Snow

The blizzard of 1916

Snow is synonymous with winter and particularly Christmas and yet its appearance is relatively rare and when we do have a fall of any significance, the country invariably grinds to a standstill because public services, traffic, trains and travel cannot cope.

Those occasions are therefore well remembered and although records of past centuries are sparse, particularly for small communities such as Bourne, some instances are well documented, particularly the blizzard of 1916 which caused major disruption to public services and left a trail of damage.

The wintry conditions prevailed throughout Tuesday 28th March 1916 when trees were uprooted in various parts of the town, four on the Abbey Lawn, three in Mill Drove, two near the villas in West Road, three in a field near the railway station at the Red Hall, two at the bottom of Eastgate and one close to Dr John Gilpin's surgery in South Street. The telephone and telegraph services were cut off and on Tuesday evening it was reported that not a single telephone subscriber could be reached while the following morning telegrams were not being accepted by the Post Office because they were unable to send them. One telegram sent before noon on the Tuesday was not delivered until 9 o'clock the following morning, an unheard of delay.

Rail services were badly disrupted and trains due into Bourne from Saxby just before 11 am on Tuesday were held up by deep snow drifts at South Witham and had still not arrived by midday the following day. The 12.15 pm express to Leicester reached South Witham but was forced to return with its passengers to Norwich. All trains were running late on the Great Northern system and the journey to Grantham took about four hours. A train which left Bourne for Spalding at 3 pm to bring home passengers from Spalding market arrived in Bourne at 7 pm in the evening after the electric signalling system at Twenty failed.

The motor mail cart usually due at Bourne at 4 am did not arrive until after 7 am on both Tuesday and Wednesday and on the Tuesday run it was held up by telegraph poles that had blown down across the road. Several passengers were stranded at Bourne railway station including three soldiers who were given beds for the night at the Red Cross hospital in the Vestry Hall. The surprising feature of the storm was that is caused only a small amount of structural damage to property, mainly dislodging slates, tiles and guttering that collapsed under the weight of snow.

Snow scene in South Street in 1920

South Street (above) and North Road during the winter of 1920.

North Road circa 1920

There was another heavy fall in the winter of 1920 and this was the scene in South Street. The small white building behind the railings alongside the Bourne Eau on the left was the riverside studio of local photographer Ashby Swift who may have taken this picture. Behind are the premises of Johnson Brothers, who were in business here as blacksmiths and implement dealers, although they also had an ironmongery shop in the Market Place. Their premises in South Street were demolished in 1959 to make way for the Darby and Joan Hall.

THE WINTER OF 1947

The winter of 1946-1947 was one of the worst recorded in this country and in January 1947 there were heavy snowfalls, bringing large drifts around the country which caused roads and railways to be blocked. These pictures show the depth of the snow in several places around Bourne. Villages were cut off and life was disrupted through shortages of fuel, food and other commodities until conditions began to ease towards the end of February.

Photographed in 1947
Photographed in 1947 Photographed in 1947
Photographed in 1947

 

Photo courtesy Michael McGregor

Photo courtesy Michael McGregor

Snow in North Road (above) and the Wellhead Gardens in 1975

Snow in Stephenson Way

Snow came to Bourne in January 2001, an unusual occurrence in recent years, and although the fall was only a few inches deep, it caused the usual chaos that we have come to expect from such extreme weather conditions no matter what their ferocity. Not everyone was displeased by it however and with children away from school because of the Christmas and New Year holiday, this was an excellent opportunity to pursue that age-old pleasure of building a snowman and soon a large number of these forlorn but appealing figures wearing odd items of old clothing appeared at homes throughout the locality. One of the best of the snowmen that I spotted was this creation in the front garden of a house in Stephenson Way, the work of twelve-year-old Matthew Kinsey and his brother Andrew, aged 9.

Boys make snowman

 

SNOW IN DECEMBER 2005

December 2005

December 2005

Overnight snow pictured within walking distance of my home in Stephenson Way on Wednesday 28th December.

December 2005

December 2005

Photo courtesy Stan McCrae

This picture shows the Wellhead Cottage after the fall.

SNOW IN MARCH 2008

Photo by Geoffrey Bell

This was taken on Easter Sunday, 23rd March 2008, and as the Town Hall clock shows this was at 9 am. The snow fall was the heaviest we had that year and the town centre roads were covered. However, it was not to last for very long and, although we did not know it then, neither was Woolworths in the background.

See also     Baldock's Mill in winter     Earthquake, fire and flood

Snow scenes - 1987     Snow scenes - 2004     Snow scenes - 2009

Winter in the Wellhead Gardens     Winter in Bourne Wood

Go to:     Main Index    Villages Index