The Darby & Joan Hall

One of the more modern public buildings in Bourne that is not yet 50 years old is the Darby and Joan Hall that stands on the edge of the Wellhead Gardens. The date over the entrance suggests that it was opened in 1959 but this is incorrect although building work did start in that year.

The official opening took place on Tuesday 12th July 1960 and was performed by the Earl of Ancaster, accompanied by the Countess. He was president of the Darby and Joan Club that had until then been meeting mainly at the Vestry Hall in North Street. The new hall however, owes its existence to Mrs Ida Pick, a local councillor and social worker, who recognised the need for a permanent meeting place for the old people of Bourne.

While crossing the Market Place some years before, she saw a number of old men sheltering from a winter storm on the steps of the Town Hall but obviously enjoying each other's company as they stood gossiping about the issues of the day. Mrs Pick stopped to talk to them and discovered that they had no close relatives and fended for themselves but met regularly at the same spot for a few minutes of chat and sociability. It was at that moment that the conception of the Darby and Joan Club was born. Mrs Pick organised regular meetings for the dozen or so people that turned up, usually in borrowed or rented accommodation such as the Vestry Hall, and by 1958 the possibility of a permanent home became a reality. 

Bourne United Charities offered the land for a new hall on the edge of the Wellhead Gardens, once occupied by the carpentry business run by Frederick Baldock of Baldock's Mill with the riverside studio of the photographer Ashby Swift nearby and the premises of Johnson Brothers who ran a shoeing forge and implement works behind. The money was to come from fund-raising and donations with a target of £5,000 but the local authorities promised generous grants and so construction started in February 1959.

The next few months were devoted to raising the necessary money to finance the project with a variety of schemes, notably a Tudor village display at the Corn Exchange over the weekend April 30th and May 1st with stallholders and helpers in period costume. Most of the principal organisations joined in the fund raising and a committee was formed to spearhead the drive consisting of Mrs A Burchnell and Mr C T Burchnell as joint organisers, Mrs J Lee (secretary) and Mrs I M Williams (treasurer). 

Donations started rolling in, from business, industry and individuals, ranging from several pounds to a few shillings. There were also a variety of events to raise money including dances, parties, and competitions and even a film show. By October, the total had reached £4,208 with another £2,000 to go for the completion of the scheme and by January the following year, £4,775 had been raised.

Membership of the Darby and Joan Club had already risen from 12 to 99 and at the time of the official opening, the total cost of the project had risen to £6,500 (£90,000 by today's values) and all but £1,400 had been raised. Mrs Pick, who had been appointed chairman of the club, told the gathering: "Although there is still an overdraft, we have that wonderful feeling of nearly owning our own house." Mrs Pick also received a cheque for £25 from Mrs E Couzens, chairman of the ladies auxiliary of the Bourne Licensed Victuallers Association and another £5 "from a grateful member". Messages of goodwill flooded in from the local M P Mr Kenneth Lewis, the member for Rutland and Stamford, from the Over-60 Welcome Club at Deeping St James, the Old People's Club at Stamford and from Mr J W Laxton, the club's oldest member who was about to celebrate his 101st birthday. 

The Earl of Ancaster, in his address, recalled that the project had begun five years previously and had been encouraged with a £1,000 grant from the King George VI Memorial Fund. Local councils and welfare organisations had assisted but a great part of the work and the bulk of the money had come from the people of Bourne and from former townspeople now living elsewhere. Mr C T Hodgkinson, deputising for the honorary secretary Mr P K Duerden, said that the new centre would cater for the physically handicapped as well as the elderly and he expressed thanks for all who had assisted in bringing the project to fruition. A vote of thanks to the Earl and Countess of Ancaster and all helpers was proposed by Mrs K M Neale and a bouquet was presented to Lady Ancaster by Mr J Rimmington, who was 80 years old, and a spray to Lord Ancaster by Mr R Tyler who was 89 years old.

Mrs Pick concluded the opening ceremony by announcing that due to the increased accommodation, they were able to accept more members and therefore the minimum age for membership would go down from 70 to 65.

Gifts of fittings and furniture to equip the new centre had already started coming in including a clock, a piano and stool, a reading room table, easy chairs and a television set that had been bought with money raised by customers at the Crown Inn in West Street. 

By the end of 1960, a total of £6,000 had been raised to finance the project and the balance of £500 was paid off during the following year while membership had reached 135 by 1965 and the hall was being used by a number of organisations including the Blind Association Good Companions and the Physically Handicapped Club. The hall has been in continual use ever since for meetings and activities by the elderly and for a variety of other outside events, even the occasional commercial sale on a Saturday.