When Bourne was clean and smart

Bourne was judged to be the best kept small town in the Kesteven area of Lincolnshire in 1965 and the following February, Bourne Urban District Council which then ran our affairs, was presented with a metal plaque and trophy from the Council for the Preservation of Rural England for winning this competition. An additional prize was a tree of their own choice and the council selected a flowering cherry that was planted near the entrance to the Abbey Lawn during a civic ceremony by the chairman, Councillor John Grummitt, with representatives from Bourne United Charities in attendance.

The cherry tree flowers still and the small plaque nearby reminds us of this success and of those days when Bourne was a town of which we could be justly proud. Councillor Grummitt, who was also a magistrate, was chairman of Bourne Urban District Council twice, from 1954-55 and again from 1965-66.

Those pictured at the tree planting ceremony in the top picture are (left to right) Councillor J K Mason (chairman of Bourne United Charities), Councillor Grummitt, Mr F Mason (Clerk to the Council), Mr F Parker (deputy clerk to Bourne United Charities), Mr N Buckle (Surveyor and Chief Public Health Inspector).

The award was won for a second time in 1978 when a similar trophy and metal plaque were awarded by the CPRE and by this time, Bourne had its own town council and the commemorative tree planting, pictured below, was carried out in the War Memorial gardens by the mayor, Councillor John Smith (with the spade), with the mayoress, his wife Judy (on the right), and Councillor Lloyd Ramsden, chairman of South Kesteven District Council, holding the tree, together with other councillors and officials.