Discovering Bourne castle thanks to aerial photos, parched marks on the ground and the work of the Non Time History group
I feel like giving the good people of Bourne a gift from Non Time History - Bourne and Beyond, writes Steve Giullari from the group set up for history enthusiasts.
It’s these photographs taken more than a year ago when the weather was a little different to how it has been recently.
In the summer of 2018 ‘Bebop 1’ captured these pictures of the castle parch marks from the drought that we had in that particular year.
The same summer, I also reported on the small parch marks found near the raised mound which were later published in the newspaper explaining that this was evidence to the existence of Bourne castle.
What wasn’t known at the time was actually how much other unseen markings there were. The clear definition of these markings could not have been seen from the ground, so it was a pleasant surprise to realise that these other markings had also inadvertently been captured from the ‘Bebop 1’.
Looking at these pictures I’m sure, like me, you will be amazed at the apparent scale of the castle structure in relation to the Wellhead grounds. It would seem that it was a rather large castle. I’m sure it would have been seen from miles around on the approach to Bourne sitting proudly next to its abbey.
Being from Bourne (and that’s a real Bourne way of saying that) I was told from a very early age about the castle we once had.
It soon became apparent as an adult that not much was known about the castle in Bourne, so much so, that even the people in Bourne began to have doubts of its existence.
In fact, most people, when asked, were not even aware that we once had a castle on the Wellhead, and others were doubtful simply because of the lack of evidence.
I was quite astonished to learn that people did have their doubts, so being the curious person that I am I wanted to know was there really a castle in Bourne, or was I going to be very disappointed if the truth proved otherwise?
At the beginning of my journey I had absolutely nothing to go on apart from the Wellhead’s topography. My first bit of real evidence of the castle was in the form of four photographs taken in the summer of 1991 containing discernible parch marks.
These photographs were given to me by my friend, Janet Mitchell, which I am forever thankful. With these pictures I began my journey in searching for any information, no matter how small, to learn all I could about the castle.
From the beginning it was painfully obvious that the job of finding any information was going to be a mammoth task. It was also concerning that I was coming across a lot of publications which didn’t seem supportive of the idea that there was a castle in Bourne.
This made me even more curious to why there was such a negative thinking about the castle’s existence.
Reading between the lines of these publications I felt they were asking for something very much in particular.
It seemed to me the authors were seeking for new ‘evidence and an excavation’, or at least some kind of scientific evidence rather than that of ‘opinions and assumption’ of the past. And it’s true, for too long we have been subjected to the old ways of thinking.
For example, the castle plan which seemed to be the generally accepted version of the castle was an 1861 drawing.
It showed the mound surrounded by what could either be described as a wall or a moat; it is not very clear which of these it is trying to denote.
This area is then surrounded by a second moat, which is then surrounded by a third moat. This latter moat is connected to St Peter’s Pool.
This interpretation is well and truly fine, but it does seem to raise a few questions. Questions such as, why is there a gap in the third moat? Was the gap intentional?
If the early 19th century historian left the gap because of references to their maps, then why did they not leave gaps in the second moat because that, too, is incomplete in old maps? Is the first moat meant to be a moat or a wall?
What does the small rectangular shape attached to the first moat meant to represent?
So, it would seem that the castle plan of 1861 is a little confusing when one looks at it a little more deeply.
It would appear, then, that the castle plan needs freshening up with a little something that will bring the castle and all its glory into the 21st century; and that is the aim of Non Time History.
But it’s not just about freshening up the castle plans. It’s about searching for new evidence; like the photographs from ‘Bebop 1’.
This new evidence will help support the Bourne castle claim, and hopefully encourage others with a similar interest to get involved with Bourne’s history.
Non Time History is also about breathing life into our castle history; to celebrate our wonderful past.
So far, we have found plenty of information about our castle in Bourne and we are continuously studying them. We plan to compile our findings into one simple easy to read publication which will be widely available.
This information will contain evidence, facts, and much to some people’s dismay, opinions and assumption. To those authors who have asked for evidence over assumption, my explanation for including this is as follows; I believe that assumptions and opinions are just as important as facts.
The trick, however, is to constantly let your audience know when you are using facts and evidence, to when you are being assuming and ‘giving’ of opinion.
This way, your audience of both today and tomorrow will be able to differentiate between facts and opinion; something the early 19th century historians failed to do thus making it very difficult for modern historians to interpret their findings from that era.
With these new pictures of the parch marks of Bourne castle what we at Non Time History have offered you is a little more evidence proving that there was a grand structure on the Well Head.
There is plenty more evidence out there and at Non Time History we are committed in finding them and revealing them to you. We are completely committed in seeking out as much information as possible because we believe that the castle story is a great story.
One day I will even tell you about the King that visited Bourne, but that will be for another time.
At Non Time History we have some great plans for the future. We hope to have a display all about Bourne castle at Bourne Heritage Centre (Baldock’s Mill, South Street, Bourne), including a model of the castle based on the outlines of both the geophys of 2005 and the parch marks of 2018.
It is our hope, that at certain times of the year, the local schools will welcome the exhibition into their schools for their children to learn about the history of Bourne castle.
In fact, if you are a school who would be interested in having the exhibition on loan then please contact me through Facebook, fb.me/nontimehistory
We are also looking to have a website dedicated to castle history and our railway.
We are hoping to have another resistance survey on the Wellhead to help broaden our knowledge about the layout of our castle. We will also be involved in the new tourist information board which is to be placed upon the well head in the very near future.
Look out for future articles here about the castle and any new discoveries. Also, if you would like to get involved with Non Time History on any of our projects please contact me through Facebook.
Steve Giullari will be guest speaker at Bourne Civic Society’s meeting in the Baxter Room, Wake House, North Street, Bourne, on Monday, February 17, when he will be talking on A History of Bourne Castle. The talk will start at 7.30pm. Admission is £1 for members, £2 for non-members, including refreshments. There will also be a raffle.
