Main Ridge and two Boston characters.

Main Ridge as it is today. Once it was all orchards and hedgerows.

At one time Main Ridge could boast of its picturesque rural surroundings. One
side of the ridge, as far as the opposite side of Pen Street corner, consisted
of luxuriant orchards, with gardens attached, which in the spring blossomed into
a perfect little Eden. It was enclosed by a hedgerow along the whole length,
with the exception of a dwelling-house occupied by the owner or tenant, situated
nearly at the top end of the garden facing the roadway. Adjacent to the gardens
was pasture land with cattle grazing. The fields were called "Fancy" Fox's
fields, and they were "claimed" by the Ridge boys for recreative purposes. Many
times the appearance of "Fancy" caused a general stampede among the lads.
Fancy was a butcher, and most eccentric in habits. He was a prominent figure in
Boston beast market, with his long white slop and top hat, and was considered a
splendid judge of cattle.
Another familiar figure in the meat trade was "Shandy" Ryan, who was possessed
of a Shakesperian turn of mind. One day when he was in Pack and Linton's,
milliners, in Strait Bargate, he saw the curtains at the end of the room of the
establishment which separated that portion as a private department, and he took
possession of these curtains,  drawing them on one side and delivering an
oration from Hamlet. Satisfying his own curiosity without the interference of
the assistants, he quietly closed the curtains and withdrew. His qualities as a
buyer of cattle were also well known.

Source : Boston Guardian 1906, Mr A.R. Parker looked back at the changes in Boston during
the years from 1850.

The Germans.

At the start of the First World War in 1914 there were two German brothers living in Boston who had been naturalised Englishmen for twenty-three years. The brothers, George and Leonard Cantenwine owned a butchers shop in High Street and late on the first Saturday night of the war a crowd attacked the shop because it was rumoured that customers had heard them expressing pro-German sentiments.
All the windows were broken and the shop looted and several of the attackers were later charged, surprisingly one of these was Alfred Harlow, another butcher.

 

Recruiting in the Market Place 1914, when there was hatred toward the German people of the town.

 

When he gave his evidence, Leonard Cantenwine asked the magistrates to be lenient and later several Boston people wrote to the press and expressed sympathy for the Cantenwine's and disgust with the rioters. In the first week of August 1918 when the war had gone on for four long years, an unsigned letter appeared in all the local papers explaining why the local farmers had not supported as well as had been expected the War Savings Campaign that summer. The writer pointed out that 'Germans' were living in Boston and had purchased farms near the military aerodrome at Freiston Shore. Leonard Cantenwine did own a small farm at Freiston and had recently bought a second at Leverton. The letter also accused these Germans of going to these farms daily in order to spy and hinted that they were preparing to assist in a landing of German troops on the coast. The writer was soon identified as Mr. Joseph Bowser J.P., also chairman of the Boston Branch of the National Farmers Union.
The Cantenwines had had enough and decided to defend themselves and started an action for libel against Mr. Bowser, The case wasn't heard until June 1919 when the war was long over. Many witnesses appeared for Mr. Bowser and they retold every little event of the war involving the Cantenwines in an attempt to show that the brothers supported Germany despite their naturalisation and, therefore, that Mr. Bowser's comments were basically true. Miss Bristowe, a barmaid at the White Hart and Walter Woodthorpe the coal merchant, told how Leonard Cantenwine in 1914 had forecast that the Germans would win the war and that he would become 'Burgermaster of Boston'.
The jury took only twenty five minutes to decide that Mr. Bowser's letter was defamatory but that the words used were fair comment on a matter of public interest. The Cantenwines were ordered to pay the entire costs of the case and it is no wonder that they soon left Boston.

Some Shops and traders

Callabys shop was on the corner of Brothertoft Road and Granville Street and was closed in 1989 and turned into residential premises. A bit further down Granville Street, to the left of this picture, was Syd Guests barber shop which was actually the front room of his house.

