South Street, Bourne

Photographed in 2004

A SHORT STRETCH of South Street as you leave the town centre is one of the most pleasant parts of Bourne because the footpath runs alongside the river that we know as the Bourne Eau. Dozens of moorhen and mallard can be found here most days and often there are children feeding them with morsels of bread that bring them flapping and quacking along the water ready to snap up what is on offer. The recent opening of the south west relief road has also reduced traffic flows along South Street and at off peak periods, especially weekends, it is a positively tranquil place to be.

A mix of old properties can be found in South Street, most of them modernised or turned into shops and business premises. The red brick building at No 1 is from the early 19th century and was once a town house with a coaching arch leading to the stables at the rear but is used today as a fast food outlet.

South Street is part of the A15 trunk road and those who drive into Bourne from the south see a pleasant aspect of the town, the Tudor almshouses with the Abbey Church behind and between them the entrance to Church Walk which is the perfect place for a leisurely stroll on a warm summer's evening. The church dates back to the 12th century while the almshouses are 200 years old although a stone tablet on the front suggests that they were built in 1636 but this refers to an earlier row of cottages on that site.

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