Tudor Cinema
1932     Bourne Hygienic Laundry established in Manning Road
1932     T W Mays and Sons Ltd take over horse sanctuary in West Road
1933     Town Hall tower and clock destroyed by fire
1933     New changing rooms built for the outdoor swimming pool
1933     Wrought iron gates from Derbyshire stately home moved to Abbey Lawn
1933     The Vicar, Canon John Grinter, sues churchwarden Cecil Bell for libel
1934     Major repairs to the tower of the Abbey Church
1934     Bourne United Charities buy the Abbey Lawn as a permanent open space
1934     Thomas Mays, father of Raymond and a leading citizen, dies aged 78
1934     Lee & Geen, mineral water bottling company, cease trading
1934     The Flitch Trial custom broadcast from the Corn Exchange by BBC radio
1934     R M Mills and Company becomes a limited company, Mills Bourne Waters
1934     Raymond Mays forms ERA company to build super racing cars
1934     Gas mains laid to supply Dyke village
1935     Abbey Lawn landscaped to mark King George V’s Silver Jubilee
1935     Novelist Frederic Manning taken ill in Bourne and dies in London, aged 52
1935     Woolf’s garage moves to new site across the road in North Street
1936     Lorenzo Warner takes over printing works in West Street
1936     No 11 Group of the Observer Corps established covering the Bourne area
1937     Bourne Players drama group formed to present annual productions
1937     44 council houses and bungalows built in Harrington Street
1937     George VI’s coronation marked by a 21-rocket salute on the Abbey Lawn
1938     Bourne Pageant celebrates the 800th anniversary of founding the Abbey Church
1938     Women’s Voluntary Service form Bourne branch
1938     Hereward Lodge of Freemasons open their own hall in Wherry’s Lane
1938     RAF officer Maurice Heath marries Mary Gibson at the Abbey Church
1939     Vestry Hall becomes a first aid post at the outbreak of the Second World War
1939     Solicitor Horace Stanton takes command of the Civil Defence
1939     Duke of Kent visits the Lincolnshire Agricultural Show held in Bourne
1939     Raymond Mays sworn in as Special Constable No 269 for Lincolnshire
1939     Observer Corps open permanent observation post in North Road
1939     Delaine Buses extend their Spalding Road depot to cope with increased business
1939     J T Swift, magistrate and local historian, dies at his home in North Road aged 84
1939     Government training camp becomes the Hereward Approved School

1940     Recruiting begins in Bourne for the Home Guard
1940     Children evacuated from Hull billeted with local families
1941     2nd Girl Guide Company formed to enable girls help with the war effort
1941     Solicitor Horace Stanton commissioned to command the Home Guard
1941     German bomber crashes on the Butcher’s Arms in Eastgate killing seven people
1941     Ashby Swift, local photographer, dies aged 59, but his pictures survive
1941     Home Guard strength now 339 men with 220 rifles and 20 machine guns
1942     Minesweeper HMS Beryl adopted during ceremony at the Abbey Lawn
1942     Emergency plans drawn up for the town in case of invasion
1943     Dr John Gilpin dies at his retirement home in Skegness aged 79
1943     William Redshaw, local photographer, dies at his home in George Street aged 86
1943     Girls’ Training Corps forms local company with Dr Ruth Finn as commander
1943     Parachute Regiment troops begin arriving for the Arnhem invasion
1943     Senior boys from the Hereward Approved School join the Home Guard
1944     550 officers and men from the Parachute Regiment billeted here
1944     Home Guard begins to stand down and hand in weapons
1944     Parachute Regiment troops leave for the Battle of Arnhem in September
1945     Fire station and new Civil Defence headquarters open in South Street
1945     Victory Youth Club opens at the Victoria Hall (now demolished)
1945     Police inspector Harold Withers awarded King’s Police Medal for Gallantry
1945     Bomber pilot Jack Cox, former Midland Bank clerk, shot down over Germany
1945     Street parties celebrate VE day, the end of the war in Europe
1946     Bourne Institute marks its golden jubilee
1946     New owners modernise and re-equip the Tudor Cinema
1946     Abbey Road school moves some pupils to wooden classrooms in Queen’s Road
1947     Grammar School officially adopts the name Bourne Grammar School
1947     Cecil Walter Bell dies at Eastbourne, aged 78
1948     Delaine Buses introduce their first double-decker bus
1948     The National Trust turn down an offer to take over the Red Hall
1949     Raymond Mays unveils first BRM car with test drive at Folkingham airfield
1949     Lilian Wyles awarded BEM for 30 years of service to the police force

