As Bournes Moves celebrates a century and a half in Rye, Kirsty Parsons looks back at the series of properties in and around the town that formed the backbone of the family business.
Last week, in the first of two articles, we shared stories about the firm’s humble beginnings in Bridge Place and the later moves to Tower Street and Eagle Road in Rye. This week we bring story up to date with the Bournes’ buildings of today at Rye Harbour – and before it alongside the river at Rock Channel.
Rock Channel (1970–2016) from shiplap sheds to a bustling, diversified hub
The story of Bournes at Rock Channel begins in the early 1900s, when Tom Bourne senior first acquired a plot of land known as the Hoop Yard. This early acquisition remained in family hands for decades before becoming central to the company’s modernisation efforts.
In 1970, T. Bourne & Son Ltd formally purchased the site as part of its strategic growth. At that time, Rock Channel was derelict and largely undeveloped, consisting of “old shiplap sheds” and rough terrain. Despite its state, it was ideally located for expansion. The purchase was a significant investment in the future of the business.
The site at Rock Channel before development by Bournes in the early 1970s.
Development occurred in multiple stages over the next two decades. To begin construction, the company was required to install a new road. “The plans were passed with the condition that a highways standard two carriageway road was laid across the site, with appropriate drainage connection prior to commencement of any building structure,” says Eric Bourne from the family firm.
The new road provided proper access and enabled work to begin on the first warehouse and office building, which became operational shortly after the second fire at Eagle Road in 1974. This space temporarily housed both the company’s office and goods in storage, allowing for a staged relocation.
In the years that followed, a second warehouse was constructed to the west of the first. As a result, the road was moved again in 1981, this time closer to the riverbank, to allow both buildings to sit side by side and creating a second entrance allowing safer movement of commercial vehicles whilst allowing car traffic.
Eventually, a link building was added between the two warehouses. This not only unified the layout but also helped improve operational efficiency and provided a covered vehicle maintenance area in the middle. The final development was a third warehouse designed to fill the narrow space available on the eastern boundary to provide materials storage.
By the 1980s Rock Channel had become a bustling centre of business with the depot playing host to a wide range of activity beyond removals and furniture storage including several commercial logistics contracts. At one point, it was even used to store Tom Smith Christmas crackers, which were dispatched in volume during the festive season – a job the current 5th generation owners and operators Wesley, Leon and Tom Bourne remember fondly as one of their first experiences helping out with their fathers’ business.
Whilst operations moved to the new Rye Harbour depot in the early 1990s to facilitate further growth, Bournes retained the site for storage alongside operating the relocated Rye Auction Galleries (previously at Cinque Ports Street) in the building before that part of the business was eventually closed. The property was sold in 2016 and is currently home to the Winery tap room. The legacy of the Rock Channel years – its redevelopment, its role in Rye’s business life, and the community activity it hosted – remains an important chapter in the Bournes story.
The Wool Store, Winchelsea Road (1950s–1988) – a modest but vital storage site
To cope with rising demand for furniture storage, Bournes leased and then purchased from Dick Merricks The Wool Store on Winchelsea Road in the early 1960s. The building had no electricity or plumbing and a sloping earth floor – far from ideal – but improvements followed, including a concrete floor in 1963 and power supply.
Eric remembers when the company first moved in. “The original Rye Dragon, built by Frances Bellhouse of Monkbretton Bridge Garage was stored on the ground floor of the Wool Store for a few years – I remember sitting in it to play, swinging the front end around!”
Though rustic, the site served the company well until its sale in 1988, by which time plans for a purpose-built depot at nearby Rye Harbour were underway. Today the property has been redesigned to provide two private homes.
Rye Harbour (1988–Present) – a purpose-built future
By the mid-1980s, Bournes was facing the limitations of its existing properties and had started to run out of space at Rock Channel. None of the existing sites fully met the needs of a modern removals and storage business and so the time had come for a purpose-designed facility.
The Rye Harbour site was acquired and plans drawn up for a modern depot, tailored specifically to the operational needs of the company.
The new depot offered:
Purpose-built storage areas, allowing more efficient use of space
Improved access for large vehicles, a major constraint at earlier town-centre
sites
Centralised operations, bringing together administrative offices and
warehousing
In 1990, the Rye Harbour facility officially opened. It quickly became the operational
heart of the business, supporting local, national, and international removals, as well
as growing storage services.
Bournes new warehouse in Rye Harbour provided vast storage for wooden containers that could be loaded directly onto vehicles to minimise handling. The opening also allowed the company to consolidate and eventually dispose of its other, more constrained depots including the Wool Store and, later, Rock Channel.
Rye Harbour continues to be Bournes’ home today – serving as the company’s local depot for East Sussex, the head office for its European and international operations, and supporting local branches in Aylesbury, Tunbridge Wells and Cranleigh, as the company continues to evolve into the future.
What’s your story? At 150 years old, Bournes is probably the oldest firm in Rye so many in the Rye community will have their own memories of these places—whether working at the depots, visiting the auction gallery, or seeing the lorries pass through town. Leave a comment below as we continue to reflect on the town’s shared history.
Image Credits: Bournes .