Wake House

The large house on the west side of North Street was the birthplace of Charles Frederick Worth, son of a local solicitor, who founded the famous Paris fashion house and a plaque tells us that he was born here on 13th October 1825. The house dates back to the early 19th century and was built on the site of the old Waggon and Horses public house that was pulled down as part of the development. 

Wake House is now a Grade II listed building and from 1974 to 1993 was used as the local offices of South Kesteven District Council but after standing empty for several years, a voluntary organisation, the Bourne Arts and Community Trust, was given a three-year lease of the premises and fund-raising began to turn it into an arts, crafts and community centre that was officially opened in September 2000 by Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, who lives at nearby Grimsthorpe Castle. Memorabilia associated with the house and with Charles Worth are to be displayed in the Baxter Room, formerly the council chamber.

The centre is now used for a variety of activities and one of the ground floor rooms at the front has become a Computer Skills Centre run in conjunction with Stamford College. This offers drop-in opportunities for local people of all ages who wish to gain hands-on experience in the very latest computing technology, surf the Internet and even gain a qualification.