1950     Eastgate mission church closes
1950     70 council houses built in Ancaster Road
1950     Raymond Mays shows the Queen and Princess Margaret the BRM at Silverstone
1951     Census reveals the official population of Bourne to be 5,105
1953     Coat of Arms granted to Bourne Urban District Council by College of Arms
1953     Bourne Town Bowls Club formed with rinks on the Abbey Lawn
1953     118 council houses built in Queen’s Road and Edinburgh Crescent area
1953     Day of parades and parties mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1954     Bequest from Alderman T W Atkinson helps establish the Wellhead Gardens
1954     Local councils decline to take over the Red Hall saying it is “a useless building”
1955     Pressure fault cuts off water supplies to the entire town for two hours
1955     Fire destroys 15,000 customer records at electricity board offices in North Street
1955     Bourne House in West Street converted into a council-run children's hostel
1955     Watercress beds acquired by Spalding Urban District Council
1955     Klondyke abattoir approved for the slaughter of other animals
1955     The Bull Inn changes its name to the Burghley Arms
1956     Dining room wrecked in fire at County Primary School in Abbey Road
1956     Bourne division of the St John Ambulance Brigade celebrates silver jubilee
1956     Council flats built at Shillaker Court and St Paul’s Gardens
1956     War Memorial unveiled and dedicated in South Street
1956     C P Matthews, first head of Bourne Grammar School (1920-45), dies aged 70
1957     Girl Guide Margaret Osborne attends World Camp and meets the Queen
1957     Gasworks closed during re-organisation of the gas supply industry
1958     Bourne County Secondary School officially opens in Queen’s Road
1958     Burghley Street tennis courts sold to W A North Ltd, forage merchants
1959     Vigilance by neighbours saves the Vestry Hall from a disastrous fire
1959     Excavations at Butcher’s Arms site in Eastgate reveal unexploded bomb
1959     New tennis courts opened at Abbey Lawn for Bourne Tennis Club
1959     Rail passenger services between Bourne and Spalding end
1959     25 people die from heart disease during the year

