Football Programmes / old companies.

Andrew Butler kindly sent me these pictures from his large collection of old Boston United Football programmes, it is interesting to see which firms have gone out of business and I have shown a few that are advertised in the Programmes.

The only ones above remaining in 2012 are The Britannia Inn and H.H. Adkins

Loveley's cafe in the Market Place.

Hutson's, 11, Wide Bargate on the left. This building was at one time the Woolpack Inn.

A 1927 Programme.

The Red Lion Hotel.

Cheshire's can just be seen on the extreme right.

King's Cafe.

Hayward and Towell's South Square premises.

Red Lion "Bus"

In July 1964 Mr. Arthur Windley, a poultry farmer of Mareham-le-Fen bought the remains of a horse drawn 'bus' which was being auctioned at Frampton. Mr. Windley managed to get the bus for nine shillings and even he at the time described it as "a heap of firewood" So why so much interest then? Well, the old horse drawn bus, minus chassis and forecarriage (which was eventually got to Mr. Windleys farmyard at Mareham) was one of Boston's two Red Lion buses which used to transport passengers from the Red Lion Hotel to the Railway Station.
Mr Windley was hoping to rebuild the bus to its original state, "It's in a terrible state, I'm going to have to spend a lot of money to restore it", he said.
I don't know whether Mr. Windley did restore the vehicle or not, maybe someone out there knows the outcome of this story?

The horse drawn vehicle (above right) in the picture was a Red Lion Hotel bus.

Red Lion demolition

June 1959 saw the demolition of the Red Lion in Strait Bargate, one of the towns oldest Pubs.

As is usual in Boston this lovely old building with so much character was replaced by what can only be described as a box, in this case a new Woolworths store.

Above: The back view of the Red Lion as it was being demolished.

Below: The same scene as it looked in 2010.

Below: Customers at the Red Lion in the 1950's.

On a plaque inside the new Woolworth's was put the following inscription.

On this site once stood THE RED LION TAVERN recorded in the compotus of Saint Mary’s Guild 1515 as “the Hospitium of the Red Lion in Bargate” It then belonged to that Guild, as it also did in 1524. In 1640 it was said to have formerly belonged to the Sibsey family, having been sold by Ralph Poole to Richard Sibsey and Johan his wife in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The site is now (in 2011) a QD store.

Mason's Corner

In July 1933 the shops of Messrs. Mason’s and Mr. S.T. Hopper were set back ten feet from the then building line.

Above and below: The corner before the change.

An empty shop between the two was absorbed and, in consequence, Mason’s increased its floor space by one third and Hopper’s also had an increase, as well as this both were given an extra floor to provide extra accommodation.

After the changes.

Mason’s shoe shop was started in 1884, but prior to that the business was conducted in Church Street.
Mr. Hopper said that he was hoping to make the first floor showrooms and have workrooms above.
It was hoped at the time that it would result in a much improved corner, wider thoroughfare at this point and an impressive new frontage.
When the Red Lion was demolished and a new Woolworths store was built in its place it was also put in line with Mason's and Hoppers as this 1980's picture below shows.

Description of The Peacock and the Red Lion (1904)

A description of the Peacock and Royal and the Red Lion in 1904 by an American visitor Josephine Tozier.

The Peacock and Royal.

The front is decorated by bright flowers and long trailing vines growing from the window-boxes on the balconies, and above all is a most gorgeous sign of the most gorgeous of birds, from which it takes its name. We ate our comfortable little dinner in the coffee-room……it was nine o'clock before we left the table. We were too tired to explore Boston's winding ways, and, as it was too early for bed, I had this time secured a large front room looking over the market-place, and my sleepy friends soon found entertainment there.

