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John Smith of Bourne GROCERS TO THE GENTRY 1857-1998
A three-story red brick building roofed with blue slate on the west side of North Street was for many years a time capsule of the grocery retail trade from past times where over the counter service managed to survive the pressures of the supermarket revolution.
The business known as John Smith of Bourne was founded in 1857 by John Smith, a strict teetotaller who sang in the choir at Bourne Abbey for fifty years, although were he to have appeared in the shop a century later he would probably have been quite shocked because it eventually catered for the sale of wines and spirits, beer and cider.
The business was operated until the late 20th century by the Smith family in the traditional Victorian fashion, supplying products at the quality end of the market, and the store exuded a gentlemanly air of courtesy and service in an age when the self-service supermarket reigned supreme. Customers were greeted by the aroma of freshly-ground coffee and the scent of spices, unhurried personal service, scrubbed floorboards and a polished counter worn smooth over the years by thousands of daily transactions, a delightful change to the hurly burly of the checkout counters at neighbouring streamlined stores while the window displays and metal advertising signs reminded us of a bygone age when our daily life proceeded at a far slower pace.
When the shop eventually closed in December 1998, the town lost a small part of its traditional role for customer service and its death knell was a success for the supermarkets. In the autumn of 2001, planning permission was granted to convert the premises into a public house that opened in May 2002 and the new owners incorporated several of the original features in the refurbished premises which became known as Smith's of Bourne.
A little cornucopia - gives a glimpse of the shop in past times 140 years of trading - a special anniversary in 1997
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