1960     New sewage works and pumping station opened at a cost of £90,000
1960     Eastgate mission church in Willoughby Road demolished
1960     Police station opens in West Street
1960     New Abbey Church hall built in Church Walk
1960     Lightning strikes Bourne Hospital causing £5,000 worth of damage
1960     Industrial pollution wipes out fish life along 3½ miles of the Bourne Eau
1960     Darby and Joan club opened in South Street by the Earl of Ancaster
1960     New borehole sunk in Manning Road for Bourne Hygienic Laundry
1960     Gasworks demolished to make way for new BRM workshops
1961     Major extensions to Bourne Grammar School
1961     Census reveals the official population of Bourne to be 5,331
1961     Marjorie Clark, our longest serving councillor, takes office for the first time
1961     Gas supply fails for 24 hours during a bitterly cold winter
1962     Bourne United Charities acquires freehold of the Red Hall
1962     Hereward Youth Club opens at the church hall in Church Walk
1962     BRM car wins world championship with Graham Hill at the wheel
1962     Nursery Supplies opens for business in Exeter Street
1963     Charles Sharpe VC dies, aged 73, and is given a military funeral at Lincoln
1963     Civic reception for BRM team after winning the world championship
1963     WVS takes delivery of their first van for meals on wheels
1963     The Tudor Cinema switches from films to bingo three nights a week
1964     Platforms, water tower and other railway installations demolished
1964     Unexploded 1,100 lb. German bomb from WW2 unearthed in Eastgate
1964     Jack Moody, the town’s longest serving fireman, retires after 37 years
1965     Rail freight services between Bourne and Spalding end as line closes
1965     Entire railway complex in Bourne now dismantled
1965     Bourne Cricket Club pavilion at the Abbey Lawn destroyed by fire
1965     Gas supply now piped in from Humberside to 1,400 consumers
1965     Original Worth Court bed-sitter complex for old people opened in Eastgate
1965     Bourne judged the best kept small town in the Kesteven area of Lincolnshire
1965 c  Hereward Approved School closes and land sold for housing development
1965     The famous Cuckoo Bush Cottage in North Road demolished
1965     Digby Court care home for 45 old people opens in Christopher’s Lane
1966     New pavilion built at the Abbey Lawn for Bourne Cricket Club
1966     New Bourne Town football stadium opens at the Abbey Lawn ground
1967     The Maltings in West Street cease trading
1967     13th century remains found during excavations of Woolworths site in North Street
1967     Victoria Hall in Spalding Road demolished
1967     Rotary Club of Bourne founded
1967     Dr George Holloway, family doctor for 25 years, dies at Brook Lodge aged 61
1967     The first Civic Sunday parade and service held in Bourne
1967     Old pea factory in Church Walk converted into a training workshop
1967     Ancient pottery sherds dug up by electricity board workmen in Eastgate
1967     Rotary Club of Bourne established
1967     Victoria Hall demolished to improve visibility at nearby road junction
1967     Christmas illuminations switched on in Bourne for the first time
1968     Severe flooding in South Street and elsewhere during heavy rain
1968     W A North's forage and potato depot in North Street wrecked by fire
1968     Horace Stanton retires after 47 years of service to Bourne United Charities
1968     Housing development begins along Mill Drove
1968     Civil Defence organisation disbands and South Street premises vacated
1968     81 babies born during the year
1968    Voluntary laundry opens at Baldock’s Mill to help the old and infirm
1969     South Lincolnshire Water Board takes over watercress beds
1969     Public library opens at refurbished Civil Defence headquarters in South Street
1969     Move to close the Corn Exchange by Councillor Lorenzo Warner defeated
1969     Bourne Town Bowls Club buys wooden pavilion from Northorpe Cricket Club
1969     A total of 130 artesian wells have now been sunk within the urban district
1969     18th century corn warehouse in Eastgate demolished to make way for road widening
1969     Fire station rebuilt and re-equipped with new appliances
1969     Neolithic axe heads unearthed near Dyke village
1969     The first Civic Dinner and Ball is held at the Corn Exchange
1969     Health report says that 881 residents are over 65 years of age

