Listed buildings

THE PROTECTION of our historic buildings comes through a procedure known as listing maintained by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of English Heritage which provides various resources for architectural conservation. The listed buildings in England are divided into categories I and II, Grade I being defined as of "exceptional interest" constituting fewer than 2% of entries on the list while the majority are Grade II.

The listing system incorporates all pre-1700 buildings that have not been substantially altered and almost all those built between 1700 and 1840. Grade I and II buildings may be eligible for English Heritage grants for urgent major repairs while many other conservation organisations offer help and financial advice.

Listed buildings in the parish of Bourne were last identified during a survey conducted by South Kesteven District Council on 21st July 1977, the majority of them in the Conservation Area that was designated at the same time. This area includes most of the town’s main features, including South Street and the Wellhead Gardens, Abbey Road and the Abbey Lawn, much of the town centre and North Road as far as Burghley Street and West Street as far as St Peter’s Road. It also includes an ancient monument, namely the supposed site of the castle marked by the grassy mounds in the Wellhead Gardens.

There are now 71 listed buildings within the parish of Bourne. There were originally 75, fifty-one of them in the Conservation Area although two of these in North Street, both dating back to the 17th century and built of red brick with Welsh slate roofs, were demolished in 1988 to make way for the Burghley Arcade development.

The other 24 were outside, in Eastgate, Cawthorpe and Dyke, but four of these have also been pulled down. Two more, the chapel and the Ostler Memorial, both in the town cemetery in South Road, which were probably missed during the original survey because they were so far out of town, were listed in 2007 by the DCMS after an investigation by English Heritage decided that both were at risk. Only the Abbey Church, built in 1138, is Grade I listed while all of the others are Grade II which means that they are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them.

There are others at risk, notably the Old Grammar School which stands in the graveyard at the Abbey Church. This is particularly important because of its associations with education, built in 1678 with money from a bequest by local landowner William Trollope, although the present building is thought to have been erected on the site of another where the monk Robert Manning (1264-1340) may have taught. The pupils came from wealthy families in the town and its closure as a school in 1904 eventually led to the establishment of the present Bourne Grammar School in 1921 and is therefore a reminder of the establishment of secondary education in this town. The building is currently administered by the Bourne Educational Foundation and is closed to the public because of structural problems and awaiting a buyer but with restricted access and limited use possibilities, the future looks bleak.

Other Grade II listed buildings that have been at risk are being put to good use such as the early 17th century Red Hall, threatened with demolition until acquired by Bourne United Charities in 1962 and now used as offices and function rooms, Baldock’s Mill in South Street, built in 1800, leased to the Civic Society since 1981 and now used as the town’s Heritage Centre while Wake House in North Street, an early 19th century residence and birthplace of the international fashion designer Charles Worth (1825-95), is now a centre for many activities run by the Bourne Arts and Community Trust.

The Town Hall, built in 1821, is regularly maintained by the local authorities as our centre of public affairs while the churches have also fared much better because all depend upon the charity of their congregations and so have survived and the structures improved. These include the Baptist Church in West Street, built in 1835, the Methodist Church in Abbey Road (1841) and the United Reformed Church in Eastgate (1846). Those buildings in private ownership have also been well protected because homes are invariably improved, such as Bourne Eau House in South Street, while commercial properties need to be maintained to remain viable. These include the 18th century Angel Hotel and the Burghley Arms, both licensed premises in the town centre, the Golden Lion in West Street, the Anchor Inn in Eastgate and the old New Inn in Spalding Road, now a private house.

We may find listed buildings in Bourne in the most unlikely places, a newspaper shop in North Street, a fish and chip shop in West Street, an iron bridge in Church Walk and even a stretch of wall in South Street, part of the Red Hall gatehouse, all of which are similarly protected as Grade II while many of the others have an equally interesting role today.

NOTE: An illustrated guide to all of Bourne's listed buildings may be found
on the CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne