The view above is of North Street as seen from the Market Place and was taken from a postcard published in 1910. The hanging sign on the left says Townson's Angel Hotel, referring to Mrs Annie Townson who kept it from 1902 until 1916, originally with her husband, a retired army officer, but he died within a few months of taking over. The baskets on the handcart outside the hotel are a delivery of some sort, probably of bread.

This photograph was taken circa 1900 when traffic consisted mainly of horse drawn carts and cycles and it was perfectly safe to walk in the road. Many of the old buildings have since disappeared, particularly those on the left next to the bank premises, now occupied by Woolworths store. The picture below is a view from circa 1880.

Most of the shops on the right (above) were demolished to make way for the £1½ million Burghley Centre development which opened in 1989. This picture was taken before 1883 when new office premises were built by Wherry & Sons Ltd., wholesale and retail grocers and provision merchants, drapers, boot and shoe dealers, on the garden behind the fence that can be seen beyond their grocery shop with the quaint bow window. These premises closed down on 3rd April 1970 when the firm ended grocery trading after more than 160 years, blaming rising costs for the decision, and 23 people lost their jobs but were offered alternative employment by the firm. The large shop on the right was occupied by John Bellairs Roberts, chemist, but by 1900 the business had been taken over by Edgar Harvey Judge and became known locally as Judge's, the interior of which (below) remained unchanged until it was pulled down.

Another view of North Street this time by the local photographer William Redshaw, circa 1900, showing a customer's pony and trap outside Smiths the Grocers, and next door on the right is the shop premises of John Parmiter, cabinet maker, joiner and undertaker.

North Street circa 1880, showing a wagon load of faggots moving down the road from Bourne Wood. The cottage with the four dormer windows on the right was demolished to make way for the Tudor Cinema which opened in 1929, together with the shop next door, occupied by Henry Kelham and Son, tailors.

The stone built cottage used as a barber's shop by J Stephenson was situated between Arnold Pick's forge and the office premises of Wherry and Sons Ltd but was demolished in 1961 to make way for new retail premises which were built on the site, as can be seen in the photograph below taken in 1965. After being occupied by the hardware form of Toulson and Spencer and then B and T Wallpaper, the shop is now occupied by Gordon's Photographic. The buildings on the right, including Wherry's shop premises with the quaint bow window, Tom Jones' antiques shop and Judge's, the chemists, were among those demolished to make way for the entrance to the Burghley Centre which opened in 1989.

Smith's Grocery Stores (above) were one of the oldest firms of grocery and provision dealers in Bourne that was established in 1857 by John Annible Smith and continued trading until December 1998 and during that time it was run entirely by the same family. The shop front and interior remained unchanged during that time with the accent on personal service but the business eventually succumbed to competition from new supermarkets. 

The cottage with the distinctive dormer windows next door to Smith's at No 23 North Street (below) was built in 1666 and had the initials GIM in a stone plaque on the front. It was split into two small shops that were in business until 1949 when the building was pulled down to make way for the red-brick, flat-topped shop now occupied by Jessie Bellamy, the men's and ladies' outfitters.

The complete absence of motor traffic gives North Street a peaceful air in this photograph taken around 1900. The main buildings in the foreground are relatively unchanged although many of the older properties further down the street have either disappeared or been drastically altered.

North Street circa 1920 photographed by Ashby Swift showing the Six Bells and the Old Windmill Inn further down the street. The gentleman with the basket is looking at the billboards outside the newspaper and sweet shop run by Edward Solomon Knott while next door is Bray and Son's fish and game shop and beyond that the grocery business known as John Smith of Bourne which survived until December 1998.

North Street looking towards the Market Place, circa 1920 (above) and another view looking northwards from the Market Place and taken 20 years earlier (below) with fewer motor cars in the scene and a predominance of horse-drawn transport.

The photograph above is reproduced from a postcard sent on 6th July 1929 from someone holidaying in Bourne to friends or family living at Bolton in Lancashire. The view is down the street looking north, again almost traffic free and with the distinctive telegraph poles along the pavement on the south side. The cottages on the left next to the bank premises were demolished to make way for the new Woolworths store in 1967.

This is one of the earliest known views of North Street, looking south towards the Market Place, and was taken by William Redshaw around 1880, perhaps earlier, but certainly before the advent of the motor car. The muddy state of the road can clearly be seen and the only traffic in sight is a horse drawn cart or cab.