The Vestry Hall

The Vestry Hall was built by voluntary subscription as a Victorian chapel by the Calvinist Baptist movement that had a presence in Bourne during the mid-19th century. The money came from the congregation who also raised sufficient funds to provide a resident minister.

Calvinism is based on the beliefs of the religious reformer John Calvin (1509-64). The sect is particularly distinguished by its dogma of predestination which says that God has chosen certain souls for salvation, others for damnation, and that these decrees are unalterable. To the elect, sufficient grace is sure to be given and also the gift of perseverance. Immense emphasis is placed on the bible as the supreme authority for Christians and on the exaltation of faith and the divine initiative in the process of human salvation. The Calvinist teaching and practice has affected the Anglican, Baptist and Methodist traditions while some Roman Catholic theologians have also recognised its value.

The Calvinist Baptists became established in Bourne around the mid-19th century, using premises in West Street but these soon became too small for an expanding congregation and on many occasions the chapel became so crowded that some of them had to stand on the stairs. A building fund was therefore opened to finance the erection of a new chapel. Mr Charles Eldred, a brick and tile manufacturer, who lived at North Lodge in North Road, gave a piece of land in North Street for this purpose and building work began in 1867, the foundation stone being laid on 27th November. The Stamford Mercury reported the following week: 

The weather was very favourable. At two o'clock, the Rev J J Irving of Melton Mowbray, commenced the proceedings by giving out a few verses of a hymn and engaging in prayer. The Rev W H Smith, the pastor, briefly stated the reasons for the undertaking, one of which he said was the want of better accommodation than was afforded by the present place in West Street. The Rev J Spurgeon, brother of the celebrated preacher of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, then delivered, in an agreeable manner, an appropriate address at the conclusion of which he performed the ceremony of laying the foundation stone and placed upon it a cheque for £20 towards the building fund. Twelve persons then laid a brick each, placing upon it a sum of money. At three o'clock, Mr Spurgeon preached an eloquent sermon in the Independent chapel, Eastgate, which had been lent for the occasion. At five o'clock, a public tea took place of which about 300 partook. At seven o'clock, there was a public meeting, the chair being very ably filled by the Rev J A Spurgeon and addresses were delivered by the Rev D Horscraft, W Dexter of Peterborough, J J Irving of Melton Mowbray, J Smith of Billingborough, W H Smith of Bourn and Mr Charles Eldred. The latter gentleman, in the course of his remarks, said the trowel with which the ceremony had been performed was the one with which the foundation stone of the Infant School was laid; since then, it had been put bye, and had got somewhat rusty, but they had had it ground and polished, and he was reminded by the circumstance that a similar process might be useful to himself and other friends in connection with the object they had undertaken. After the addresses, the Rev W Orton concluded by offering up a fervent prayer for the divine blessing to rest upon the undertaking.

The new Calvinistic Baptist chapel had room for 300 people and opened the following year, having cost £300 of which £100 had already been raised by the time the foundation stone was laid. Building work was eventually completed by the following summer and the chapel opened for services in August 1868 as reported by the Stamford Mercury:

The opening services of the new Baptist Tabernacle, North-street, Bourn, were held on the 1st and 2nd. inst. At 3 o'clock on Wednesday, Mr Henry Varley of London preached an excellent sermon from Phillippians 1st chap., 21st verse. At 5 o'clock, about 300 persons partook of tea in a tent erected in Mr W Palmer's field, kindly lent for the occasion. At 7 o'clock, there was a large congregation in the tent and barn adjoining, when Mr Varley, in an agreeable style of address, spoke from the 10th chapter of Romans, 9th and 10th v. On Thursday afternoon, Mr Varley delivered an address to parents and children; and at 5, about 130 sat down to tea. At 7 o'clock, the tent and barn were again filled when the same gentleman spoke from Matthew 12 c., 43, 44, and 45 verses, and while graphically describing the state of mind of many persons whose hearts are found empty, swept and garnished, and whose last state is worse than the first, many were moved to tears under Mr Varley's earnest and homely appeal. On Sunday the 5th, the Rev David Gravey (classical tutor to the Rev C H Spurgeon's College) preached two sermons, in the morning from Matthew I c., 23 v., and in the evening from Hebrew 6 c., 19 v. On the same afternoon at 3 o'clock, there was a large congregation to witness the ceremony of baptising eight persons, the ceremony being conducted by Mr W H Smith, the pastor of the church. The collections after the service and the bazaar realised about £40, leaving a debt upon the chapel of about £160. The chapel, which is a very neat and convenient one, is to accommodate about 300. The seats are all uniform and plain and arranged in two rows, with one aisle down the middle.

