Inns and Public Houses

Bourne has never been short of inns and 14 were in existence during the later years of the 19th century to cater for a rising population and trade boom although some were already well established when the century began.

Among them is the Marquis of Granby in Abbey Road, formerly Star Lane, with its imposing red brick corner frontage built to a similar design to many other buildings of the period in the town. The inn is named after a distinguished soldier, John Manners, Marquis of Granby (1721-1770), who during the Seven Years' War, as Colonel of the Blues, headed a cavalry charge against the Germans at the Battle of Warburg but his wig blew off during the whirlwind gallop and his bald pate, glistening in the sun, became a guiding light for his men, an episode which has given the language the saying: "Going for it bald-headed". After his military campaigns, he set up his senior non-commissioned officers who had been disabled in action as innkeepers which largely accounts for the large number of inns throughout the country that bear his name.

By 1857, there were eleven taverns or public houses in Bourne in addition to the old established hostelries, the Angel and the Bull (now the Burghley Arms), and some survive to this day, notably the Golden Lion in West Street, the Red Lion and the Mason’s Arms in South Street, the Anchor Inn in Eastgate and the Nag’s Head in the town centre. The exterior of this building is largely unchanged since it was erected during the early 19th century in the yellow brick and blue slate much favoured by Victorian builders and it appears to have assumed the name the Nag's Head Hotel that had been discarded by the Angel around 1800 although this has been shortened in recent years to just the Nag's Head, a name that reflects the Englishman's affection for the horse in this agricultural community although it has been interpreted in some districts as a shrewish wife.

The Anchor Inn stands on the north bank of the Bourne Eau behind Eastgate and was built in the 18th century, a reminder that the river was once navigable at this point because this was a quayside and the hostelry was frequented by boatmen playing their trade. Barges would have turned round here after bringing in coal supplies for the town and taking away hides and corn. The inn is a Grade II listed building, as is the old tannery building across the road, now converted for use as private homes.

Two of the most popular public houses in Bourne that both date back to the early 19th century can be found in South Street. The Red Lion is a favourite haunt of young people, especially at weekends, and across the road is the stone-built Mason's Arms, pictured above.

The latest public house for the town opened in May 2002 in a converted shop on the west side of North Street. A grocery business founded by John Smith in 1857 operated from this three-storey listed building until it closed in December 1998 because of competition from the supermarkets. Planning permission was subsequently granted for it to be turned into a public house but the new owners have incorporated several of the original features in the refurbished premises, including the Victorian front window and the old enamelled trade plates on the front, and they have also retained the original business name, Smiths of Bourne, by which the new public house is now known. There are claims from the new owners that the premises had been used as a public house before they became a grocery shop but I can find no evidence for this.