Look and learn.

This edited article about the British town of Boston originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 920 published on 8 September 1979. 

One of the biggest cities on the East Coast of the United States is the port of Boston. But, like so many place names in the United States, Boston takes its name from a town in England.

England’s Boston is a small town situated a short distance away from the sea in the county of Lincolnshire. From here came some of the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed in the Mayflower. Today their American descendants still return to gaze in awe at this ancient town, where the only “skyscraper” to be seen is the Boston “Stump”.

This rather inappropriate name is the local term for one of the most famous landmarks in the whole county – the soaring, lantern tower of Boston’s medieval cathedral. From the top, you can see as far as Lincoln, fifty kilometres away. The summit is visible from more than a third of the county and is a useful landmark for ships at sea as well.

The money to pay for this magnificent cathedral came from the wool trade with the Continent, particularly with Belgium and Holland. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Boston was second only to London in the volume of trade it handled each year.

Over the following centuries, however, the importance of the wool trade declined, and with it went Boston’s prosperity.

Today, Boston is still an important town – several agricultural markets and fairs are held here each year – but it has been sadly left behind by its bigger, brasher offspring in the United States.

Some Oddments.

 An old bottle.

Thanks to Tony Pygott who informed me that William Towell was landlord at the Lord Nelson in 1841, the pub having previously been in the hands on Ann Towell in the 1820's and 30's. The pub brewed its own beer and was still brewing 30 years later. This dates the bottle to the middle of the 1800's. 

 A Steam train at the station.

 A jug with the Stump printed on it.

 A model of a Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Co. goods wagon, the type that would have been used in Boston.

 A mug with the Boston Coat of Arms.

 Boston station, looking toward West Street crossing, c. 1965.

 Above and below: Boston Barracudas speedway badges.

 Below: The Boston Bowling Club badge.

Below: A postcard c. 1917.

Below: A platform ticket for Boston Station.

Lightning strike.

In May 1908 a thunderstorm which passed over Lincolnshire did some serious damage to the tower of Boston Stump. During the height of the storm a tremendous crack of thunder, preceded by a blinding flash of lightning, was heard.

The inhabitants rushed out of houses and shops, to find that the tower of the church had been struck. One of the pinnacles at the top of the tower was dislodged, and the main portion of the masonry, half a ton in weight, crashed through the lead roof of the belfry and, striking the bells, caused them to ring. Other portions of the masonry fell on the pavement outside the church, a much frequented causeway, but fortunately no one was injured.

On a previous occasion in August 1900, while the congregation was at service, a pinnacle crashed through the roof of the tower and the church, falling near the font, and also in July 1893, the pinnacle at the south-east corner of the tower was lopped off by a storm and hurled into the narrow thoroughfare through the churchyard and embedded itself in the pavement. This was the same pinnacle that was struck in May 1908, but then it fell inwards on the roof of the belfry, crashing through the lead work in two places and tearing away a large portion of the timber roof. One of the beams fell on a bell, and the strange note it produced was heard all over the town above the din of the storm, and added to the weirdness of the scene.

The 1908 one, happened on a Wednesday market day and of course the town was crowded with people from surrounding towns and villages, and several of them actually witnessed the striking of the tower. Two ladies, visitors to the town, had a very narrow escape. They had been up the tower to look at the surrounding scenery, and were descending when the storm commenced, and had barely reached the floor of the church when the total shock occurred. Part of the dislodged pinnacle fell into the churchyard, and buried itself in the ground between the footpath and the church wall. A piece of stone struck the iron rails on the church side of the pathway and bent them, and then rebounded into the west doorway. Smaller fragments were hurled for many yards, and it was surprising that no one was injured. The greater portion, however, fell inward and crashed through the lead roof of the belfry in two places.

At first it was feared that the interior of the church was damaged, pieces of plaster had fallen from the roof but otherwise no damage was done.  The tower was filled with smoke and for a time it was feared that the lightning had set fire to the belfry. Mr Hackford and some others immediately went up the tower to investigate, and were confronted with an almost overpowering smell of sulphur, but fortunately there was no fire.

July Oddments.

This is NOT Boston Stump!! It is Harkness Tower, a prominent structure at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

The tower was constructed between 1917 and 1921 and was donated to Yale by Anna Harkness in honour of her recently deceased son, Charles William Harkness.

James Rogers, who designed the tower and many of Yale's "Collegiate Gothic" structures, said it was inspired by Boston Stump, the tower of the parish church of St. Botolph in Boston Lincolnshire.

 

Below is a picture sent to me by Karen Loveley, a descendant of the Loveley family that had the dining rooms in the Market Place, showing the crockery used in the business.

 

 

Below: Building work (maybe the Tudor Room extension) on the now demolished Hessle pub. The landlord, Jimmy Hickinbottom (an old school-friend of mine) is in the centre among other well known builders in the town.

Date to the photo anyone?

 

Below: A pair of oak candle sticks marked on the base as being made from restored oak from Boston Stump in 1930-31.

 

Below: The Market Place in 1936.

 

Mishaps.

Yesterday (Monday 25th March 2013) an articulated lorry driver took a wrong turn into Powell Street Boston, a narrow street  which is also a dead end. As he tried to reverse out he got caught up in overhead wires, which were attached to a chimney on one of houses, this pulled the stack off the roof and on to the residents caravan causing damage. No-one was hurt in the incident and the driver can take comfort to know that he is not the first to suffer in Boston's streets.
I remember in the 1980's when C.B. radios were popular, one driver was asking for directions and someone just for a laugh (Boston sense of humour?) sent him completely out of his way and he ended up in the narrow road that is at the side of the Stump.
Another two incidents were caught on film, the first happened round about 1978 when the lorry below got stuck in Mitre Lane off Strait Bargate. This in itself would be bad enough but remember this is now a pedestrian area and in those days had two way traffic running through it!!

