Earthquake, wind, fire and flood

Bourne has had its share of disasters that have brought their toll of loss and suffering to the town, the most far reaching being two fires that caused widespread damage during the early 17th century.

The first was on 23rd August 1605 and broke out in Manor Street and swept round a curve from the Red Hall into what is still called Manor Lane. According to one account, the fire raged for three days and left no house remaining in Manor Street that was never completely rebuilt. The calamity was sufficiently great for the King, James I, to offer royal assistance to Bourne, as was the custom of the time when any part of the kingdom was in distress. 

A royal proclamation made soon after the fire stated that 

" . . . our poor subjects, the inhabitants of our Towne of Bourne, are at this time fallen into greate want and poverty, by reason of a greate misfortune of Fyer, which utterly consumed and burnt our said Towne of Bourne with all their goods and substance therein, amounting to the value of ten thousand pounds . . . "

Accordingly, by letters patent, the inhabitants of Bourne were authorised to receive the proceeds of collections which could be made for their assistance in numerous counties of England. Unfortunately, there is no record of the amount that was raised.

The second fire was in 1637 and broke out in Eastgate and Potters' Street on the other side of Bourne and a large part of these areas were burned down. This probably marked the end of the potteries that had flourished in mediaeval times and Potters' Street was not rebuilt. The area was cleared and used as gardens until about 1905 when a few houses were again erected on the site and the remains of some kilns were then uncovered.

Signs of the great fire of 1605 were uncovered during excavations for the building of the present Woolworths store in North Street in January 1967. Layers of ash were discovered in the mediaeval strata dating back to the blaze and other subsequent fires that had broken out in the intervening years.

See also   

The Potteries     The Great Fire of 1605        The Cliffe shop fire of 1898

   The Meadowgate fire of 1922     The Baptist Chapel fire of 1897

The Branston shop fire in Eastgate

There have been a number of big fires in recent years and in the winter of 1955, the records of 15,000 customers were destroyed when a blaze broke out in a wooden extension at the rear of the East Midlands Electricity Board offices in North Street, used as the accounts department where ten clerks usually worked and filled with equipment and filing cabinets. Flames thirty feet high were seen above the premises at the height of the outbreak and the contents were reduced to a mass of ash and twisted metal. The fire began in the early hours of Saturday 3rd December and was first spotted by Mr S Wood, manager of the Trustee Savings Bank, who lived in Burghley Street opposite. He woke to see the reflection of the flames on his bedroom wall and ran to the police station to raise the alarm. 

Police helped move inflammable packing cases and cable drums from the yard until the Bourne fire brigade arrived with two appliances and later the brigade from Spalding also turned up to give assistance and their action managed to prevent the flames from spreading to other premises in the vicinity. They were at the scene for four hours but were unable to save the board's records which affected electricity consumers from 350 square miles around the Stamford area while other parts of the premises including the offices and stores were also damaged.

Mr Wood later gave an eye witness account of the fire. "At one time it was too hot to pass along the lane which ran beside the electricity board's yard even though it was enclosed by a high brick wall", he said. "Nearby was a fuel store but that was kept cool by the fire brigade who played water over it with a hose and a car and a van were also saved from a garage adjacent. It was fortunate that the wind was blowing from the south or considerable damage might have been done to the remainder of the board's offices and possibly other properties in North Street."

The following year, fire destroyed a 60-foot long wooden classroom, also used as a dining room, at Bourne County Primary School in Abbey Road [now the Abbey Road Primary School] when the entire building was gutted within half an hour. The blaze broke out on Tuesday 7th February 1956 a few minutes before 100 children were due to assemble there for morning prayers. The outbreak was discovered by the school caretaker, Mr W Edwards, and was caused by a paraffin stove which had been lighted to warm the staff room becoming overheated and bursting into flames. He tried to put it out using three extinguishers but without success and so he raised to alarm but by the time the Bourne fire brigade arrived, the fire had taken hold and they were unable to save the building. Also lost were 20 new desks, canteen tables and forms, text and work books of 30 children who were normally taught there, puppetry work, instruments for the percussion band, new music stands, the school's collection of gramophone records, a piano and a quantity of personal possessions.

