West Street

In times past, West Street was a much sought after address and many of the town's most important people lived here. Today, it is one of Bourne's main thoroughfares, beginning at the town centre, and is actually the A151 trunk road from Spalding which goes on to Corby Glen and Colsterworth, and thence to the Great North Road or A1, although there is a turn off a mile outside town where the road becomes the A6121 into Stamford. It is therefore a popular route, particularly for commercial vehicles, and in the absence of an east-west bypass, and no prospect of one in the immediate future, Bourne will continue to be used as a through route by lorries and container vehicles, much to the detriment of those who live here.

Most of the buildings were originally private homes, some with shop premises below and the owners living above, but today they are devoted mainly to retail and commercial activities, offices and shops, although there are still some residential properties, mostly flats above and behind shops, with a few of the old town houses vainly trying to cling to their Victorian splendour amid an ever increasing flow of traffic that is constantly impeded by vehicles parked on the north side. Double yellow lines prohibit this on the south side but this restriction is frequently ignored. On busy days, or if roadworks are taking place or a delivery vehicle parks illegally for a long period, this stretch of road is liable to become a traffic jam at any moment and as a result, the rest of the town soon becomes gridlocked for long periods.

The former Bourne Institute, photographed in August 2003

The imposing building on the corner of St Peter's Road with West Street is a perfect example of Victorian ostentation. This was once a farmhouse but its wealthy owner during the 19th century gave it a Gothic style façade. The porch contains ball-flower decoration and wheat sheaf capitals while the date 1872 has been included in the arch rosette above the upper window on the side of the front and the owner’s initials JG are also visible to the discerning eye in a similar position above the upper central window. Twenty-five years later, this building became the home of the Bourne Institute, founded in 1896 "for the healthy recreation, education and intellectual improvement of its members" and it provided a library, music, debates, billiards and other games. It flourishes today as the Pyramid Club whose activities are devoted mainly to snooker, as the name implies, but the owners resisted the temptation to spoil this grand frontage with gaudy advertising signs. 

Bourne House photographed in May 2003

Further along West Street on the other side of the road is a stone built Georgian town house dating from the early 19th century. Bourne House, erected in 1830, is Grade II listed and was originally the home of a local solicitor, William Bell, founder of a prominent law firm, and his descendants, the last being Cecil Walker Bell, but after he left the town in 1940, the property was sold and in 1955 it became a local authority hostel for children in care for the next 30 years. The facility was phased out in 1985 and the building sold to private developers who sympathetically converted it into maisonettes with bungalows in the grounds, mainly for retired people, which were opened in 1989.

Among the most attractive buildings in West Street is a row of stone cottages, still serving as useful accommodation after 200 years. They date back to the 18th or early 19th century and are of coursed stone with a continuous roof of old slates and chimney stacks of red bricks. No 42 at the near end is cement rendered. Each property has two windows with sliding sashes and plain cottage doors and all have stone lintels although the ground floor windows in each one have been altered. Nevertheless, they are of sufficient historic interest to be preserved and the entire row is Grade II listed.

See also Memories of the Bourne Institute

An illustrated history of the Bourne Institute, Bourne House, and some of the many interesting 
buildings in West Street can be found on the CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne
together with a biography of Cecil Walker Bell.

Return to     HOME PAGE     MAIN INDEX