The Co-op opened a butchery in Laughton Road in 1938, it backed up to the original grocery store that faced onto Argyle Street (which is now Fenland Fastenings).I also remember Mr. Lee who had another butchers shop in Laughton Road and Mr. Chester who had a General Store down there.

Simpson and Son had a House and Furnishers shop at 22 Market Place near the Still pub and, according to the advert below, sold prams as well.

BUTCHERS OF OLD.

Many, many thanks to Robin Smith for these lovely pictures of some of the old butchers of West Street in days gone by when we ate Australian and New Zealand meat or Canterbury lamb. What a contrast to the food that's for sale in West Street today!!

Above and below: The Boston Meat Co.

Stanwells.

Stanwells.

Stanwells.

J.F. Allin. 63, West Street.

Charles Fleet.

The Seed Huts

The seed huts, or agricultural merchant’s huts, used to be wheeled into the town centre on market days. They had been a familiar sight for years and it was here that the merchant’s did their trading - but not everyone liked this link to Boston’s historic past. In August 1961 the residents of Sibsey Lane were angry and worried. Angry because they were woken up at half past four every Wednesday morning by clanking, squeaking and shouting as the huts were moved from their store yard at the bottom of the lane to the Market Place and worried because recently one of the huts had caused an accident where both the driver and an assistant from the butchers shop at the top of the lane had to be taken to hospital.

The Huts in the Market Place.

In 1961 it had only been fairly recently that the huts had been kept in Sibsey Lane, they used to be stored in the Peacock and Royal Hotel yard and once upon a time they were brought up to the market along Shodfriar’s Lane, which bothered no one, so people were asking why couldn’t Shodfriars Lane be used again instead of the narrower Sibsey Lane.

The Huts, the Still pub can be seen on the right.

Mr. A. Lawton, who had an office in Sibsey Lane described the noise when the huts are brought back from the market at about half past four in the afternoon as shocking and said “The row created by unoiled wheels and creaking shafts makes it impossible to speak on the telephone”.
Mr. and Mrs. Musson, who lived in cottages opposite said they were woken up soon after four‘o’clock every Wednesday morning by an unearthly row, and the whole house and everything in it begins to tremble - including their bed! There were about thirty huts they said and what with the noise of the horses, the driver shouting and the iron wheels - which sounded as though they had never been greased - the row goes on for about three hours.
Mr. S. Swift, who had a butchers shop at the top of the lane was furious about the way the huts were moved and said that one of them had recently smashed into the front of Shodfriars Hall and both the driver Jack Goddard and one of Mr. Swift’s assistants Robert Rogers had to be taken to hospital.

Mr. Swift's butcher's shop can be seen centre right, at the top of Sibsey Lane.

Mr. and Mrs. Locking, both in their eighties, lived at the bottom of the lane and got the worse of the noise, they both agreed that it would be better if they had rubber wheels instead of iron ones.
Mr. J. O’Hara, who had a betting shop in Sibsey Lane drew up a petition signed by 11 people and sent it to the Corporation but he was told that it was not their problem and should be sent to the Highways Committee.
What the outcome was and what happened to the huts I don’t know, I remember them in the Market Place well into the late sixties but, like so much of old Boston, one day you look and it’s not there any more.

The Flesh Market

This was the old Boston Flesh Market, or Butchery, it was drawn by William Brand and dated June 1806.

The Flesh Market was where all meat was bought and sold in those days, before the coming of butcher’s shops. The building was erected in 1707, and taken down in 1790. It stood near the Town Gaol forward of the present churchyard railings as can be seen on the extreme left of the picture below. Over the doorway was a symbolical coat of arms with poleaxes crossed , and a beast and sheep as supporters. Over the South entrance (to the left) was sculptured the Boston Borough Arms with the name Robert Vent, Mayor, 1707. The town stocks can be seen at the corner of the building.