The seven-year-old pupils who were normally taught there were dispersed throughout the school as a temporary measure while the 100 children who normally had their school dinners in the building ate their meals in a classroom and the headmaster, Mr G W Houghton, made arrangements for the meals to be supplied by the canteen at Bourne Secondary School in Queen's Road. "Education will carry on", said Mr Houghton bravely. "It is half term later this week but by next week we will have made some temporary arrangements for the accommodation of the entire class that has been displaced."

In 1968, another big fire seriously damaged the premises of W A North and Sons Ltd., the forage and potato merchants, in West Street and in November 1979, the ambulance station in Queen's Road was destroyed by a tragic fire in which a young mechanic lost his life.

See also     Norths of Bourne     &     The ambulance service

EARTHQUAKE

There have also been at least four earthquakes, two of them serious. The first occurred soon after midday on Sunday 30th September 1750 and the shock was so severe that it was felt not only in Bourne and the surrounding area, but also across the county borders in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. John Moore, the historian, wrote in his Collections of the Hundred of Aveland in 1809: "The houses tottered, plates and glasses fell from the shelves, and slates, tiles and some chimneys fell from the houses; but happily, no great mischief was done. In some churches where services were not over, the people ran from their devotions in the utmost consternation. The shock was attended with a rumbling noise." The Stamford Mercury reported that elsewhere in the town, people who were preparing their Sunday dinners rushed into the streets believing that they were about to be swallowed up.

The second tremor occurred on 24th February 1792 and was felt in Bourne and neighbouring villages but again there was no serious damage.

A third tremor occurred in 1896 but this was less serious. The Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 25th December: "A slight shock of earthquake was felt in Bourne about half past five on Thursday morning. Many townspeople noticed the earth tremor. In Bourne Fen, the shock was distinctly felt, several people being awakened by the rocking of their beds."

A fourth tremor occurred on Friday 14th January 1916 which the Stamford Mercury reported as "a seismic disturbance". Their report said: "For some seconds, a very distinct shock was felt as windows rattled violently and furniture and crockery rocked in many homes. At Rippingale, chairs and tables were moved, pots and pans on shelves danced, doors were opened. In Bourne, members of the Volunteer Training Corps were in the Congregational schoolroom for shooting practice when a lamp suspended from an iron rod near the ceiling danced as though the rod had been shaken. There was also a rumbling noise which was heard by several people. Youngsters in bed complained of having their beds moved. Happily, the disturbance was a very mild one and no personal or material damage was caused."

FLOODS

Floods have been the worst of the natural disasters to affect Bourne, mainly because this has always been a farming community and in times of inundation, the land becomes unproductive and unworkable and so farm labourers were invariably sent home without wages until conditions improved. Flooding was a frequent occurrence before the fens were drained and the most serious recorded instance was in 1571. On November 5th that year, the entire county was struck by one of the worst storms in history. The roads into Bourne were turned into rushing torrents and the market place soon became a vast lake. The English chronicler Raphael Holinshed (flourished 1580) recorded that the flood water in Bourne rose "to midway of the height of the church walls" during a tempest which affected the whole district, particularly houses and other buildings on the eastern side of the town and thousands of sheep in nearby fields were drowned. The calamity was later described by the Lincolnshire poet Jean Ingelow (1820-97) in The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire 1571:

Then bankes came down with ruin and rout,
Then beaten foam flew round about,
Then all the mighty floods were out.

During the next century, in 1636, the parish registers record "a most fearful and terrible wind on the fourth of November in the nyght tyme" although the extent of the damage is not known.

On 25th July 1760, a terrible storm of thunder, lightning and hail came in from the west, beating fruit from the trees and smashing windows. It lasted about fifteen minutes.

