Mill Drove
 View westbound, in 2005 | |
| Location | Bourne, England |
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| Coordinates | 52°46′35″N 0°22′06″W / 52.77636°N 0.36834°WCoordinates: 52°46′35″N 0°22′06″W / 52.77636°N 0.36834°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| West end |
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| East end |
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Mill Drove is a street and area in the town of Bourne, Lincolnshire. It was formerly crossed by the Bourne and Sleaford Railway, hosting a gatehouse, and in the second half of the 20th century was developed into a residential area.
History
Pre-Roman
Four pieces of worked flint, dating from the late Neolithic to late Bronze Age, were found in 1994, with worn cortex typical of the local till deposits.[1]
Just north of the street was an Iron Age settlement site,[2][3] including a multi-phase ditch, dug in the middle Iron Age, that defined the outer boundary of the later settlement.[4] The variation in the clarity of the ditches might reflect recutting, implying there was more than one phase of activity.[5]
Roman Settlement
The Iron Age settlement, following a possible break in occupation in the 2nd century, experienced a major realignment,[6] becoming Romano-British settlement, likely a farmstead. As part of this, a rectilinear enclosure complex being laid out, likely for livestock, and possibly adding a small villa complex to the north of the enclosure.[2][7] Hypocaust fragments, originating from an underfloor heating system, alongside limestone building rubble and tiles, were found on the site.[8] Excavations of it defined a large and complex arrangement of enclosure ditches, as well as pits, gullies, and post-holes, some of which dated to the Iron Age. Finds there also revealed pottery, tile, building stone, and a quern fragment.[6] Over the course of the entire settlement, there were at least four enclosures.[7] A late Iron Age or early Roman infant burial was also found.[4]
No evidence suggested that the settlement continued after the Roman period,[6] although mediaeval pottery was also recovered from the site,[9] and mediaeval or post-mediaeval plough furrows were also found, with pottery and clay pipe fragments contained within them.[10] In the garden of 44 Mill Drove, a Roman glass tear bottle was found, alongside mediaeval pottery.[11]
Victorian
The road took its name from a windmill (known as Wherry's Mill) that stood at its junction with North Road at its west end.[12] Land to the north of the street (by then already known as Mill Drove), under copyhold of the Manor of Bourn Abbots, which was bounded to the east by Meadow Drove, and west by Car Dyke, was put up for auction in 1863.[13]
The Bourne and Sleaford Railway opened in 1872, which had a level crossing at Mill Drove.[14] Around that time, to facilitate the crossing, a railway gatehouse was built there, with white-washed walls and a tiled roof.[14]
Following a Vestry meeting in 1873, the highway surveyors were instructed to "construct a hard road to be called Mill Drove". The occupiers of the few dwellings that existed there were invited to help cart stone and gravel.[12] It had formerly been a farm track, surrounded by mostly agricultural land. There were small scale gravel quarries located close to the street.[8] There was also a mustard farm on the road.[15]
Modern
There was a proposal to build an isolation hospital on the road in 1908.[16] In 1921, a small pottery bowl, supported by three legs, was found in the gravel pit to the west side of the railway.[8]
During the second half of the 20th century, houses were built alongside Mill Drove,[17] including one in 1951 by local farmer Len Pick.[12] As a post-war development, an effort was made to incorporate green space on the street, including the planting of trees,[18] and the street was laid out to be 20 feet wide, with footpaths.[19] The railway was closed in 1965, with the gatehouse becoming a private dwelling, and shortly after 1998, it was substantially extended.[14]
In June 1994, the windmill was demolished to make room for a new house, although the adjoining Victorian house survived.[12] Further residential developments on the east end of the street also took place.[9]
In 2025, sites on Mill Drove were earmarked for potential development, with 441 homes to the south and 326 homes to the north.[20][21][22] The latter was proposed by Taylor Wimpey, to be built alongside Car Dyke (which would be diverted into a culvert) with all assess to it from Mill Drove, which would be widened.[23][24]
Local Legend
There is a local story that ghostly Roman soldiers have been said to march down the street.[25]
References