But the initial enthusiasm did not last. The chapel remained in debt and despite many fund raising activities, was unable to survive and by 1890 had been forced to close. The building stood empty and disused for several years and in April 1894, it was restored and made available for public functions such as concerts and meetings and in 1899, it was bought by H Company, the 2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, for use as a drill hall, gymnasium and clubroom. The unit remained in occupation until early in 1914 when they vacated the premises and in July that year, the building was sold at public auction for £340 to the trustees of the late Thomas Carlton, a former draper of North Street, on behalf of the Abbey Church to be used as a church hall for vestry meetings and other social activities. From that date, the building became known as the Vestry Hall, a name that survives to this day.

The Great War broke out in August 1914 and in November, the hall was commandeered and turned into Bourne Military Hospital for casualties from the front, administered by the Red Cross. The first soldiers arrived in December 1914 and the hospital remained in use until the end of the war during which time almost 950 wounded servicemen were cared for. When the hospital closed on 1st January 1919, the remaining patients were sent to Lincoln General Hospital and the hall returned to its original use, reopening the following month, as reported by the Stamford Mercury on Friday 28th February:

An informal opening of the Church Vestry Hall, which for the past four years has been used as a VAD hospital, took place last week when a concert was held, arranged by Mr J W Palmer, of Morton. There was a crowded and enthusiastic audience. The first part of the programme consisted of solos and quartettes and clarionette solos by Mr Victor Ashton, and the second part of a humorous sketch entitled "Wanted a Wife", which caused much hilarity. The Vicar [the Rev H Cotton Smith] thanked the people of Bourne for furnishing the place as a hospital.

The Vestry Hall also had a medical use during the Second World War when it became a first aid post and members of the Red Cross maintained day and night duty here from 1939 to 1945. Part of it was also used by the Home Guard as their headquarters.

Since then, the building has had a chequered history and used as a frequent venue for concerts and drama productions staged by local groups and sporting activities such as badminton. It has also been used for scholastic purposes, as a school clinic, for physical training lessons and to house overspill classes from other schools in the town.

In 1959, the building was almost lost to the town when fire broke out in an adjoining storeroom in the early hours of October 23rd but a householder living in nearby Meadowgate who was awoken by the smell of smoke raised the alarm and so avoided a major disaster. He got up and looked out of the bedroom window to see flames coming through the roof of the lean-to at the back of the hall and about to spread to the main building and called the fire brigade which arrived with a pump and water tender under the command of Station Officer Jack Moody.

His men managed to isolate the outbreak and the hall and ancillary rooms were saved. The store building was gutted and the contents, including a quantity of coke, shelving and some tables, were destroyed. The cause was not known but may have been connected with a social that had been held by the Abbey Church the previous evening although the building had been locked up when it finished around 10 p m. Fortunately, the outbreak did not affect the use of the hall for subsequent functions.

The hall was sold by the parochial church council in 1961 for an undisclosed sum to Bourne United Charities who leased it out for various social activities. In 1977, the Hereward Youth Club used it as a meeting place but the building was in such poor condition that sufficient money was raised to add a kitchen, an outside area to sit and toilets to end the practice of members using those in the bus station across the road. The club moved to Queen’s Road in 1986 and soon afterwards the hall was declared unsuitable for public functions and in 1996, it was sold to local shopkeeper Tony Selby and his wife Gail who owned the retail premises nearby at No 58 North Street but during their ownership, the hall remained closed and unused. Then, in January 2003, the property was again offered for sale, this time as a large workshop and store together with the shop premises and was sold the following year to Caroline Glithero and her husband Paul Nicholson.

Accountancy Consultants East run by Caroline Glithero now has offices in the shop premises while living in the flat above and they are anxious to preserve the traditional appearance of the Vestry Hall while converting it for use as a family home, a refurbishment which they regard as a major two-year project. One particular feature that has survived the tramp of feet of countless generations is the parquet floor, finished in a herringbone pattern of wood blocks popular for institutional buildings during Victorian times and still in serviceable condition but in need of some attention. “That will definitely be preserved”, said Caroline, “together with the frontage which is all part of the town’s history. We love old buildings and will make as few changes as possible but the property will need a great deal of thought and work although we are prepared for the challenge to ensure that it will remain a feature of the town in the future.”

REVISED MAY 2006

See also A new lease of life for the Vestry Hall

Bourne Military Hospital     The Drill Hall