In 1763, a harsh winter and cold spring were followed by widespread flooding in the fens around Bourne where a total of 22,000 acres were under water. An eye witness recorded that "no banks were able to oppose the amazing fury of the flood, the banks of Bourne and Baston being broke." Farm workers toiled day and night to fill the breaches using anything they could find, haystacks, wood and fencing. Eventually the north west wind that had been largely responsible for the disaster shifted although it was generally accepted that had it continued for even one hour more, the entire district would have been two feet under water. It was, said the eye witness, "the most general flood of the fens of Lincolnshire that was ever recorded or remembered by the oldest man living".

Heavy snow caused problems in the winter of 1767. It started to fall on New Year's Day and continued without break for seven or eight days, accompanied by a severe freezing wind from the north east. There was a short break for some 24 hours but then it began to snow again and continued for a further six days "by which time", said an eye witness, "such a quantity had fallen as perhaps ever known in England and in several places in the neighbourhood it was thirteen feet deep and in other parts of Lincolnshire it was thirty feet deep. Several snow houses were built, wherein a number of people drank ale."

Freak weather conditions and violent storms killed many people and livestock in Lincolnshire in the summer of 1783 although there are no records of the fatalities in the Bourne area. However, it was recorded that in June and July that year that "the sun (through a smoked glass) looked as red as blood at rising and in the evening till set, not the least beam from the body of it. Supposed to be caused by the nitrous particles and sulphurous matter in the atmosphere which was uncommonly hazy. The appearance was succeeded by the most tremendous thunder and lightning ever recorded in the history of England and I can safely affirm that scores of people were killed and a great number of cattle in various parts of the kingdom."

At the beginning of the 19th century, more serious damage was caused when a ferocious thunderstorm accompanied by large hailstones hit the town on Sunday 4th May 1800 and raged for thirty minutes. It came from the south west, blowing down branches and trees and shattering windows. Several elms were torn up by the roots, birds killed in their nests and fields of corn destroyed. Some the the larger hailstones measured five inches in circumference and weighed upwards of three ounces.

In the spring of 1862, hail and thunder storms swept through Bourne on two consecutive days with some ferocity. The first, at 4.30 p m on Tuesday 6th May, lasted for an hour and the rain was so heavy that the drains were unable to cope with the large body of flood water which soon covered the streets to a depth of several inches. An elm tree measuring 10-12 feet in circumference was blown down with terrific force at Bridge End, tearing up the earth for a considerable distance around while the hail stones were the largest ever witnessed. The next afternoon, Wednesday 7th May, there was more continual thunder accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning that killed several animals in the fields, including a horse near the toll bar in Mill Drove and two sheep at Rippingale. The Stamford Mercury reported the following Friday:

The rain fell in torrents accompanied by hail varying in size from a bean to a pigeon's egg. Several hundred pieces of glass were broken in the Abbey garden hothouse and the conservatory and skylights in the Abbey were much damaged. It is feared the the hail has also done much damage to the fruit trees. South Street near the church was flooded from side to side. In the railway station yard, near the coal-drops, the water, from the inefficiency of the drains, was from three feet to six feet deep and the field next to the railway station was nearly covered with water to a considerable depth. The recent alterations to the drain under Coggles Causeway appears not to have had the desired effect.

On Tuesday 30th May 1865, a gale of great severity swept through Bourne causing widespread damage. The force of the wind at its height may be judged by the fact that an old tree with a circumference of 15ft. in the paddock behind the North Street premises of Edward Wherry and Sons, grocers, hop and seed merchants, was snapped clean in two a few feet above the ground.

