Inns & other hostelries

The Marquis of Granby in Abbey Road

Bourne has never been short of hostelries and in 1857 there were eleven taverns or public houses in the town and 14 by the end of the century. 

Among those that survive 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. 

The Red Lion in South Street

The Royal Oak in North Street

The Mason's Arms in South Street

The Anchor in Eastgate

The Nag's Head in the town centre

The Golden Lion in West Street

Others that have survived include the Golden Lion in West Street, the Royal Oak in North Street, the Anchor in Eastgate and the Red Lion in South Street, a favourite haunt of young people, especially at weekends, while across the road is the stone-built Mason's Arms. There is also the Nag's Head in the town centre and 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. This hostelry 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 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 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. The old stables and other outbuildings at the back have been well restored as a backdrop for a paved patio area for outside drinking (below) and the entire restoration has been tastefully completed for modern use without losing its period charm. 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. See also North Street.

TAVERNS AND PUBLIC HOUSES IN BOURNE PAST AND PRESENT

Those in red type have since closed

Anchor Inn, 44 Eastgate
Angel Hotel, Market Place
 Boat Inn, South Fen
Bull Hotel, Market Place (now the Burghley Arms)
 Butcher's Arms, 32 Eastgate
Crown Hotel, 8 West Street
 Crown Inn, Dyke (formerly the Plough and now the Wishing Well)
Golden Lion,  49 West Street
 Greyhound Inn,  6 North Fen
Horse and Groom, 10 West Street
 King's Head, Bedehouse Bank
The Light Dragoon, 17 Star Lane ( Abbey Road)
Marquis of Granby, 27 Star Lane (Abbey Road)
Mason's Arms, 15 South Street
 Nag's Head Hotel,  2 Abbey Road 
 New Inn,  9 Victoria Place
New Inn,  Eastgate
New Inn, South Fen
Old Wharf, Eastgate
Railway Tavern, 15 Austerby
 Red Lion Inn,  14 South Street
Royal Oak,  74 North Street
 Six Bells,  35 North Street  
Smiths of Bourne, 25 North Street 
 Three Horseshoes, North Fen
Waggon and Horses, 41 North Street
White Horse, West Street
Old Windmill Inn,  39 North Street
Woolpack Inn, Eastgate

BEER HOUSES known to be in business on the dates shown

William Bannister, North Fen (1856)

Thomas Bell, Eastgate (1856)

Samuel Bolton, North Fen (1913)

Thomas Brown, Dyke (1842)

Thomas Ford, Eastgate (1856)

John Frost, Eastgate (1856)

John Jackson, Tongue End (1876)

Edward & Sarah Knott, Eastgate (1856)

Edward Lancaster, West Street (1842)

John Mansfield, Eastgate (1842)

William Mason, Eastgate (1876)

John Morton, North Fen (1913)

Joseph Pell, Eastgate (1842) 

Richard Robinson, Eastgate (1856)

William Sardeson, Dyke (1842)

John Sherwin, West Street (1842)

John Smith, North Fen (1856)

Thomas Steel, Eastgate (1842)

Henry Stubley, Austerby (1876)

John Thorpe, Star Lane (Abbey Road) (1856)

George Walker, Eastgate (1842)

John Walker, West Street (1842)

James Watson, North Street (1856)

William Wilkinson, North Street (1876)

NOTE: The sale of beer is now controlled by the licensing justices but in early 19th century England, licenses could be obtained without application to the magistrates. The passing of the Wine and Beerhouse Act in 1869 regulated the sale of beer and owners were taxed on the amount sold. There has been continuous taxation on beer since and as the running of a beer house became a less attractive business proposition, so their numbers declined and by the turn of the century they had almost disappeared completely.

For temperance hotels in Bourne see The Temperance Movement

 

THE SIX BELLS

No 35 North Street was used as a public house for 150 years and was known as the Six Bells. There were stables at the rear and the business was also licensed to hire horses and traps. The building has now been converted for use as three shops. The premises adjoining when this picture was taken circa 1890 were occupied by William Henry Redshaw, a well known local photographer and many examples of his work survive. The young man pictured with the pony and trap is thought to be his son while a frame containing examples of his studio's portraiture hangs on the wall outside the shop.

See also William Redshaw

 

The Old Windmill Inn

THE OLD WINDMILL INN

The public house at No 39 North Street was run by a woman in 1835, a rare occurrence. She was Mary Banks who prided herself on selling "foreign spirits" which no doubt referred to the strong rum of the period. Wake House can be seen on the right of the public house and this is now part of a community centre project which was opened there in September 2000.

 

THE BREWING INDUSTRY IN BOURNE

THE FIRST people in Bourne to produce beer in any quantity would have been the monks at Bourne Abbey. Later, large houses or mansions, such as the Red Hall, had their own brewhouse for the production and storage of ale and beer.

Trade directories from the second half of the 19th century show that Bourne had several breweries, including one run by Henry Bott whose family owned the Angel Hotel for more than half a century.

In 1884, Joseph Wyles took over Robert James Shilcock's brewery in Manning Road. The business known as the Star Brewery increased in size and in 1891, it became a limited company under the title of Joseph Wyles and Co (Bourne Brewery) Limited with a share capital of £20,000. The Stamford Mercury reported: "From enterprising management, rapid development, and the increasing trade of the firm, there is little doubt that the shares will be quickly subscribed and that the new departure will lead to still further development and prosperity. It is acknowledged by competent authorities that Bourne water is excellently adapted for brewing purposes and there is no reason why Bourne should not become one of the most important centres of the brewing industry in the country." The number of barrels of beer being sold at this time was 3,500. 

The business became Bourne Brewery Ltd in 1898 and in 1913 it was taken over by Charles Campbell MacLeod and subsequently by Soames and Co Ltd in 1922. Brewing ceased in 1937 by which time the premises were described as "a beer depot".

The brewery buildings disappeared in the 1960s to make way for the premises of Johnson Bros (Bourne) Ltd, the agricultural machinery engineers.

See also The Old Maltings

See also the The Burghley Arms  &  The Angel Hotel

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