The commercial premises at Number 32 North Street date from the early 19th century, built of red brick and blue slate, and most probably as a private house, but as was the practice in later years, the front windows were turned into shop frontages as the business life of the town expanded along the main street while the coaching arch could be clearly seen.

A later owner, Edward Pearce, clock and watchmaker, silversmith and jeweller, is pictured above outside circa 1910 with one of his children. This was a family business that had been started by his father, Thomas Pearce, and also included a china and glass warehouse, porcelain and pottery. Thomas was in business in Bourne as early as 1840 although he was then operating from premises in West Street but had moved to North Street by 1856.

Edward Pearce was the clockmaker who was called in to overhaul the clock over the Town Hall in 1900 and to install gas lighting to illuminate the face for public display. Ironically, it with this mechanism that caused the fire which destroyed the clock tower in 1933 and it was never replaced. The shop during his occupation was famous for its wall clock and the outline of its position could still be seen on the brickwork.

The last tenant was Bourne Jewellers which ceased trading in 1986 and the property then stood empty and neglected for the next 20 years during which time there were several attempts to buy the freehold but without success. South Kesteven District Council had the power to carry out repairs and bill the owners but chose not to do so. Instead, the appearance of the building continued to blight the street scene. Successive town mayors, Councillors Don Fisher (1998-99) and Mrs Marjorie Clark (1999-2000), expressed the hope that the dreadful appearance posed by the building might be tackled during their years in office but nothing materialised. After that, no one on the town council even mentioned it. There was an attempt to cover up the mess with murals painted by local schoolchildren in 1996 but it was not a lasting success and merely highlighted the untidy appearance of our main thoroughfare.

Messages flooded in from abroad when I showed pictures of the derelict property on the Bourne web site in 1998 and there was also some adverse comment from the other side of the Atlantic, from Donald Cooper who lives in a small town called Dundas at the very western tip of Lake Ontario in Canada, who wrote:

I can understand the concern of Bourne residents about these empty shops because urban blight is everywhere, even here in Canada. But it is mostly confined to the larger cities. What a pity to see this occurring in dear, lovely little Bourne. If any of your city fathers are reading this, shame on them! I have no right to voice my opinion really but I do like putting in my two cents worth and I join the residents who are obviously very concerned with the inactivity of the authorities in handling this matter. Please clean up your wonderful little town.

His advice was ignored. Then early in 2003, businessman Michael Thurlby announced that he had purchased the property and an application to demolish the building was made to SKDC the following year with a proposal to replace it with a new complex of commercial and residential units.

He told The Local newspaper on Friday 19th February: "This is the last North Street site to be redeveloped at this time and I am confident that whatever we do with the premises will complement Bourne as a town. Initial discussions with the planners have been very constructive and while the building is in a conservation area, it is thought to be in too bad a state of repair to be saved in its entirety but much of the material can be used to enhance future projects. I am convinced that Bourne has a vibrant future and that North Street is a key area in helping to create the right image."

Mr Thurlby has already breathed new life into the ancient grocery shop across the road, now enjoying a new role as a popular public house called Smiths of Bourne, named after the previous owners, and it was hoped that his efforts would be equally effective here but there were delays in starting work because of planning problems. Then in January 2009, details of his £500,000 rejuvenation project were revealed and work began on site with a proposed completion date of the following June.

The plans included the provision of three new shops and a 30-seat beer garden adjoining another of his developments, The Jubilee. "It is the biggest thing to happen in the centre of Bourne for some years", said Mr Thurlby. "I am pleased with the amount of interest we have and it would be nice to let these shops to local people to put something back into Bourne and help those people who understand this town."

See also Thomas Pearce

REVISED AUGUST 2009