Another violent storm passed over the Bourne area the following year with vivid flashes of lightning and loud peals of thunder. A large tree standing in the farm paddock owned by Mr G J Nicholls was struck, splitting it in two from top to bottom. But the severity of the storm was felt most at Billingborough, nine miles north of the town, and the drama was captured by the Stamford Mercury the following Friday 6th July 1866:

On Saturday last, this place was visited by a most fearful thunderstorm. A slight shower of rain fell about one o'clock, attended with thunder and lightning, the latter of which was very vivid. The clouds then appeared to take a north easterly direction but at about 2.30, returned and there immediately followed frequent peals of thunder and flashes of lightning which appeared almost to rent the heavens and caused great alarm to all in the neighbourhood. The rain fell in torrents and quite deluged the streets and roads, the grates [drains] being incapable of receiving it. The oldest inhabitant cannot recollect such a violent storm. Great fears were entertained that much damage was done which was fully verified on inquiries being instituted. The electric fluid struck the roof of a cottage on the Folkingham road in the occupation of a labourer named Goodacre, but only caused slight damage. The following are the particulars of stock which were killed in this neighbourhood: Mr Thomas Sills of Billingborough, 4 sheep; Mr Tirrell of Horbling, one milch cow; Mr Albert Wadsley of Swaton, 2 pigs and 2 others seriously injured; Mr Quincey of Stow, 6 sheep; and Mrs Dean of Threekingham, 8 sheep. A great many trees were partly stripped of branches and one or two were split down the middle as though with an axe. At Scot Willoughby, the electric fluid killed an ewe and a lamb belonging to Mr Baker. The wool was severed from the lamb and forced a distance of thirty yards and the head was cut into small pieces. Four holes were made in the ground to the depth of several inches.

Heavy rain fell in the Bourne area in the summer of 1875. The streets were so badly flooded on Tuesday 27th July that a boat was used to rescue marooned home owners in Star Lane [now Abbey Road] and it rained continually overnight, increasing fears that the Bourne Eau might burst its banks. An excursion train returning from Skegness was unable to travel further than Bourne because the floods had washed away the ballast from under the line between the town and Thurlby and consequently the rails had given way. Passengers on their way to Essendine and Stamford were given emergency overnight accommodation.

BOY KILLED BY LIGHTNING

A sad accident occurred on Friday last. A gang of boys were working in the Bourn fen with a man named Osborn, and between three and four o'clock, a thunderstorm came in. The ganger and three of the boys were struck by lightning and one boy about 10 years old, named Samuel Northern, was instantly killed. The ganger and the two other boys, under medical treatment, are progressing favourably. In the case of Northern, an inquest was considered unnecessary. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 6th September 1878.

Some of the worst weather of the 19th century occurred in 1880 when both town and country were badly affected. The first severe storm broke out on Saturday 17th July  when torrential rain fell for two hours and the row of houses in the North Street terrace was completely flooded and the occupants obliged to remove their furniture to avoid serious damage. Market Deeping was also affected with areas of grassland ruined and corn crops flattened and badly damaged while the effect on the potato crop was expected to be ruinous with the possibility of widespread disease.

Further flooding occurred on Tuesday 5th October when heavy rain fell for 24 hours, again flooding the houses in the North Street terrace to a depth of several inches while in South Street, a wall leading to the station was breached by the weight of water from an adjoining field and flooded several houses in the vicinity. The Bourne Eau overflowed its banks in Eastgate and flooded houses around the Queen's Bridge and a man driving a horse and cart on the main Bourne to Stamford road at Toft was washed away by the flood and drowned. (See John Dring This Mortal Coil).

At Folkingham, continuous rain for a similar period raised water levels along the beck, flooding a larger area of surrounding countryside than had ever been known before. The rectory grounds were under water together with the kitchen garden which was badly damaged by the force of the current. The water rose almost two feet in the lower rooms of a house on the east side of the village and the occupants escaped through the upstairs windows. One of them, a lady of 80 years old who was trapped in a downstairs room, took refuge on a table and remained there until rescued two hours later.