1970     A History of Bourne published by local schoolteacher J D Birkbeck
1970     Creosote kills wildlife along a 50-yard stretch of the Bourne Eau in South Street
1970     Bourne v Chelmsford FA Trophy match sets attendance record of over 3,000
1970     Wherry and Sons give up grocery trading after 160 years
1970     Wherry and Sons buy old railway station for use as a pea processing plant
1970     Roman pottery from the 2nd century found near Bourne Grammar School
1970     Bourne Hospital restricted to emergencies because of a flu epidemic
1970     Morning rush hour census clocks 733 vehicles into the town and 642 out
1971     Health centre opens in St Gilbert’s Road to centralise doctors’ surgeries
1971     Heating system installed at the outdoor swimming pool
1971     Jack Wand takes over hardware and electrical shop in North Street
1972     Red Hall re-opened by Bourne United Charities after major restoration
1972     Bourne becomes staging post for 800 refugees fleeing from Uganda
1972     Two lakes created in Bourne Wood by damming a dip in the landscape
1972     Film shows finally end at the Tudor Cinema despite protest petition
1973     Notley’s Mill in Victoria Place demolished and the site sold for housing
1973     Lady Jane Willoughby elected chairman of Bourne Rural District Council
1973     Sister Grace Bristow, assistant matron at the Butterfield Hospital, awarded the MBE
1973     Klondyke sanctuary closes after slaughtering 20,000 horses in 40 years
1973     First traffic lights installed in the town centre at a cost of £10,000
1973     Excavations in Eastgate reveal signs of the former pottery industry
1973     Councillor Jack Burchnell who saved the Red Hall from demolition dies aged 64
1973     Major pottery finds discovered during an archaeological dig in Eastgate
1974     Town Council instituted under local government re-organisation
1974     Wake House becomes offices for the new South Kesteven District Council
1974     New water pumping station built in Abbey Road at a cost of £350,000
1974     Bus station opens in North Street at the corner of St Gilbert’s Road
1974     Anglian Water takes over responsibility for water and sewage services
1974     Watercress beds closed down and filled in
1974     Half of the North Street terrace demolished to make way for bus station
1975     Bourne Institute renamed the Pyramid Club
1975     Westfield County Primary School opens with a roll of 90 pupils
1975     Town Hall interior re-designed
1975     Pilbeam Racing Designs established by former BRM designer Mike Pilbeam
1975     Hooligans disrupt Christmas Eve midnight service at the Abbey Church
1975     Lilian Wyles who became one of England’s first women police officers dies aged 89
1976     St Gilbert's Roman Catholic Church built in St Gilbert's Road
1976     First weekly skip sited at the cattle market for overflow from domestic rubbish
1976     The Maltings in West Street taken over by Warners Midlands plc
1976     Budgens open Bourne’s first supermarket in West Street
1976     Abbey Church organ restored at a cost of £6,000 raised by parishioners
1976     Two-week Tudor exhibition at the Red Hall attracts hundreds of visitors
1977     Shippon Barn becomes headquarters for scouts and guides
1977     Brick built pavilion opened by Bourne Town Bowls Club
1977     Conservation area for Bourne designated with 51 listed buildings
1977     Civic Society formed at a public meeting in the Red Hall
1977     Solicitor Horace Stanton dies aged 79 after a lifetime of service to the town
1977     Bourne Film Theatre opens in old North Street warehouse with 55 seats
1977     Carnival, sports and dancing mark Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
1977     Hereward Youth Club moves to the Vestry Hall in North Street
1978     Raymond Mays awarded the CBE for services to motor racing
1978     Bourne is judged the best kept small town in Lincolnshire
1978     Jubilee Garage in Abbey Road closes after 43 years in business
1979     Black plastic bags issued for weekly refuse collections
1979     The Cedars in South Street renamed Bourne Eau House
1979     Ringers’ gallery erected within the south west tower of the Abbey Church
1979     Harry Ringrose, prominent solicitor for over 60 years, dies aged 97
1979     Rotary Club of Bourne launches annual rose bowl award

1980     Serious flooding in Spalding Road and Cherryholt Road during heavy rain
1980     Raymond Mays dies at Eastgate House, aged 80
1980     Last surviving mud and stud cottage demolished in Bedehouse Bank
1980     Meadow Close old people’s complex opened by the Earl of Ancaster
1980     Willoughby School opens in South Road for students with learning difficulties
1980     British Legion social club opened in Burghley Street by the Earl of Ancaster
1980     Cyril “Ching” Clay awarded BEM for 40 years of council employment

1981     Bourne Civic Society takes over Baldock's Mill for use as a Heritage Centre
1981     Post Office moves to new premises in West Street
1981     Three-day exhibition at the Red Hall devoted to the town’s history and heritage
1981     Cattle market closes for business after 120 years
1981     Row of ten cottages in St Peter’s Road declared unfit and demolished

1982     Town Council opens new allotments in South Fen Road
1982     Eight flats built in St Peter’s Road by South Kesteven District Council

1983     Major improvement scheme to upgrade the public library in South Street
1983     Butterfield Hospital closes despite vigorous public campaign to save it
1983     Opico Ltd, agricultural machinery distributors, moves to Bourne
1983     Landscaped garden opened at the Abbey Lawn in memory of Horace Stanton
1983     Third and last Earl of Ancaster dies at Grimsthorpe Castle, aged 75
1983     Restoration of Baldock’s Mill begins for use as a Heritage Centre

