George Bass.

George Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet about 20 miles from Boston. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6 and he and his Mother moved to Boston. He attended Boston Grammar School and later trained in medicine at the hospital at Boston. At the age of 18 he was accepted in London as a member of the Company of Surgeons, and in 1794 he joined the Royal Navy as a surgeon.

George Bass.

 

He arrived in Sydney on HMS Reliance on 7 September 1795. Also on the voyage was Matthew Flinders. Together with Flinders, he sailed more than 18 000 kilometres exploring the coastline of Australia and proved that Tasmania was an island. Soon after they arrived in Australia, Bass and Flinders explored the coastline south of Sydney in a tiny boat called the Tom Thumb. Bass who was 24, and Flinders who was only 21 were both very adventurous. Very few people would have had the courage to sail into the open sea in such a small boat. During this trip they explored the land south of Sydney and found land suitable for settlement.

Memorial in St. Botolphs church (The Stump).

 

In 1797 Bass left Sydney in a whaleboat. He took with him 6 sailors and 6 weeks' supply of food. Before reaching Western Port, he came across a party of 7 escaped convicts and promised to rescue them on his return. He then sailed on to Western Port on the southern coast of Australia. Strong winds forced him to stay here for nearly 2 weeks. Bass suspected that there must be a strait of water separating the mainland from Tasmania (then called Van Diemen's land). He rescued the convicts on his way back and sailed back to Port Jackson, after exploring 300 miles of previously unknown coastline. In 1798, Bass and Flinders set off in the Norfolk to sail around Van Diemen's Land. The Norfolk was the first boat to be built in the colony and was built by the prisoners on Norfolk Island. Bass and Flinders discovered and explored the Tamar River. They then spent another 3 weeks mapping the north coast of Tasmania before they sailed down the west coast. They sailed down the Derwent River where Hobart now stands and then set sail for Sydney. They had proved that Van Diemen's Land was an island by sailing right round it. Flinders named the strait, Bass Strait, after George Bass. The discovery of this strait meant that ships could save days when sailing to England, by sailing straight along the south coast, rather than right around the bottom of Tasmania. This was their last voyage together. Bass sailed from Sydney in 1803 to travel to South America. He disappeared and was never heard of again.

 

Bass lived for a time at the Crown and Anchor in London Road Boston, the pub is now demolished but this sign was saved and embedded in the wall at the site.

Some pubs claims to fame

THE MILL, SPILSBY ROAD.

In October 1933 Johnny Cuthbert, the then light-weight boxing champion of England became licensee of the Mill Inn down Spilsby Road. Even then he was no stranger to Boston as he had spent many hours around the area fishing with his Father and manager Jack. He was a holder of the Lonsdale belt and said it would occupy a place of honour at the Mill.

Johnny Cuthbert

                                                 THE THREE TUNS, MARKET PLACE.

In this house Oliver Cromwell slept the night before the battle of Winceby— at least so says tradition: we do not know whether it was a public-house at that time, but it was one in 1799, and had been so for many years, and known as the Three Tuns.                          

            Above: The Three Tuns, Market Place, Boston.

               Below: This Cafe is on the site of the Three Tuns.

THE BELL, MARKET PLACE.

John Foxe was born on this site ( the present Stump and Candle pub) and after the Bible his "Book of Martyrs" was possibly the most widely read book in English during the reign of Elizabeth I. Those who could read learned the full details of the atrocities performed on the Protestant reformers during the previous reign, while the illiterate could  see from the simple illustrations the various instruments of torture such as the rack, the stocks and ultimately the flames. The book is in many ways a work of propaganda by Protestants against the pro-Catholic rule of Queen Mary (Bloody Mary), and against the Papacy in general.

Above: John Foxe.

Below: A page from the book.

THE CROWN & ANCHOR, LONDON ROAD.

The site of the Crown & Anchor Tavern, posibly known as the Rope & Anchor Tavern was the home of George Bass (1771 -1803) surgeon and navigator who discovered the Bass Straights and played a Signifcant part in the history of Tasmania and Victoria, Australia. He attended Boston Grammar School and later trained in medicine at the hospital at Boston.

George Bass.

After writing the above about George Bass I received the following from ROBIN and I totally agree, it's nice to learn something new Robin, thanks.

Hi Billy regarding George Bass and his connection with the Crown & Anchor had you realised that the cast iron sign and plaque seem to be displayed on the wrong site?. The Crown and Anchor in the time of George Bass was at 16 Skirbeck Quarter and remained as a Coaching Inn up to 1850 when the licence was tranfered to another house at 20 Skirbeck Quarter which is the site where the sign now resides. As Bass was last seen alive in Feb 1805 it follows that the Crown & Anchor where he lived in Boston must have been number 16 with number 20 only becoming the pub of that name some 45 years after his last sighting. The Crown & Anchor of Bass,s time still stands in the row of old boarded up buildings, its coach archway still in place. It looks as if this is where the old sign and plaque should be on.