Sammy Tonge

In 1909 Samuel Tonge was Boston's oldest worker. Everyone who knew him and admired him called him Sammy and he was 87 years of age in 1909. When he was 3 months old his parents moved to Boston from Peterborough where he was born in 1822. His father was an agricultural labourer and Sammy's life was rough and hard, but he weathered every storm and enjoyed the best of health. He was at work every day, employed by the Corporation to look after the cleanliness of the pontoon on Boston Dock, and his work was a credit to himself and to those who employed him. The conscientious manner in which he discharged his duties was known to everyone who had business at the fish dock.

When he was a boy he worked for Mr Jones, a Cooper, in Rosegarth Street, for a shilling a week. At that time the price of bread was Elevenpence 'aipenny per quartern loaf and onion gruel was the popular fare at  breakfast. He and his parents were then living in the now departed "Groom's Alley*" Subsequently he went to work with his father on the land, and later was employed in a brickyard in Butt Lane*.

He didn't take to carrying bricks and so he ran away to sea. He went on Mr J. King's fishing smack for a start he was 13 years of age at that time. Afterwards he served on the "Daisy", of Boston, under Captain Lister, trading between Boston and Stockton, carrying corn from Boston to Stockton, and coals from Stockton to Boston. Then he was on the "Blessing", with Capt. Sissons, trading between Boston and Lincoln, and later he was mate of the schooner "Ellen," of which Mr. Baldwin was the skipper. He continued to go to sea until about 1889 when he obtained his position with the Corporation.

By 1909 Sammy was living with his son Chris, in Tuxford Terrace, Mount Bridge. He had been twice married and by his first wife he had four children all of whom were dead. He had been on a voyage in the "Princess Royal," of Hull, and returned from Oporto to receive the news that his wife and children had died during his absence. His second wife had died 16 years previously and by her he had 10 children, seven of whom, four sons and three daughters, were living, plus he had 29 grandchildren.

He was known to like singing his favourite song "The Lass o' Glasgow Town," and was once a champion hornpipe dancer.

The old age pension had just been introduced and asked if he had one he replied, "What do you think? I can earn my own living. I am an old sailor!" 

Groom's Alley is unknown to me.

Butt Lane is now Carlton Road.

The last two men in Boston Stocks

The Stocks on Bargate green are a grim reminder of a punishment of times past, but have you ever wondered what kind of person was punished this way? Well, the last two people in Boston to be put in the stocks were "Barber Joe" and "Squealy Green".

The old Stocks in Wide Bargate.

Squealy Green was a queer fellow, him and his wife used to bury the stray cats and dogs for the Corporation but he would then go with a rake and get them up again, and then  they had to be buried once more which meant double fees. Eventually the Corporation found him out and Green was marched to the stocks.
Barber Joe is believed to be the very last to go to the stocks, he used to go to the Angel Inn (below) and shave the countrymen in the Tap Room. He would take his shaving tin in his pocket and put it on the Tap Room fire to boil and when the water was hot set to business.

The Angel Inn, Market Place, Boston.

It was a regular barber's shop on a Saturday night. He did very well but was not satisfied and started shaving on a Sunday morning in his own house at the back of the White Hart, that made the other barbers jealous, and they laid a complaint, and Barber Joe was put in the stocks one Monday morning.
Jim Maline and Joe Ashton were the two constables who put him in the stocks and they had to stand by him all the time he was there. People kept throwing pennies and half-pennies which the constables picked up but Barber Joe raved and shouted and made them put the money on the post in readiness for himself later.
So there you have it, Squealy Green and Barber Joe, two of old Boston's historical people who deserve to be up there with Herbert Ingram, Jean Ingelow and the rest of them.

Neglecting Boston's history

The neglect of Boston's history is nothing new, when the Court Room in the Guildhall was dismantled in 1878 an old turned oak balustrade was removed and for the next 33 years formed part of Mr. G.E. Hackford's garden fence on the Haven Bank !!

Fortunately in June 1911 it was rescued by the Boston Antiquarian Society and given to the Corporation and it was hoped that the old balustrade would find a resting place in the Peoples Park (near the old General Hospital and swimming baths) where it would be a suitable addition to the memorial archway (pictured below) made from the oak timber removed from St. George's Hall in the 1890's. I don't know if they actually did this with the balustrade, maybe someone out there knows?

The past looking down on us

I took all the following pictures within the last couple of months which proves that the past is all around us if we look around.

This drainpipe is on the house next to Rob and Jan's shop in High Street, we have guttering older than the U.S.A. !!!

Cheer's and Son's, the tailors, traded for years in West Street (in the premises now trading as West Street Furnishings) and their painted sign can still be seen on the brickwork.

Johnson's Seeds, established in 1820, once had a shop where the Waterfront pub is now.

Above and Below: These date plaques are from the old General Hospital and have been put into the houses that were built on its site.

Below: And a bit further on are the old Corporation Baths.

Castle on the The Town Bridge

This unique picture of a busy shipping scene near the Town Bridge was the work of William Brand and was published in 1795. The Corporation Buildings on the right were erected in 1772 and the Assembly Rooms had not yet been built. It also shows the old wooden bridge with its lamp standards, but the most remarkable thing about the picture is the appearance in it of the castle like tower at the West end of the bridge , from which Stanbow, or “Stonebow” Lane probably derived its name. This is the only known picture to show this structure. On page 251 of Pishey Thompson's History of Boston he writes "The bridge being in a very ruinous state, and in danger of falling, was taken down in 1629, and a new one erected. This bridge had a stone gateway standing across it, and it is probable from this circumstance, that the lane called Stanbow Lane, which would be very near the western extremity of the bridge, has derived its name."

The Town Bridge

The Town Bridge.

From well before 1795 the wooden bridge (below) spanned the river from High Street to the Market Place and after many expensive repairs, the last of which was in that year and cost about £500, it was agreed, in 1800, to take the wooden bridge down, and to replace it with a better structure.

In August 1800, the Corporation decided the new bridge (see below) should be of iron, and its building commenced in 1802. It was designed by Sir John Rennie in one arch of cast iron of 86 foot span. The site of the new iron one was a little south of the older wooden one(which remained standing until the new one was completed) and was opened on 2nd of May, 1807.

The 1807 bridge was demolished (below) in 1913.

Which made way for the building of the present Town Bridge (see both pictues below) in the same year.

 Above: Building the present Town Bridge.

Below: The present Town Bridge soon after it's opening.