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Abbey Road
The section of
Abbey Road between the town centre and the first bend was originally Church Walk and thereafter it was known as Star Lane that ran down as far as that section we know today as the Spalding Road. There were cottages on the north side and meadows opposite but most of the old buildings have either been demolished and replaced with modern buildings, mostly shops and commercial premises, or converted for a similar purpose, while the fields have given way to the Abbey Lawn that was purchased for the town as playing fields between 1931-34 by Bourne United Charities and the work of levelling and laying out the grounds was carried out by trainees from the Ministry of Labour Instructional Centre in Bourne.
Two
views of the north side of Abbey Road, looking towards town (above) and
Buildings gabled in the Dutch style are a feature throughout the Lincolnshire fens and many survive in Bourne, among them the commercial and residential property in Abbey Road that was formerly the Light Dragoon Inn and built in 1904, although there was a public house with the same name on this site for many years before that. The pub closed in 1969 because of increasing competition from other licensed premises in the town and the last landlord was a former paratrooper Frank Allen who took over in 1959 and ran it for ten years. The property is now used as a betting shop but the monogram of the last brewery which supplied the beer, Mitchell & Butlers, can still be seen in the coloured glass lights over the side door. In the 16th century, the gables were crow-stepped and not with sloping sides, and later these crow steps were separated by curves. The Dutch influence in Lincolnshire building styles arose from trading links over the centuries. Many of the shop premises that can be found in streets within the area of the town centre, formerly the market place, were built as cottages for artisans or agricultural workers but were converted for commercial use during the 20th century.
The pair of cottages pictured above were built in the late 18th century in what was then Church Street, and were still being used as homes in 1912. They were later combined as one shop at No 11 Abbey Road when an extension was added on the left although the builder went to great pains to retain the outward appearance of whitewashed walls and red pantiled roof. Today the premises are used wholly as commercial premises although the frontage has been relatively unchanged. The most recent owners were E Stringer Ltd, paint suppliers and decorating contractors, but the firm vacated the shop in June 2002 when they moved to larger premises in Manning Road.
Across the street, a row of four old cottages have been converted for use as an Indian restaurant and take-away, one of the many fast food establishments in Bourne, several of which are in Abbey Road although some of the premises have been built in more recent times.
REVISED SEPTEMBER 2003 See also Abbey Road in Past Times
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