Although planned for several years from the early 1830s, it was not until May 1840 that the Bourne Gas and Coke Company was established, with the intention of providing gas to users in the town. This location on the corner of Eastgate and Spalding Road was chosen for the site of the gas works, with the church in Bourne thought to have been one of the first recipients of the gas produced in October 1841. The works were expanded in the mid 1860s with the installation of a new gasholder on land to the north of Spalding Road. The works were acquired by Bourne Urban District Council in 1919, before being nationalised in 1949, becoming part of the East Midlands Gas Board. Production at the site is recorded to have stopped at some point in 1957 or 1958. Almost all of the former works buildings have since been demolished, with only a single red brick structure (thought to have been a possible retort house) still extant (see MLI125938). {1}{2}{3}