The sound of a twanging banjo, which came from beneath our window, gathered the few stragglers in the market-place into a circle around the door of the Peacock. We could not see the musician from our window, but he broke forth as soon as the audience had gathered into the usual sentimental ballad dear to English ears. Some boys, with dogs at their heels, formed the outside of the meagre crowd, and then from a side street came belated mothers, pushing their babies home in perambulators. Polly says that at no hour in the twenty-four are English streets entirely free from perambulators, and, late as it was, three of these useful carriages joined the circle, the mothers, in true Boston fashion, being unable to resist music. The audience grew larger and the circle wider; the songs were succeeded by dialogues, and coppers rained plentifully into the collector's hand, until a baby set up an opposition concert, and an enterprising dog was encouraged by the noise to fight his four-legged neighbour. During the rumpus which succeeded, the musicians vanished. The dog riot was finally quelled, the babies trundled home, and the market-place in a few minutes was absolutely deserted for the night.

The Red Lion.

The Red Lion Inn, which faces the Narrow Bargate, has a more venerable exterior than the Peacock, but a decidedly decayed interior. It owns to the age of four hundred years, so no wonder that it is neither very clean nor very modern at the present time. It was formerly the property of one of the Boston guilds, and in the inn yard strolling players were wont to perform for the delight of all Boston.
There is still a very stern, solemn, Puritanical look about the dull little Holland-like city, in spite of the numerous houses of entertainment. Some of these rejoice in extraordinary names. There is "The Axe and Cleaver," "The Loggerhead," "The Indian Queen," "The Ram," "The Whale," "The Unicorn," "The Red Cow," "The Blue Lion," and "The Black Bull." They all furnish abundant liquid refreshment, with our favourite "The Rum Puncheon," and the picturesque "Angel." Even the streets have delicious names: "Paradise Lane," and "Pinfold Alley," "Liquor Pond Street" and "Silver Street," "The Worm Gate," "The Bar Gate," Wide, and Narrow, and "Robin Hood's Walk." There is "Pump Square," there is "Fish Toft Road," and in quaint "Spain Lane," in a house since demolished, until she was fourteen years old, lived Jean Ingelow, the writer. Boston is proud of its literary celebrities, and has erected a statue to Herbert Ingram, the founder of the London Illustrated News.

Royal Mail from Boston

Letters from Boston to London were first conveyed by coach on 5^th July 1807, before that date they were carried by a man on horseback to Stilton (near Peterborough) from where they were forwarded by one of the Northern Mails.
Many coaches were subsequently run from and through Boston to London and elsewhere, carrying passengers and goods. The Red Lion and Peacock were famous posting houses and the White Hart and the White Horse also had their share of the business.
The coaches advertised in the period included the “Perseverance” the “Undaunted Perseverance” the “New Resolution” the “True Briton”, the “Prince Blucher” and “Tally Ho”, running from Boston in all directions except perhaps Lincoln which was served by the river packets.
It is possible to approximately fix the date of the Boston Market Place scene shown below. The Royal Arms appear on the door of the coach, and the Royal cypher, “W.R.”, under the driver’s box, indicates William IV, whose reign terminated in 1837.

Congregational church

The Congregational Church in Red Lion Street was opened on November 21st, 1850 and was designed by Mr. Stephen Lewin.

It occupied the site of an old theatre (near the present site of the N.C.P. car park) and some of the materials from this were re-used where suitable in the new building.

Above: the Congregational church, top centre with the spire.

The church was approached by a flight of seventeen steps, and the tower contained a staircase. The main entrance had a semicircular doorway and above this there was a large rose window.
The tower, with the exception of the sills to the windows, was entirely constructed of brick, of a tint approaching that of stone.
The interior of the church was divided by two aisles into three divisions of seats.
The exterior length of the church was 62 feet and the width 37 feet 6 inches. By the time the photo below was taken the tower had disappeared and the church itself was demolished in the 1960's.

More Pub Pics

Some more of Boston's old Pubs.

The Red Lion in Strait Bargate which was pulled down to make way for the Woolworth's store.

The Bell, in the Market Place, near to the present site of the Stump and Candle.

The Ropers Arms on Horncastle Road.

The Ostrich, on the site now occupied by the Herbert Ingram statue.

The Axe and Cleaver in West Street.