Gypsies.

At about 10 p.m. one evening in June 1905 two families of German Gypsies entered Boston having been moved on from Wisbech. Their arrival caused much excitement in the town and large crowds followed them through the streets. They were brought to Boston, presumably, by the Wisbech Police and encamped for the night on a piece of waste land at the High Street end of Fydell Crescent.
At daybreak, many people congregated in the vicinity of the two vans inhabited by the gypsies, watching with great curiosity the strange spectacle that met their view. It was a picturesque scene, and had the surroundings been of a more rural character, would have constituted exactly a picture that an artist would love to paint. The tumble down caravans with their low arched roofs, dilapidated windows and general suggestion of age and poverty, rendered them great objects of interest. Worn and weather-beaten it was a wonder how the gypsies, having such scanty protection, had fared during the thunderstorm through which they passed the previous day on their journey from Wisbech to Boston and the pathetic and poverty stricken appearance of the gypsies provoked a feeling of sympathy in many who saw them.
Their were two families of them, a man and woman and four children in one van, and a man and woman and five children in the other. The behaviour of the gypsy children must have shocked the strict parents of Boston when seeing that youngsters from three to twelve smoked constantly. Unkempt and poorly-clad, they flitted here and there puffing away at the stale "fag ends" of cigars and cigarettes which were tossed to them by onlookers. The women, whose tanned and pleasant faces always bore a happy smile, busied themselves with telling fortunes and begging coins whilst smoking long clay pipes.
Conversation with the male members of the band showed that one family came from Potsdam and the other from Dresden and that they had been in England for about seven months. There were five vans originally but three of them left England for Germany, via Grimsby, a few weeks before. While in London they were told that if they could reach Grimsby the Society of Friends for the Relief of Foreigners in Distress would ship them home and they were now trying to make their way there. It was seven weeks since they had left London and they had been moved from town to town by the authorities. Their object in coming to England was to make a living by playing musical instruments but had failed to do so and now wanted to get back to their own country.
During the morning the Chief Constable (Mr. A. Adcock) intimated to the visitors that they must leave the town. Some horses belonging to Mr. Walter Woodthorpe were requisitioned and the gypsies were moved on to Stickney (a village about 10 miles from Boston) where they would no doubt be attended to by more Police. It was clearly stated that Bostonians were "glad to see the back of the Gypsies who were far from clean."

St. James's Church

Thank you to Heidi Chester for this photo of St. James’s Church in George Street. Heidi thinks the 3 storey house on the left is still there (No.9?). It is from a postcard and the post mark indicates a date of 1924.St. James’s church was a chapel of ease to the Parish Church. The foundation stone was laid on St. James’s Day 1861 and it occupied two years building. It was opened for public worship on 24^th August 1864. It was built in the Gothic style and was designed by Mr. G. Hackford, Westminster, hon. Architect.
I remember during the 1960’s little dances were held there called “Bob hops” due to the fact that it cost a shilling (a Bob) to get in, I also remember a Youth Club being held there where I first heard “Come on” (the Rolling Stones first ever record) which made me a life-long fan of the Stones!! Happy days. I think it was demolished in 1969 but am not certain.

The same view today, looking from Fydell Crescent toward the old Wickes's store.

　　

Friary Skeletons

In July 1930 Harrison & Lewin (timber merchants) of Boston were excavating for the erection of new sheds on pasture land adjoining the Workhouse on Skirbeck Road when a human skeleton was discovered four feet six inches below the surface. The site of this discovery was the old St. Augustinian Friary.
Skeletons were fairly common discoveries in Boston and, during the previous twenty or thirty years to 1930 had been dug up in all parts of the town. Fydell Crescent, part of which was the site of the old Carmelite Friary, proved to be abundant with human remains. Skeletons were found in Fydell Crescent in 1926 at a depth of four feet and twenty years before that a large skull was discovered and claimed to be that of George Ripley, a noted member of the Carmelite Friars at Boston, and an alchemist, who at one time was hailed as the discoverer of the Philosopher’s Stone. He died in 1400, and was duly buried in the Friary. The Augustinian Friars site in Boston (where the 1930 skeleton was found) was founded by the Tilney family about the time of the building of St. Botolph’s Church and was purchased at the Dissolution by the Mayor and Burgesses.
As late as the 1850’s the land between the Workhouse and St. John’s cemetery (now the playground opposite the college car park) was still known as the Augustine Friar’s Pasture.