1984     Red Hall exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of Arnhem
1984     Round Table members make goodwill trip to Arnhem in a 1944 jeep
1984     Stanton Close old people’s bungalows open in Manning Road
1984     Field Boxmore (formerly Tudor) Labels open new factory in Cherryholt Road

1985     Angel Hotel stables converted into shops known as the Angel Precinct
1985     Archaeological dig on the site of the new vicarage reveals monastery remains
1985     Butterfield Hospital re-opens as a day care centre for the elderly

1986     Weekly rubbish skip collection moves to the Rainbow supermarket car park
1986     New vicarage opens on site adjoining the Abbey Church

1987     Bourne County Secondary becomes the Robert Manning School
1987     Old National School turned into the Conservative Association headquarters
1987     Sir Kenneth Lewis stands down as the town’s MP after 28 years
1987     Grace Bristow, former assistant matron at the Butterfield Hospital, dies aged 76
1987     Residents’ Action Group (BRAG) opposes chicken broiler unit near A15
1987     Councillor Richard Reeve, Mayor of Bourne, dies in office, aged 50

1988     Budgens open their new supermarket on the former cattle market site
1988     Leisure centre opens in Queen’s Road by soccer star Emlyn Hughes
1988     Social Education Centre opens in Pinfold Road at a cost of £¾ million
1988     Trevor L Brodrick, 11th Viscount Midleton, of North Road, dies, aged 85

1989     Bourne House in West Street converted into housing for the elderly
1989     Bourne Youth Centre takes over wooden huts in Queen’s Road
1989     Bourne twinned with Doudeville in Normandy, France
1989     Royal Mail lorry crashes into cottage on bend in South Street
1989     New teaching block opens at the Robert Manning School
1989     Public parade and protest saves the outdoor swimming pool from closure
1989     Mrs Annette Jackman, aged 27, becomes Bourne’s first firewoman
1989     Duke of Gloucester opens £4 million extensions at Warners Midlands plc
1989     The Local newspaper launched to cover Bourne and locality
1989     Leslie Day, former headmaster of Bourne Secondary School, dies aged 89
1989     South Kesteven District Council buy Charles Sharpe’s war medals for £17,000
1989     Lorenzo Warner publishes life story Born with the Century
1989     Burghley Centre opens as part of a £1½ million development of cattle market site

1990     Weekly market moved off the streets to a paved area behind the Town Hall
1990     Corn Exchange completely rebuilt but Abbey Road façade retained
1990     Indoor swimming pool added to the £2.6 million leisure centre
1990     New Salvation Army citadel opens in Manning Road at a cost of £400,000
1990     Preservation trust formed to run the outdoor swimming pool
1990     Town fire brigade celebrates its centenary
1990     Block of flats built on site of old pea factory in Church Walk
1990     Bourne Film Theatre closes when lease expires on premises
1990     Marjorie Clark named first woman chairman of South Kesteven District Council
1990     Pottery fragments found while building two bungalows in Cherryholt Road

1991     Census reveals the population of Bourne to be 9,958
1991     Abbey Road primary becomes the first grant maintained school in Britain
1991     Bourne Town wins United Counties League championship for the fourth time
1991     Crown public house in West Street closes after disastrous fire
1991     Education Secretary Kenneth Clarke visits the Abbey Primary School
1991     Burghley Court and Exeter Court built to provide 29 new council homes
1991     Bourne Eau in South Street reduced to a sea of mud during a very dry summer
1991     Former Tudor Cinema in North Street becomes a Chinese restaurant
1991     Regency house at No 20 North Road sold for redevelopment as Maple Gardens
1991     A 15 by-pass for Bourne announced but project later cancelled because of cost
1991     Bourne Contract Support Services established in Manning Road
1991     Wood sculpture erected in Bourne Wood in memory of Robert Manning
1991     Observer Corps disbanded and observation post in North Road closed

1992     Book lending system at the public library in South Street computerised
1992     Huge bog oak turned up by a plough in the North Fen at Bourne
1992     Education Secretary Kenneth Clarke opens Bourne Grammar School extensions

