Nicholas Bourne - TrustNews Mar 14
CWT Neighbourhood Studies sketch of Back Street
We were greatly saddened last year to hear of the death of the Winchester architect Nick Bourne, a long term member of the Trust. Nick was an eccentric in the best sense of the word, a man of very considerable talent, but often unconventional in his approach to architecture, sometimes surprising his colleagues at Hampshire County Council where he worked before running his own small practice.
We first came to know him well in 1996 when he volunteered - for no fee - to prepare the detailed drawings to support a Heritage Lottery Fund application for an extension to the Heritage Centre, in which we wished to house Roger Brown's magni?cent 15 foot diameter model of Winchester. This was no easy task, because the design was a round building with complicated public access and a conical roof containing audio equipment and a projector, which could superimpose on the model a wide variety of scenarios including the growth of the City over the centuries, and many exciting events in its history, such as Cromwell’s bombardment from Oliver's Battery. We obtained planning permission but sadly HLF declined to make a grant; otherwise the City would now have a handsome brick and tile ‘dovecote’ in our small car park, and a huge visitor attraction. It also means that the model still lacks a place of permanent display.
With the same generosity Nick also drew the details for the replacement front garden railings of the Eastgate Street crescent-shaped terrace, a grant-aided project led by the Trust and ‘opened’ by the Mayor, Sue Nelmes, in July 2006. Before that, we asked Nick if he would produce a short report on the group value of the Victorian villas in the Christchurch Road area at a time when the Council had given permission for a number of local demolitions. It is hard to believe now, but there were still those who believed Victorian domestic architecture was of no merit. His report helped stop the rot, and inspired by this success, Nick went on to prowl and study other areas (accosted at times as a suspicious character!) producing a fascinating series of Neighbourhood Studies published by the Trust, each liberally illustrated with his charming sketches. Experiencing some trouble in reorganizing his discs for publication, the editor obtained help from an expert, who commented that Nick in his enthusiasm had given so many conflicting instructions that his computer was exhibiting signs of nervous exhaustion!
We shall miss him.