Hildred Brothers.

Mr. David Foreman sent me these pictures of his old Hildred Brothers (Boston) piano which is still in good condition but he is giving to a friend and replacing it with a new one.

Hildred Brothers shop was at No. 6, Market Place, Boston and was the middle property of three that once stood on the site of the present Marks and Spencers store.

Below: The makers name on Mr. Foreman's piano.

 

Boston Guardian

The Boston Guardian newspaper began in 1854 and ran for over a hundred years until 1958, here are some snippets from one of the early issues dated April 19th. 1854.

There is an announcement that Steam Packets for Lincoln leave the Grand Sluice every morning at nine 'o' clock (Sundays excepted) arriving in Lincoln in time for trains to all parts of the Kingdom. Packets also left Lincoln for Boston at ten 'o' clock each day and arrived at Boston at four 'o' clock in the afternoon.

The advertisement columns provide many reflections of Boston life at this period, for one guinea Mr. Charles Ridgway taught Polka in six lessons, Mr. Keller had a musical warehouse in High Street, a library for subscribers and he was an insurance agent as well and Mr. J. Buck of Strait Bargate sold pianos at his music room. Music was not on tap in those days and people had to make their own.
The Pleasure Gardens at Vauxhall, Skirbeck, were re-opening, the Yacht Club were entertaining their Commodore to a public dinner at the White Hart and tenders were required for the building of the Corn Exchange and the Athenaeum. Mr. S. Southwell, hair cutter and wig maker of West Street not only made ladies and gentlemen's wigs but had private hair-cutting rooms next door to the Mansion, West Street. I wonder what became of the Mansion?
The old Guardian referred to was printed by Robert Roberts, in Strait Bargate, but for many years the Guardian had its works in West Street, the building (on the left in the picture below) was demolished and the Pizza Hut now stands in its place.

M & S Corner

In the far corner of the Market Place, next to Petticoat Lane is Marks and Spencer’s modern shop which takes up three sites (see inside blue square of picture below) of Boston’s past.

The Corn Exchange Hotel was on the first site, a nice old building with Mr. Fountain’s tobacconist shop incorporated into it.

Next door, and occupying site two was Hildred’s piano shop who boasted that they had the “best selection in the Eastern Counties”

The Green Dragon public house (no known pictures and dating from at least 1590) occupied the third site and this was demolished in the 1850’s. On its site was built the Athenaeum Rooms, pictured below.

 The first floor contained a reading-room, library, etc. and the second floor a lecture room, apparatus, and instruments. The Athenaeum building occupied an area of sixty feet by thirty-six feet, with a height of fifty-three feet. Twenty-six feet of the ground-floor was occupied as a shop, and the remaining ten feet formed an entrance which can still be seen today. Later on in time this building became the New Theatre.

Above: The New Theatre.

Below: Mark's and Spencers today, covering the three sites.