North Street

There are many crumbling buildings in North Street and some date back 200 years yet the ground floors have been torn out and fitted with garish shop fronts while the upper floors retain some of the period dignity but have been allowed to deteriorate badly which is not always apparent to passers-by because they rarely raise their eyes above what is on display in the shop windows. 

No 17 North Street is the remains of an early 18th century front over a modern shop, now occupied by a newsagent and a building society.

The early 18th century building that houses two retail units at No 17 North Street is a particular example of exterior neglect and despite it being a Grade II listed building, traffic lights and a street sign have been erected immediately outside to add to the ruin of the façade of what must have once been a very grand town house. In later years, the building was converted for its present use as commercial premises, shops on the ground floor and a large meeting room above although this is now closed. During the early 20th century, the property was acquired by the Peterborough Co-operative Society Ltd which had a grocery store on the ground floor while the upper room became known as the Co-operative Hall where various organisations arranged their weekly meetings and special occasions. Saturday night dances were a regular event as were wedding receptions and birthday parties and the Jehovah's Witnesses also met met there for a spell. The shop units are now occupied by the Paper Chain newsagents and the Nationwide Building Society and although the hall upstairs is no longer used, refurbishment is currently underway.

The quaint little building at No 1 North Street is now the local offices of the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society but prior to that it was shop premises. William Sang, printers, booksellers and stationers, traded from here during the early 19th century followed by Todd’s, who established a reputation as tailors, hatters, hosiers and outfitters, and as an agency for cellular underwear, until the early years of the 20th century. The business was founded by John Todd and carried on after his death by one of his sons, William Dales Todd, and under their ownership, the business flourished for 40 years. Mr William Todd died on Saturday 10th May 1924 at the age of 63. The shop frontage is much the same as it was in those days except that the door was on the left and there was no sealed plate glass but the original sash windows have been removed from the upper floor in favour of those we now see, centred on the front wall of the building rather than on either side, and the shape of the dome on the dormer window has been changed from circular to pointed.

The premises of John Smith of Bourne at No 25 North Street, now protected 
as a Grade II listed building.

A three storey red brick building roofed with blue slate on the west side of North Street was for many years a time capsule of the grocery retail trade from past times where over the counter service managed to survive the pressures of the supermarket revolution. The business known as John Smith of Bourne was founded in 1857 by John Annible Smith, a strict teetotaller who sang in the choir at Bourne Abbey for fifty years, although were he to have appeared in the shop a century later he would probably have been quite shocked because it eventually catered for the sale of wines and spirits, beer and cider. 

The business was operated until the late 20th century by the Smith family in the traditional Victorian fashion, supplying products at the quality end of the market, and the store exuded a gentlemanly air of courtesy and service in an age when the self-service supermarket reigned supreme. Customers were greeted by the aroma of freshly-ground coffee and the scent of spices, unhurried personal service, scrubbed floorboards and a polished counter worn smooth over the years by thousands of daily transactions, a delightful change to the hurly burly of the checkout counters at neighbouring streamlined stores while the window displays and metal advertising signs reminded us of a bygone age when our daily life proceeded at a far slower pace. When the shop eventually closed in December 1998, the town lost a small part of its traditional role for customer service and its death knell was a success for the supermarkets. In the autumn of 2001, planning permission was granted to convert the premises into a public house that opened in May 2002 and the new owners incorporated several of the original features in the refurbished premises which became known as Smiths of Bourne. See Inns & other hostelries.

One of the oddest shaped buildings in North Street is the old Tudor cinema, built in a mock Gothic style in 1929, but no longer used as a picture palace.

The cinema is distinguished by its enormous A-shaped gable and after a chequered history as a cinema, bingo hall and entertainments centre, it is now a Chinese restaurant, dishing up portions of chop suey and fried rice instead of a feast of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow that delighted audiences in past times. See also The Tudor Cinema

They were operating from this building in 1885 but when Mr Pick died, the business was taken over in April 1891 by Mr Ernest Foley who moved to the town with his brother George from Driffield in Yorkshire. He expanded trade to cater for the increasing popularity of the motor car and when he died in 1926, the premises were acquired by T A Stocks, motor agent, a firm established six years before with branches at Lincoln and Boston. They were still in occupation in 1937 when the A15 which ran past the front was becoming busier with motorised traffic. There was a petrol pump outside with an arm that was swung out over the road to supply fuel for passing motorists and a sign on the upper storey with the name Stocks (1920) Ltd has survived. The premises were later used by Davies, the ironmongers, and in more recent years by Rowland's, the Sewing Centre, which opened in 1977, although the old forge under the arch has also been a herbal dispensary, a cut price electrical retailers, the doll's house centre called Miniatures and now a shop dealing in pottery and porcelain.

Vestry Hall in North Street can easily be missed because the red brick building is set back from the road and hidden behind large wooden gates. It was built as a Calvinist chapel in 1867 and later used as a drill hall but is best remembered for its role as Bourne Military Hospital during the First World War of 1914-18. See also Vestry Hall

Albion Terrace in North Street (left), described in July 1896 as a row of seven old cottages with outbuildings and gardens with a gross letting rental of £68 a year. They are still in use as family homes but most are now privately owned. The pair of cottages nearby (right) were converted in the autumn of 2001 into a new dental practice for the town.

The red brick property at the Meadowgate corner in North Street, pictured below, has been in commercial use ever since it was built in 1870 but was destroyed by fire in 1922 and later rebuilt as garage premises. See The Meadowgate fire.

North Street also contains a fine terrace of Victorian houses which were the subject of much controversy when plans were announced to demolish them but developers eventually agreed on a scheme of refurbishment to retain their original Victorian appearance, work that was carried out during 2003. See The North Street Terrace

REVISED AUGUST  2005

Also in North Street are

The Burghley Centre     The National School     Wake House     Polly's Tea Shop

See also North Street in Past Times

Go to:     Main Index     Villages Index