There was further serious flooding early in 1897 when streets and homes in the town were flooded and farmland in the Bourne area was badly affected. The Stamford Mercury reported the situation on Friday February 19th and questioned the efficiency of the flood defences:

Beyond the muddy residuum  upon the floors and carpets of the dwelling houses, nothing remained in the town to attest the almost unprecedented overflow of waters in our streets. Housewives had indeed a tough battle to wage against the unsavoury invader of the domestic peace. But in the fen, it was far different. The damage suffered there is unfortunately not of a temporary description and the disastrous effects will be long felt. For instance, Mr Charles Andrews has over 200 acres of land under water. Mr Thomas Brothwell has 150 acres submerged. These cases are typical. Devastation has been wrought, sudden and ruinous, and hundreds of acres of valuable land have been, at a critical point, submerged. The questions of practical consideration are: could this devastation have been averted? Were the precautions against the sudden oncoming of the flood effective and in readiness? Is it in any measure to be attributed to any degree of negligence or unpreparedness?

There were two bad storms over Bourne in 1891. On Monday 10th August, the rain fell in torrents without a break from noon until 3 pm causing widespread damage to farm crops. The following month, a storm of unprecedented severity broke out at 1 pm on Monday 14th September. "Within a few minutes, the streets and the Market Place presented the appearance of canals, the drains being inadequate to convey the immense amount of water that fell", reported the Stamford Mercury. "The rain appeared to descend in one continuous sheet without intermission for fully half an hour. The phenomenon is said to bear a striking resemblance to a water spout breaking from the east. Within the immediate neighbourhood of Bourne, the storm necessitated the suspension of harvest operations although at Tongue End, about four miles distant, work was not hindered for more than 20 minutes to half an hour."

GALE LEAVES TRAIL OF DAMAGE

A terrific south westerly gale swept through the Bourne area on Thursday 12th January 1899 which, according to the Stamford Mercury, "left traces of its devastating force". The report continued:

Several orchards suffered severely. In Mr Berry's orchard in Star Lane, a fine pear tree was uprooted. A splendid chestnut tree near Mr Seward's residence in Dyke was blown down and a fine tree in Park Field near the station was snapped. The advertisement boardings in Mr Dallywater's near the station, were hurled into the road. In the farm yards, many stacks were scattered. Tiles were also blown from the houses and, in two or three instances in Eastgate, the places were partially disroofed. The tall chimney of the National School was broken by the force of the wind and fell crashing on the roof. This happened about half-past seven in the evening. The crash alarmed Mrs Hallam, the school cleaner, who was in the building at the time. The debris of the storm was strewn about the streets and lanes. On Friday, builders were busy everywhere repairing damage. The gale sprang up soon after noon, following a heavy and sudden shower. It increased in violence until eight when its maximum intensity was attained. It continued to rage until after midnight. By seven on Friday morning, it was calm as a day in spring.

HOUSES STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

There has been heavy rain and flooding in Bourne during more recent times. One of the worst thunderstorms occurred in the early hours of Tuesday 31st May 1904 when there was heavy rain and hailstones "of an unusual size", damaging crops in the fields, particularly potatoes and in many instances, the tops were cut off at ground level. The Stamford Mercury reported: "Whilst the storm was at its height, Mr J W Lunn's house in Eastgate was struck by lightning. Two courses of brickwork were hurled from the chimney and the tiles were broken with the falling debris. The current penetrated the brickwork in two places; in one instance, it went through the wall and into a cupboard, shifting most of the things in it. The occupants were at the other end of the house and did not suffer any injury. The storm was followed by almost continual rain during the day, especially in the afternoon."

There were several violent thunder and hail storms in the town in 1910, particularly over the weekend of 19th-20th February when gales wrecked trees and property including a stable roof in North Road that was completely blown away. There was more extreme weather on July 3rd when the chimney of a house in Abbey Road was struck by lightning, stripping the tiles off the roof and hurling fragments across the road. The flash continued into the Abbey Lawn where it scorched the leaves off a tree and stripped another of its bark. A Miss Flatters was struck as she was walking down the road and according to one newspaper report, "was overcome by the electric fluid and had to sit down on the grass until a policeman arrived to render assistance". The chimney of a house in Woodview was also hit by lightning, damaging tiles and guttering, and two poplars on the Spalding Road were splintered.

