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Abbey Road, BOURNE, PE10 9EF

The main hall of the Corn Exchange which has been used as a public venue since it was built in 1870 was refurbished in 2013 when it was redecorated and new lighting installed and the stage is seen here in readiness for the latest comedy production after the work was completed.

Old properties around the town continue to provide useful accommodation and here at No 11 Abbey Road, a pair of cottages dating from the late 18th century which were still being used as homes in 1912 have since been converted for use as retail premises, the current tenants being a clock maker and a café owner who have appropriately called their businesses The Clock Shop and Time for Tea.

Notice reminding people of the need to maintain social distancing in the post-lockdown phase of the Covid-19 epidemic. The sign is obviously intended to be more permanent than the ones in Image and Image which specify a distance. This, and its twin at Image are more generic reminders, constructed to last.

The rear of the building seen in Image and Image, substantially unchanged from when it was built as "The Light Dragoon" pub in 1904.

Budget economies forced the closure of the Town Hall, public library and register office at Bourne when all council services at town, district and county level were moved to a new Community Access Point established at the nearby Corn Exchange in March 2013 at a cost of £600,000, an unpopular development because of the reduced space which brought complaints from both customers and staff. The available floor area was re-arranged in 2014 in an attempt to make it more user friendly but the overall opinion remained that you could not cram a quart into a pint pot while the Town Hall nearby remained empty and unused.

On the right of Image is the single storey utility block of the erstwhile pub, seen here on the left. The other single storey building has had a chequered history, in recent memory it has been a newspaper office, a craft bakery, an upcycling shop, and now a hairdresser. The right hand end was extended to install the ovens when it was a bakery. Behind and on the right is the modern jumble of the Corn Exchange extension, seen in Image from the other side.

Methodism has been active in Bourne for over 200 years and the first meeting was held in 1809 at a cottage in Star Lane, now Abbey Road, close to the site of the first chapel which was built the following year. Further land was purchased in 1841 and in the same year, the present chapel was built at a cost of £1,200 in what is now Abbey Road, with its façade of huge Doric pilasters, a building that has been greatly enhanced over the years with the addition of a gallery and schoolroom. There were fears that the Grade II listed building might have to be demolished in 1988 when the structure was deemed to be unsafe but remedial work was carried out at a cost of £300,000 and it remains in use to this day. See inside the chapel Image

The Corn Exchange at Bourne dates from 1870 when the town had a thriving corn trade and dealers met there regularly to sell their grain. A public hall was included in the original design and has been the venue for varied events ever since including ice skating in 1876 and the first film shows were staged there in 1925 before the town had its own cinema. The pyramid style blue slate roof on the front façade in Abbey Road marks the last remains of the old building as a result of successive extensions, notably in 2013 when it became the town’s new Community Access Point. See also Image

One of the more enduring public houses in Bourne is the Nag's Head which has a prominent position in the town centre where it has been in business for over two centuries. The exterior of this building is largely unchanged since it was erected in the yellow brick and blue slate much favoured by builders of the period and appears to have assumed the name the Nag's Head Hotel that was discarded by the Angel around 1800 although this has been shortened in recent years to just the Nag's Head, a name that reflects the Englishman's affection for the horse in this agricultural community although it has been interpreted in some districts as a shrewish wife.

1904 date on the gable of the former pub in Image]