The picture below was taken in 1993, what a place to have a crash!! Right on the West Street railway crossing!!

 

 

 

New year oddments.

Bryan Lea sent me a link to the following picture of the tug " Finlay " under construction at Scotts Bowling's yard on Clydeside  in 1913. Finlay was the resident tug at Boston Docks for many years. 

Above: The Finlay.

Below: A Victorian ribbon plate with the Stump on it.

Below: The Municipal Buildings in a traffic free West Street !!

Below: A steam engine belonging to Crawfords of Frithville, nr. Boston.

Oddments.

A few spare oddments.

 

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/aearchive/8029370279/

This photograph is believed to have been taken in about August 1926, possibly at the opening of the playing field, which was situated next to the Black Sluice Bridge on London Road, Boston. Children from St. Thomas’ School and the surrounding area enjoyed the play area for many years until it was closed.
In the front row - Phyllis Charlton, Frank and Eva Chapman, Cyril Handley, Ron Diggins, Charles Atkinson, Terry Corrigan, Eric Stray, Ralph Broadley, Ruby Parker, Peggy Kemp, Ray Popple, (?) Clayton, (?) Barwick, Doris Bagley, Doreen Wain (baby in pram) and Elsie Patchett.
Others on the photograph are Gertie Bourne, Ethel Hunt, Barbara and Doug Baxter, Maurice East, Ralph Buff, Dick Hammond (on rings) and Jack Fletcher.

The demolition of the cattle pens in Wide Bargate about 1974.

 

 

Undated photo of marching dockers taken outside what looks like the Co-op Stores in West Street.

 

 

An unknown bus driver and conductress taken outside the Post Office in Wide Bargate.

 

An advert for Hubbert's Hairdressing Saloon.

 

 

An undated photo of an old T.V. detector van down Tower Street.

 

 

 

 The Stump and the river.

Boston's Bells.

 

Some of the old Stump bellringers.

 

Mr. James Martin Rylatt of  'Pierrepont House', Sydney Street, was a bellringer at the Stump. He was educated at the St. James' School and upon leaving there was apprenticed to a Joiner in Wormgate. Leaving here he was next employed by the Great Northern Railway Co., and after 49 years of service with them he retired in June 1921. He died in September 1929 aged 78, but up to the time of his death he was in very good health, evidenced by the fact that he had been a ringer at the Boston Parish Church for over 60 years, and even at such an advanced age he ascended the tower twice each Sunday. Altogether, it is estimated that he must have ascended to the belfry tower well over 6,000 times.

In July 1932 the bells of the Stump were sent to Taylors of Loughborough to be recast.

 

 

The bells being lowered down.

 

 

The bells at Boston Station.

 

 

At the foundery.

 

 

Close up of one of the bells, notice that the people of Boston Massachusetts helped with the cost.

 

Tidy up

Just found a few bits and pieces while cleaning up my hard drive so have put them together to tidy them up.

 

Barrett's old premises in Witham Town.

 

 

The old "Danger Slow" sign at the bottom of Sluice Bridge that was used before the traffic lights were put up.

 

 

The Hospital Lane footbridge over the Maud Foster showing it was cast at Butterley in 1811.

 

 

A Boston painting.

 

 

The old Main Ridge painted street name near Pump Square.

 

 

Painting of Boston.

 

 

The Stump.

 

 

The Stump and river.

 

 

A painting of the dock.

 

Boston and J.B. Priestley

J.B. Priestley visited Boston in December 1933 and in his book "English Journey" describes the town as follows.

"...........The train curved round and then I saw, for the first time, that astonishing church tower known as Boston Stump. This tower is not quite three hundred feet high but nevertheless, situated as it is, it looked to me more impressive, not as a piece of architecture, but simply as a skyscraper, than the Empire State Building in New York, with its eleven hundred feet. It is all a matter of contrast. Here the country is flat, you have seen nothing raised more than twenty or thirty feet from the ground for miles and miles and then suddenly this tower shoots up to nearly three hundred feet. The result is that at first it looks as high as a moutain..........."
Mr. Priestley then goes on to describe market day in Boston:-

"The square was filled with stalls, and any remaining space in the centre of the town was occupied by either broad faced beefy farmers and their men, or enormous bullocks. My hotel was in the Market Square and it was so crowded with farmers and farm hands clamouring for beer, that it was not easy to get in at all. Never have I seen more broad red faces in a given cubic capacity".
Next he visited the Scala Cinema's cafe.

"......I went into the cinema cafe for tea. There were some rural folk in there and as I waited for tea I wondered why countrymen should so often have such high pitched voices. Two tables near me were occupied by girls and it was curious to see how carefully they had modelled their appearences on those of certain film stars. It was only the girls here, however, who had this cosmopolitan appearence, the young men looked their honest, broad, red-faced, East Anglian selves. What a mad mixture it all is, in this remote and decayed little town, the tremendous church tower, the chandlers and corn merchants, the farmers and bullocks, floods of beer, the imitation Greta Garbos alongside the time-old rural figures."

When the Germans conquered England

What's this? A German sentry at the top of Wormgate, which has a strange foreign name plaque?

German soldiers marching past the Blenkin Memorial Hall toward the Market Place?

No, these are stills from the film "One of our aircraft is missing" which was filmed during the second world war in Boston. They needed a Dutch town and of course couldn't go to Holland to get the real thing because the Germans occupied Holland at the time so, with Boston having some Dutch styled architecture, the Dutch scenes were filmed in Boston. Scenes of the Stump and of the swing bridge were also included in the film
Googie Withers played the lead feminine role