The village of Rippingale, five miles north of Bourne, caught the full force of a violent storm that swept through South Lincolnshire on 28th and 29th April 1913. The Stamford Mercury reported: 

Shortly before 6 o'clock on Monday evening, a tremendous rainstorm burst over the village and during its progress the wind blew with hurricane force, indeed, for a width of about 50 yards, something in the nature of a tornado swept across the district. Trees were uprooted in several places and one which fell, all but dismantled a house. Roofs of farm buildings in the occupation of Mr Richard Miller and Mr Worsdale were considerably damaged - portions being completely stripped - and two haystacks belonging to Mr George Jessop were blown over. This was followed on Tuesday night by a thunderstorm of remarkable violence. Heavy rain and hail fell during the progress of the storm and just over half-an-inch of rain was registered.

Flooding in 1912

Heavy rain caused flooding along North Street, Bourne, in August 1912, when the road outside the police station on the corner of Burghley Street (above) was badly affected and further along the street outside the North Street terrace (below).

Flooding in 1912

More heavy rainfall occurred during the summer of 1915. A violent thunderstorm broke out on Tuesday 29th June accompanied by torrential rain that continued for two days, flooding the streets that soon became impassable. The situation worsened as the bad weather continued throughout Wednesday when there was another heavy storm soon after 1 p m accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning and loud thunder claps. North Street was particularly badly hit because the drains were unable to cope with the excess water that ran into shops and flooded them to a depth of several inches. Girls who were attending the council school were evacuated in vehicles because of the deep floodwater outside in the street and by evening there were no signs of the downpour abating. The rain continued intermittently for another ten days, flooding hundreds of acres of farmland in the area, disrupting agricultural operations and ruining the hay harvest.

The following year, a whirlwind hit Bourne causing widespread damage to several properties. It occurred on Wednesday 5th July 1916 when part of the roof on the Corn Exchange was lifted off into the street below and the slates were ripped off the roof of Mr William Pearce's shop premises in North Street. Dozens of windows in private homes were shattered and in many cases, the fire in the grate was blown away. There was also considerable damage to the newly completed Isolation Hospital in South Road and the Stamford Mercury reported that "in some yards around the town, water tubs were blown around like feathers".

A THUNDERBOLT DOWN THE CHIMNEY

Violent storms in the autumn of 1926 left two families homeless at Market Deeping. They broke out soon after 2.30 pm on Friday 24th September and half an hour later, lightning struck a pair of thatched cottages in Towngate, leaving only the charred walls standing amid a pile of smouldering debris. Two families were left homeless, Mr and Mrs Exton and their eight children and Mr and Mrs Watson who lived next door. Mrs Exton, who was in the cottage and was lucky to escape alive, described the incident afterwards with the help of a local newspaper reporter: "A thunderbolt, like several balls of fire, came down the wide, old-fashioned chimney and dropped on to the mat. It came which such tremendous force that it knocked over our grandfather clock, blew in the window and made the ceiling collapse. I was knocked over by the clock and pinned to the ground, partially stunned. The rug caught fire and within minutes, the stairs and thatched roof were blazing furiously. My husband was in the yard and came back into the cottage and rescued me from my perilous plight but he was lucky to reach me because the other rooms had been cut off by the flames which spread with alarming rapidity and burned with great fierceness. Fortunately, our twins were outside in the yard when this happened and the other children were at school. I have never seen anything like this before and I never want to again. We have only been able to save a few things but happily all of the damage we have suffered is covered by insurance."

The Watsons next door were more fortunate and removed all of their furniture and belongings before the blazing thatched room of the cottages collapsed. Horses and other animals in a stable at the rear of the premises were turned out into a nearby orchard and the Market Deeping fire brigade managed to prevent the flames from spreading to other homes nearby although they were unable to save a hay stack in the vicinity. Both families were found alternative accommodation before nightfall.

