It has several claims to fame, but perhaps the most interesting (for me) is that it was the world's oldest railway station -- in fact, the only Elizabethan station ever.
Bourne was first connected to the national railway system through the good works of the Spalding & Bourne Railway Company. Being an economical operation, they took over the Red Hall and made it the station master's house and, later, incorporated the main ticket office and ancillary rooms.
The S&B later became part of the Midlands & Eastern Railway which, in turn, became a key component of the Midland & Great Northern Railway -- about which, by now, you know so much. Bourne was at the north-west frontier of the M&GN (shown on the map as a yellow line), since a little to the west it formed an end-on junction with one of its parent companies, the Midland Railway (shown in green; lines owned by its other parent, the GN, are in orange).
The platforms at Bourne were constructed as an island, reached by a footbridge from the Red Hall station buildings (you can see it to the left of that delightful photo).
The railway abandoned the Red Hall a long time ago (the bulk of the M&GN system closed in 1959).
It was then handed over to a range of local charities to act as a resource centre. It's been beautifully restored.
From being a major junction, Bourne is no longer on the railway network. It has reverted to being a sleepy market town with some delightful architecture.
Sorry about some of the weirdness in those photos (see especially the 2nd one) -- it was a new memory card that turned out to be faulty. Not my fault, honest, Guv.
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