The old Watch House.

The Watch House. The building on the left was then Boot's the Chemist and today is a Chinese Restaurant

This Watch House stood at the marketplace end of the old Town Bridge (opposite where Clark's tobacconist is now) and was demolished in 1913 when the present town bridge was built. It was erected when the old bridge was built in the early 1800's, and had been devoted to various uses. In turn it had been a watchman's shelter, a rate collector's office, and a tobacconists kiosk. 
Mr T Thompson, when he was Poor Rate collector, used to occupy it, and ratepayers went there to pay their rates amidst surroundings of cobwebs and dust, and powdered plaster. Then it was let to Mr John Naylor, for a tobacconists shop. It was a landmark, and had the appearance of antiquity, but it was a gigantic fraud. It was built of bricks and mortar, and covered with plaster. It was suggested that it should be removed to the park and preserved as a relic, but at a meeting of the Paving and Lighting Committee it was not regarded as a relic worthy of preservation, and it was ordered to be demolished. Perhaps they were right all those years ago but I for one wish it had been preserved so we could see it today.

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.