- The market town of Bourne, Lincolnshire, England -

The Angel Hotel

Angel Hotel

The Angel Hotel in the town centre dates from the 18th century and was originally known as the Nag's Head but the name was changed around 1800. It is probably the oldest surviving hotel for guests in the town and was an important posting house during coaching days. The town had the advantage of being on one of the main routes from Lincoln and York to London and a daily coach service passed through Bourne, often making an overnight stop and usually picking up passengers.

There was also a mail coach and a wagon service for heavy goods and carriers also operated local services to surrounding towns. By 1857, an omnibus left the Angel Hotel every morning, except Sundays, at 8am to connect with the railway station at Tallington on the Great Northern line. The livery stables at the rear of the building were eventually incorporated into the main hotel and by 1900 it boasted fifteen bedrooms and a banqueting room that could accommodate 150 people.

Ostlers Bell

The courtyard and outbuildings can still be seen together with an ostler's bell and there is a pattern of small gables across the coaching arch while outside on the main road, the town pump was strategically placed to provide for the needs of the coach horses which stopped here. Apart from its function as a hotel, the Angel was also registered as an Excise Office from 1808 onwards where makers of a wide range of goods were required to pay their necessary duties.

In the summer of 1985, the long-disused outbuildings and stables at the rear of the hotel were converted into a new shopping centre called the Angel Walk. Seven shops have been included in the arcade with three glazed domes built into the roof to provide light and although the conversion scheme blends with the atmosphere of the old coaching inn, the appearance of these domes has not met with universal approval. Then in December 2001, the hotel owners decided to repaint the exterior and replaced the traditional black and white woodwork in the window frames and surrounds with green and cream that many people felt looked quite incongruous.

The change of colour was subsequently challenged by South Kesteven District Council because planning permission had not been obtained and the property is a Grade II listed building within the conservation area. The owners were subsequently ordered to restore the original colours and despite some early opposition to the ruling, the repainting was carried out in the spring of 2003 when the original black and white livery was restored.