- ↑ "MLI34949 - FLINT FINDS FROM MILL DROVE". Archived from the original on 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tipper, Jess B (1994). "Mill Drove, Bourne: An Archaeological Evaluation". archaeologydataservice.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Membery, Steven. "An Archaeological Resource Assessment of the Later Bronze and Iron Ages (First Millennium BC) in Lincolnshire" (PDF). researchframeworks.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "MLI34835 - LATE IRON AGE SETTLEMENT NORTH OF MILL DROVE BOURNE". Archived from the original on 2026-01-17. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "LATE IRON AGE SETTLEMENT NORTH OF MILL DROVE BOURNE". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "MLI34134 - A ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT SITE NORTH OF MILL DROVE". Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer. Archived from the original on 2026-01-18. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tipper, J.B. (1994). "MILL DROVE, BOURNE. AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION" (PDF). archaeologydataservice.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Field, Naomi (16 February 1994). "Land at Mill Drove, Bourne: An Archaeological Assessment" (PDF). archaeologydataservice.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "ELI334 - Fieldwalking at Mill Drove, Bourne". Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer. Archived from the original on 2025-09-15. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "POST MEDIEVAL CULTIVATION REMAINS, MILL DROVE". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Find Spot record MLI33226 - MEDIEVAL POTTERY". heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 27 April 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Mill Drove". www.falakros.net. Archived from the original on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Sales by Auction. Bourn, Lincolnshire". Stamford Mercury. 20 February 1863. p. 7.
Lot 4. All those Four Pieces or Parcels of old Pasture and Arable Land, containing 36A. 3. 170. (more or less), bounded on the north by the estate of W.A. Pochin, Esq., east by the Meadow Drove, south by the Mill Drove, and west by the Car Dike.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Railway gatehouses". www.falakros.net. Archived from the original on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Messrs. Saul will include in their Winter Keeping Sale at the Angel Hotel". Stamford Mercury. 24 October 1902. p. 2.
44 Acres of MUSTARD, now growing upon Mr. Lambert's Farm, Mill Drove, Bourne.
- ↑ "Bourne. Rural District Council". Stamford Mercury. 5 June 1908. p. 4.
It was recommended that the scheme for the purchase of Mr. Evan's house be abandoned, and that the surveyor prepare a scheme for the erection of an isolation hospital in Mill Drove, Bourne.
- ↑ "Ordnance Survey, Lincolnshire CXL.NE (includes: Bourne.) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952". maps.nls.uk. 1951. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "Bourne Character Assessment" (PDF). bourneparishneighbourhoodplan.org.uk. p. 84. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "In connection with the scheme for improvements to Mill Drove". Stamford Mercury. 16 December 1949. p. 3.
it was agreed that the carriageway should be 20 feet wide, with footpaths.
- ↑ Jaines, Daniel (2025-06-05). "Here's where 17,000 new homes could be built in South Kesteven with Grantham and Deepings as areas are earmarked for major development". LincsOnline. Archived from the original on 6 November 2025. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Agenda item - Regulation 18 Local Plan - Proposed Housing and Mixed-Use Site Allocations". South Kesteven District Council. 2025-06-03. Archived from the original on 14 April 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-14. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "South Kesteven District Council - Proposed Housing and Mixed-Use Site Allocations". southkesteven.oc2.uk. 28 August 2025. Archived from the original on 14 April 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-14. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Proposals - Taylor Wimpey - Mill Drove, Bourne". tw-bourne.co.uk. 2025-10-07. Archived from the original on 25 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Transport & Access - Taylor Wimpey - Mill Drove, Bourne". tw-bourne.co.uk. 2026-01-21. Archived from the original on 25 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bourne Civic Society discusses ghosts in and around the town". LincsOnline. 2022-04-24. Archived from the original on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-24. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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