The spas around Bourne

TAKING THE WATERS IN PURSUIT OF GOOD HEALTH

The quality of the water from underground springs around Bourne spawned an industry that achieved an international reputation in times past but equally famous were the various spas that sprang up in the surrounding villages for visitors anxious to improve their health either through bathing in it or drinking copious amounts.

Neither appears to have been specifically beneficial yet the wild claims made by those who exploited these resources attracted an exclusive clientele from the aristocracy, the landed gentry and the clergy who flocked there regularly to take the waters.

The purity of the water from these chalybeate or iron-rich springs was unquestionable at a time when that available in the home or served in the inns and taverns of England was quite likely to be contaminated and the cause of many ailments. But whether it would cure the multifarious ills claimed, ranging from infertility and hangovers to obesity, “a soft brain”, leprosy, scurvy, jaundice, sore legs, tender eyes and even smallpox, is another matter.

Foremost among these springs was at the village of Braceborough, four miles south of Bourne, where John Buswell opened a famous spa in 1740, attracting clients through newspaper advertising which also offered food and accommodation during their stay. His outrageous claims would have branded him a charlatan today but the validity of his testimonials from satisfied customers appeared to be so genuine that he was never short of business and in an age when ill health was ever present, few with the money to afford a visit could refuse such an offer.

The services Buswell offered to clients also included “commodious facilities” for drinking the water and bathing in it and a room and fireplace to dress by and he also advised that guests would be comfortable in his care whatever the weather and season because “in winter, the water is as warm as new milk”. He also offered to deliver his spring water to any address within ten miles of the spa for twelve pence a gallon, each bottle sealed to prevent adulteration.

His business prospered throughout the 18th century and in 1841, a bathing house was built when the springs were reported to be yielding 1½ million gallons of mineral water a day that gushed forth, according to one eye witness, at the rate of "seven hogsheads a minute". The purity of the water was also extolled although the claims were far more restrained than in previous years. “The mineral water here is known for its remarkable purity and abundance of gaseous constituents, rendering it eminently suitable for drinking and dietetic purposes”, said one newspaper. “It also exerts a beneficial action used externally in certain affections of the skin."

The spa continued to prosper but with the close of the 19th century came a gradual decline in business along with other British spas, mainly though the advent of new drugs such as the sulphonamides.

An attempt was made to revive the facility in 1927 when a new company was formed by Sir Ernest Trollope, the local landowner, and Henry Wing of Red Lion Square, Stamford, but Sir Ernest died before the project got underway. Nevertheless, the business went ahead in the autumn of that year for the sale of several thousand bottles of spa water each week, both in Britain and abroad, and the extension and improvement of facilities for bathing, accommodation for rest, refreshment and recreation while taking the waters, although the original impetus for its revival was not maintained and by 1939, the spa had finally closed down.

Few now know about Braceborough Spa although it once boasted its own railway station to cope with the influx of visitors, a building which survives today as a private residence known as Spa Halt.

There were other spas in the Bourne area, including one at Cawthorpe which opened for business during the early years of the 18th century and a public notice from May 1718 survives to give a glimpse of its activities: "This is to give notice to all gentlemen, ladies and others, that have occasion to drink spa water, that there is a new and approved excellent strong spa lately found out and handsomely fitted up at Cawthorpe, a little mile from Bourne, where there is convenient entertainment for all such as in the season desire to drink thereof."

Two years later, in 1720, Dr Edward Greathead of Lincoln discovered the existence of chalybeate springs in the vicinity of Stainfield, three miles north of Bourne, and a well house was built for the convenience of the many visitors. Once again, the water became noted for its remarkable purity and health-giving properties, whether drunk or bathed in, but this venture was short-lived and today, only the name of Spa Farm remains to remind us of it.

However, it is from Stainfield Spa that we have an idea of the kind of people who came to take the waters with this delightful snippet from a correspondent which appeared in the Stamford Mercury on Thursday 27th July 1738 when the reporting of local news was in its infancy and striving to impress the society members who had gathered there, including many attractive young ladies, a clutch of clergymen and several eligible bachelors, thus giving the occasion the flavour of a marriage market:

“We hear from the Spa at Stainfield, near Bourne, that there is a great deal of agreeable company, among which are the Lady Ray, the Lady Hales the Elder, Sir Christopher Hales and his Lady, the beautiful Miss Hales, the two agreeable Miss Wigleys, Miss Caldico and Miss Tyrwit, the beautiful Miss Fowler, the two polite and genteel Miss Robinsons and the good natured Miss Breacknock; Mrs Toller, Mrs Brown, Mrs Preston, Mrs Nevil, and Mrs Bagnal; the Dean of Lincoln and his daughter, the Rev Mr Bertie, the Rev Mr Terry, the Rev Mr Howson, and the Rev Mr Bradfield: Mr Tod, Mr Berridge, Mr and Mrs Hartop, Mr Pert, Mr Cheselden, Mr Litchforde, Mr and Mrs Shaw, and three agreeable young Misses, and Mr Dumfresnoue; and other persons of distinction are daily expected.”