The earliest recorded royal visit to Bourne is that of Edward III who reigned from 1327 to 1377, although this is most unlikely to have occurred. He was the eldest son of Edward II and Isabella of France and was born at Windsor Castle, succeeding to the throne at the age of four although a council was elected to govern during his minority with his mother's lover, Roger Mortimer, the principal power in the state. He was seized and executed in 1330 and Isabella forced to retire from public life when Edward finally took supreme power.

It has been claimed that the visit was the result of an invitation from Thomas Wake (1297-1349), a descendant of Hugh Wake who had become Lord of the Manor of Bourne in 1166. Thomas was a baron who played a significant part in the political affairs of his time but the evidence is that he was an absentee landlord who never actually lived here. He had been only three years old when he succeeded his father as Lord of the Manor and for some years was a royal ward although the king, Edward II eventually allowed him full possession of his lands when he reached the age of twenty and these included large estates in Lincolnshire and Rutland.

He married Blanche, daughter of Henry of Lancaster and great grand daughter of Henry III and became constable of the Tower of London with responsibility for political prisoners and the peace and defence of the city.

The story goes that in 1330, Thomas Wake invited Edward III to be his guest at Bourne Castle but this is doubtful and the reasons why are well described by J D Birkbeck in his book A History of Bourne, (1976):

"Thomas Wake was one of the barons who opposed the Despensers, the favourites of Edward II, and joined with Queen Isabella and Mortimer against the king. When the Despensers were captured in 1326, Wake was one of the judges who sentenced them to death. After the death of the king himself in 1327, Wake became increasingly hostile towards his earlier patrons, Isabella and Mortimer. He was now constable of the Tower of London, having charge of the political prisoners therein, and also having responsibility for the peace and defence of the city.

"In 1328, he joined a rising against Isabella and Mortimer but after Mortimer had seized Leicester and confronted his enemies with great force, Thomas Wake was obliged to surrender and was then fined and deprived of his offices. In 1331, after the fall and death of Mortimer, he was restored to his lands and offices. He was also, for a time, governor of the Channel Islands. It appears that he did not always find favour with the new king, Edward III, for he was imprisoned in 1340.

"For the remainder of his life, he seems to have figured less prominently in national affairs but it is clear that he was a man of power and influence in his day. It is hardly likely that he would spend much time at his manor of Bourne but there is a tradition that on one occasion he received a very eminent visitor at Bourne Castle,  Edward III, who was his guest in the spring of 1330.

"However, it is difficult to reconcile this date with the fact that Wake was in disfavour with Isabella and Mortimer after 1329 and was not restored to his lands and offices until 1331. Though the young king Edward III was certainly antagonistic to his mother and Mortimer, would Thomas Wake be able to receive him at Bourne in 1330 or had he not been deprived of his Bourne estate?"

NOTE: I am indebted to J D Birkbeck for his permission to quote from A History of
Bourne. Picture of Edward III by an unknown artist from the National Portrait
Gallery reproduced from the Wikipedia web site.