During the storm,  Mr Broughton, a baker from Langtoft, was driving his pony and cart through Market Deeping when lightning shattered the harness on the pony's back but Mr Broughton, his son, and the pony miraculously escaped unhurt.

Dozens of people turned out to take a look when the Bourne Eau overflowed its banks below the Queen's Bridge in Eastgate during a period of heavy rain circa 1930 (above) and another downpour flooded Hereward Street in Bourne on 3rd September 1931 (below), giving local residents the opportunity for a paddle.

In more recent times, the worst weather to hit Bourne was a mid-week downpour in 1960 when three inches of rain fell in ninety minutes. The violent thunderstorm occurred on Wednesday 5th October and although it was early closing day, shopkeepers had to return to their premises to mop up. Traffic was brought to a standstill as roads quickly turned into lakes, cars were stranded, shops and houses flooded and daily life totally disrupted by the downpour. The fire brigade worked non-stop in an attempt to keep the floodwater at bay but were powerless to stem the inundation.

Most streets in the town were under water but Manning Road, South Street, Abbey Road and Coggles Causeway were among the worst hit where cars were left stranded at the kerbside, mainly because they were slightly below the level of the other streets in the town. Bourne Grammar School was holding its annual Speech Day at the Corn Exchange and as guests left to go home, they found floodwater swirling around the entrance. Senior pupils volunteered to wade through it and carry some of the elderly people to dry ground while hundreds more waited inside for the water to subside.

The printing firm Warners Midlands plc had to sweep the floodwater from their premises and the Crown Inn was also badly affected. Messrs Rubery Owen's machine and tool shop in the Abbey Road workshops was also badly affected and night shift employees were unable to start work until the premises had been dried out. Mr H W Pick, baker and confectioner of West Street, said that it was among the worst storms that he could remember.

Lightning struck Bourne Hospital in South Road during the storm, cutting off the supply and causing serious damage to the electrical installations. Subsequent repairs involved rewiring the entire hospital at a cost of £5,000 (£70,000 at today's values).

Ironically, the first phase of a new drainage system to separate storm water from foul sewage had just been completed at a cost of £90,000 and so more serious flooding was averted, particularly in North Street. Councillor Dr George Holloway told a meeting of Bourne Urban District Council the following week: "If ever a town had cause to congratulate itself on the work of re-sewerage, then Bourne was that town. We cannot even think what the position would have been if we had experienced such an abnormal rainfall in the old days when the foul sewers were carrying the storm water overflow. No town could hope to deal with such a situation."

Abbey Road was flooded during a heavy downpour on 3rd September 1931, pictured above with a car driving through the floodwater outside the Light Dragoon public house.

 

 STORM OVER BOURNE

Extreme weather conditions were always reported by the local newspapers where the events were given as much prominence as council meetings and the police courts and also allowed the local correspondent an opportunity to use his most descriptive prose style. This report appeared in the Stamford Mercury on Friday 1st October 1907:

A thunderstorm of unusual severity passed over Bourne on Thursday morning week. The rain came down in torrents and the streets gave one the appearance of water-ways rather than roads. The rain was accompanied by very vivid flashes of lightning and heavy peals of thunder. In the midst of the storm, one flash of lightning struck the chimney of two houses in Hereward-street. The chimneys are built to connect with two houses, and the east side of the chimney belonging to No 9 and 10 was completely cut away, the brickwork falling on the roof of No 10, which is occupied by Mr R Moisey. Some portion of the brickwork came down the chimney into the fire grates, bringing with it a large quantity of mortar and soot. The fluid penetrated the floor of Mr Moisey's house and fired the ceiling in the corner of the front room. At the time, the only occupant of the house was Mrs Moisey and her young child, and needless to say that both were terrified. Fortunately help was soon forthcoming. Mr Moisey's father, who lives just opposite, immediately went to his son's house and others who were in the neighbourhood helped to put out the fire in the ceiling, which had luckily not done much damage. An alarm of fire was given and the Fire Brigade were summoned, but fortunately their services were not required. About the same time a chimney of a house occupied by Mr Charles Robinson in Stanley-street was struck, and the brickwork fell through the roof of the adjoining house (which is occupied by Mr Flatters) and on to the bed. Fortunately there was no one in the bedroom at the time, the occupants having only just gone out. During the storm, four beasts belonging to Mr John Wade in the South Fen were standing in a field together, and three of them were killed by lightning. Amidst all the damage that was done, no one was injured. We understand that the damage was all covered by insurance.