1993     Monkstone House in West Street becomes an Indian restaurant
1993     Toft railway tunnel preserved as a Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve
1993     Dr John (Alistair) Galletly dies aged 94 after practising in Bourne for 41 years
1993     South Kesteven District Council move offices from Wake House to the Town Hall

1994     Crown public house in West Street rebuilt as Crown Walk shopping precinct
1994     Remains of Wherry’s Mill in North Road demolished for housing development
1994     Illustrated book Raymond Mays of Bourne published by Dr Michael McGregor
1994     300 homes being built on new 30-acre estate at fen end of Mill Drove
1994     Street names at new Mill Drove development celebrate Arnhem connection
1994     Woolf’s garage in North Street sold for Tesco/Esso development
1994     Raymond Mays’ CBE sold at Sotheby’s in London for £400

1995     New greens laid by Bourne Town Bowls Club at Abbey Lawn ground
1995     Lorenzo Warner, founder of Warners Midlands plc, dies aged 94
1995     Street parade marks 50th anniversary of VJ Day - victory in Japan
1995     Hugh Delaine-Smith awarded MBE for services to public transport

1996     The Galletly Medical Centre opens in North Road
1996     Pilbeam Racing Designs moves to new factory in Graham Hill Way
1996     Scenes from the television drama Moll Flanders were filmed at the Red Hall
1996     Tesco denied planning permission for out of town supermarket
1996     Exhibition of 40 paintings by Robert Gardner at the Red Hall

1997     Bourne Arts and Community Trust leases Wakes House for community use
1997     Princess Margaret opens a new day care centre at Digby Court
1997     Conservative Club in North Street closes because of financial difficulties

1998     Former NATO chief Air Marshal Sir Maurice Heath buried in the cemetery
1998     Bourne Hospital closes despite campaign by residents to keep it open
1998     Hereward Medical Centre opens in Exeter Street
1998     Bourne Hockey Club moves to astro-turf pitches at Market Deeping
1998     Smith’s of Bourne, grocers, close North Street shop after 141 years
1998     Swedeponic UK, fresh herb producers, open factory in Spalding Road

1999     Sainsburys open a new supermarket in Exeter Street
1999     Diana's Glade planted in Bourne Wood remembering the Princess of Wales
1999     St Peter’s Hospital sold to Warners Midlands plc for redevelopment
1999     Heritage Centre opens at Baldock’s Mill after major restoration
1999     Former health centre in St Gilbert’s Road converted into health clinic
1999     New changing rooms for young footballers erected at the recreation ground
1999     Raymond Mays Memorial Room opened at Baldock's Mill
1999     Ceramic relief mural installed on the front of Bourne Grammar School
1999     Robert Manning School becomes the Robert Manning Technology College
1999     Daytime Day Nursery opens at converted warehouse in Burghley Street
1999     Two black swans arrive at St Peter's Pool, a gift from the Wildfowl Trust
1999     Motor racing Heritage Day attracts thousands to the town
1999     Delaine Buses depot in Spalding Road modernised
1999     BRAG winds up after losing battle to stop chicken broiler unit
1999     Duchess of Gloucester opens Nursery Supplies’ new site in Meadow Drove
1999     Jack Wand awarded MBE for services to the electronics industry

The 21st century

2000     Weekly rubbish skip collection moves to school car park in Queen’s Road
2000     Westfield County Primary School now has 580 pupils in 20 classes
2000     Wake House converted for use as an arts and community centre
2000    Building Blocks Kindergarten opens in Burghley Street

2001     Town council borrows £40,000 at 5.5% over five years to buy Christmas lights
2001     Buzzards found breeding in Bourne Wood for the first time in 100 years
2001     St Peter’s Hospital demolished during expansion of Warners Midlands plc
2001     Trees toppled around the Wellhead Gardens by gale force winds
2001     2nd Girl Guide Company holds 60th anniversary reunion at the Red Hall
2001     Lincolnshire South West Primary Care Trust takes over health services
2001     Census reveals the official population of Bourne to be 11,933
2001     New £1 million teaching block added to Bourne Grammar School
2001     A £27 million redevelopment scheme is announced for Bourne town centre
2001     Work begins on 2,000 home Elsea Park estate to the south of the town
2001     £10 million Southfields Business Park development near A15 abandoned
2001     Plaque unveiled in Abbey Church commemorates link with Parachute Regiment