 

SEVERE FLOODING IN 1968

Photo: Courtesy Michael McGregor

Heavy rain caused serious flooding in Bourne on two occasions during 1968. In the spring of that year, South Street was badly affected (above). Firemen were called out to No 35, home of Mrs Alice Gray who then ran a smallholding behind the cottage with her husband David, and she chatted to them from an upstairs window as they pumped away the floodwater. The cottage was eventually demolished in January 1977 and two modern homes, Nos 35 & 37 South Street, were built on the site.  In October, the rain returned but this time the streets most badly affected were Meadowgate, Harrington Street and North Road (below) where firemen were called out to pump floodwater from homes and business premises including Woolf's Garage. North Street was also flooded but surface drainage has since been improved and there has been no recurrence.

 

Flooding in 1980

Heavy rain on 15th August 1980 caused serious flooding in many parts of Bourne, particularly to the east of the town, along the Spalding Road (top picture) where pumps were needed to clear the carriageway of floodwater at the junction with Manning Road and Cherryholt Road (above) where the fire brigade was called out to assist .

After a month long dry spell, rain came to Bourne on Tuesday 15th October 2002 with a vengeance with a downpour that lasted for more than 18 hours and was accompanied by high winds. There were few householders that were not affected in some way, with gardens littered with debris, flower tubs and bird tables blown over, patios and driveways flooded and trees that had lost their branches or had even been toppled. 

The paved area behind the Town Hall where the weekly markets are held was flooded to a depth of several inches which is surprising because it was built as recently as 1990. Fortunately, the floodwater had subsided by the time the Thursday stallholders had arrived. The wind was so strong that it toppled an ornamental cherry tree in Queen's Road.

There were further storms over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 26th/27th October 2002 when wind forces reached 90 mph. Most of Bourne lost its electricity for much of the day and the gales toppled several trees in the area, including a large fir in the grounds of the outdoor swimming pool, and tore the roof off Bourne Town Football Club's stadium at the Abbey Lawn, depositing 20 sections of corrugated zinc in two nearby gardens and causing £3,000 worth of damage. A large branch was also ripped off the historic oak tree at Bowthorpe Park farm near Manthorpe.

In 2004, torrential rain caused widespread flooding and other damage in Bourne, closing shops and streets which were several inches under water within an hour. The storm broke soon after 6 pm on Thursday 22nd July with violent thunder and lightning and lasted for two and a half hours. Roads were soon underwater as drains overflowed. The town centre at Bourne was badly affected and firemen were called out to pump water from several shops in North Street and West Street where many lost stock as a result. Sainsburys store in Exeter Street was also damaged after the roof collapsed and was forced to close early while a car auction salesroom in Cherryholt Road was so badly flooded that customers attending a sale clambered into the cars for safety until the water had subsided. The Leisure Centre in Queen's Road suffered structural damage after the gym was flooded and the roof of the cafe collapsed and was forced to close. A spokesman at the Meteorological Office suggested that the town had been hit by a tornado while Lincolnshire fire brigade reported 200 calls connected with storm damage.

See also

Snow in Bourne     The fen blow     Disastrous fen floods of past times    

Lightning strikes the Corn Exchange

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