2002     Nursery Supplies’ premises in Meadow Drove closed and offered for sale
2002     Woodland Nurseries and glasshouses demolished to make way for new homes
2002     Town cemetery wins national Cemetery of the Year award
2002     Waste recycling centre opens in Pinfold Lane run by private contractors
2002     Dr Michael McGregor becomes first life member of the Civic Society
2002     Former grocery shop in North Street becomes Smith’s of Bourne public house
2002     Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee celebrations at the Wellhead Field
2002     Social Education Centre in Pinfold Road closes down
2002     Play park for children opened at the Wellhead Field
2002     Articulated lorry partly demolishes cottage on bend in South Street
2002     Major improvements carried out at the Abbey Lawn cricket pitch
2002     The town council launches a Best Kept Allotment competition
2002     Eighteen hours of rain floods town centre streets and market place
2002     Work begins on the £4 million south-west relief road for Bourne
2002     Ivan Fuller appointed manager to oversee town centre redevelopment
2002     Tesco/Esso open new petrol station and store in North Street
2002     Public toilets in South Street closed because of vandalism
2002     North Street terrace redeveloped after protest against demolition
2002     Town Hall flag flies at half mast marking the Queen Mother’s death
2002     Work begins on 139 houses at Hereward Meadow estate off Exeter Street
2002     Perimeter road around Elsea Park named Raymond Mays Way

2003     The Rev Christopher Atkinson appointed 49th Vicar of Bourne
2003     Bourne Hospital site sold for housing development
2003     Plastic containers for weekly collections of recycled waste issued to all homes
2003     Lord’s Taverners XI visit to celebrate town’s cricketing bi-centenary
2003     Signposted woodland trails established in Bourne Wood
2003     Sainsburys add £5 million extensions to Exeter Street supermarket
2003     Ray and Shirley Cliffe retire and sell family shop in West Street
2003     Memorial erected in South Street to the BRM motor racing team

2004     Retired businessman Len Pick dies aged 94, leaving £4 million to the town
2004     Temporary classrooms at Bourne Grammar School finally phased out
2004     Town Hall offices and courtroom refurbished and re-painted
2004     The Croft closed and surrounding parkland earmarked for housing development
2004     Jehovah's Witnesses build new £150,000 church in Victor Way
2004     Roof space at Pyramid Club converted into second billiards’ room
2004     Christmas Fatstock Show wound up
2004     New £400,000 headquarters for Bourne Youth Centre built in Queen’s Road
2004     Wooden classroom huts in Queen’s Road later used as youth centre demolished
2004     Public toilets in South Street re-opened after widespread protests
2004     Budgens deny supermarket closure but admit falling custom
2004     Safety survey of headstones in the town cemetery gets underway
2004     New £170,000 system of traffic lights installed in the town centre
2004     Chapel of Rest in the town cemetery deconsecrated
2004     Vestry Hall in North Street sold for conversion into a private home
2004     Vigorous protest campaign averts pay parking in the town
2004     North Street terrace housing development renamed Marquess Court

2005     Plans and developer announced for rebuilding the town centre
2005     Town council proposes to demolish the Victorian chapel in the cemetery
2005     Percy Wilson, former council chairman and school teacher, dies aged 87
2005     The Old Grammar School is put up for sale
2005     Raymond Mays garage in Spalding Road closes after 50 years in business
2005     Last of the railway buildings in South Road demolished to make way for new houses
2005     First Continental market is held in Bourne to mark Market Towns Week
2005     Johnson Brothers close their agricultural machinery depot in Manning Road
2005     New 1½-mile south-west relief road opened to relief traffic flows through the town
2005     Landmark chimney at the Slipe glue factory in South Fen demolished
2005     The Len Pick Charitable Trust launched to handle the benefactor’s bequest

2006     Gallery opened at the Heritage Centre commemorating the life of Charles Worth
2006     Bourne wins silver award in East Midlands in Bloom competition
2006     Ray Cliffe who served as a county, district and town councillor dies aged 81
2006     New town signs erected on the four main road approaches to Bourne
2006     Moves to put the weekly market back on the street fails to win support
2006     Wheelie bins introduced for rubbish collections at all homes in Bourne
2006     Historic shop premises at No 30 North Street converted into The Jubilee public house

2007     Cemetery chapel listed Grade II to prevent demolition by the town council
2007     Ostler memorial in the town cemetery listed Grade II to ensure that it is preserved
2007     Bourne wins second silver award in East Midlands in Bloom competition
2007     Work begins turning Wherry’s grain warehouse in South Street into flats
2007     Old Worth Court bed-sit complex for the elderly in Eastgate demolished
2007     Appeal for £100,000 launched to maintain and improve the Abbey Church
2007     John Kirkman stands down as a leading local councillor after 28 years
2007    Marjorie Clark, the town’s longest serving councillor and twice mayor, dies aged 88

2008     Abbey Primary School given Church of England status
2008     Stone pinnacles on the gable ends of the Red Hall damaged by earthquake tremors
2008     Water wheel at Baldocks’s Mill restored by volunteers to produce green electricity
2008     Mrs Shirley Cliffe sets record by becoming Mayor of Bourne for the third time
2008     Bourne wins silver gilt award in East Midlands in Bloom competition
2008     Browning Court sheltered housing complex opens in Manning Road
2008     Bourne Textile Services relocated from Manning Road to Cherryholt Road
2008     Mrs Pat Edmunds, one of the team of World War Two code breakers, dies aged 94
2008     Burghley Street grain warehouse sold for redevelopment to SKDC for £350,000
2008     Budgens supermarket closes after trading at the Burghley Centre since 1989
2008     Scaffolding erected to restore the upper chancel windows in the Abbey Church
2008     Bourne Preservation Trust founded to preserve cemetery chapel
2008     Woolworths close their store at No 13 North Street after trading since 1967

2009     Terry Bates, the town’s leading sports personality known as “Mr Sport”, dies aged 72
2009     Ancient ornamental gates at the Abbey Lawn refurbished
2009     The old laundry in Manning Road demolished to make way for 47 new houses
2009     Bourne wins second silver gilt award in East Midlands in Bloom competition
2009     Speed humps introduced around Bourne in an attempt to stop speeding motorists
2009     Heron Foods take over No 13 North Street selling food at discount prices
2009     Abbey Lawn gardens replanted by volunteers
2009     Jim Jones, who restored the Baldock’s Mill water wheel, awarded the MBE
2009     Planning permission granted to turn The Croft into a bungalow estate for old people
2009     New look to boost trade at the weekly market with blue and white awnings for stalls
2009    Abbey Lawn enclosed by nine-feet high security railings to deter intruders
2009     New Worth Court complex of 34 flats for old people officially opened in Eastgate

2010     The £27 million redevelopment scheme for the town centre is abandoned
2010     Bourne wins third silver gilt award in East Midlands in Bloom competition
2010     Quentin Davies stands down as Bourne’s M P after 23 years
2010     House building at Elsea Park passes the 700 mark
2010     Prince Edward visits the Abbey Primary CE School to open new extensions
2010     Abbey Primary CE School achieves academy status, the first in Lincolnshire
2010     Douglas Reeson, long serving council clerk and charity trustee, dies aged 91
2010     New Co-operative Food supermarket opens in former Budgens premises
2010     Wake House is offered for sale by private tender by SKDC
2010     Masonic hall in Wherry’s Lane sold to SKDC for redevelopment for £375,000
2010     Abbey Court care home for 88 old people opens in Falcon Way
2010     The Royal Oak public house in North Street to be turned into flats
2010     Tesco begins building a new superstore in South Road