Early history

The town was once said to have been a Roman settlement, but no evidence shows this to be the case.^[4] Similarly, it is often linked to the monastery established by the Saxon monk Botolph at "Icanhoe" on the Witham in AD 654 and destroyed by the Vikings in 870,^[4] but this is doubted by modern historians. The early medieval geography of The Fens was much more fluid than it is today, and at that time, the Witham did not flow near the site of Boston. Botolph's establishment is most likely to have been in Suffolk. However, he was a popular missionary and Saint to whom many churches between Yorkshire and Sussex are dedicated.

The 1086 Domesday Book does not mention Boston by name,^[7] but nearby settlements of the tenant-in-chief Count Alan Rufus of Brittany are covered. Its present territory was probably then part of the grant of Skirbeck,^[7] part of the very wealthy manor of Drayton, which before 1066 had been owned by Ralph the Staller, Edward the Confessor's Earl of East Anglia. Skirbeck had two churches and one is likely to have been that dedicated to St Botolph, in what was consequently Botolph's town. Skirbeck (map) is now considered part of Boston, but the name remains, as a church parish and an electoral ward.

The order of importance was the other way round, when the Boston quarter of Skirbeck developed at the head of the Haven, which lies under the present Market Place. At that stage, The Haven was the tidal part of the stream, now represented by the Stone Bridge Drain (map), which carried the water from the East and West Fens. The line of the road through Wide Bargate, to A52 and A16, is likely to have developed on its marine silt levees. It led, as it does now, to the relatively high ground at Sibsey (map), and thence to Lindsey.

The reason for the original development of the town, away from the centre of Skirbeck, was that Boston lay on the point where navigable tidal water was alongside the land route, which used the Devensian terminal moraine ridge at Sibsey, between the upland of East Lindsey and the three routes to the south of Boston:

• The coastal route, on the marine silts, crossed the mouth of Bicker Haven towards Spalding.
• The Sleaford route, into Kesteven, passed via Swineshead (map), thence following the old course of the River Slea, on its marine silt levee.
• The Salters' Way route into Kesteven, left Holland from Donington. This route was much more thoroughly developed, in the later Medieval period, by Bridge End Priory (map).

The River Witham seems to have joined The Haven after the flood of September 1014, having abandoned the port of Drayton, on what subsequently became known as Bicker Haven. The predecessor of Ralph the Staller owned most of both Skirbeck and Drayton, so it was a relatively simple task to transfer his business from Drayton, but Domesday Book in 1086 still records his source of income in Boston under the heading of Drayton, so Boston's name is not mentioned. The Town Bridge still maintains the preflood route, along the old Haven bank.

Growth

After the Norman conquest, Ralph the Staller's property was taken over by Count Alan.^[8] It subsequently came to be attached to the Earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, and known as the Richmond Fee. It lay on the left bank of The Haven.

During the 11th and 12th centuries, Boston grew into a notable town and port.^[9] In 1204, King John vested sole control over the town in his bailiff.^[7] That year^[4] or the next,^[7] he levied a "fifteenth" tax (quinzieme) of 6.67% on the moveable goods of merchants in the ports of England: the merchants of Boston paid £780, the highest in the kingdom after London's £836.^[4][10] Thus, by the opening of the 13th century, Boston was already significant in trade with the continent of Europe and ranked as a port of the Hanseatic League.^[11][12] In the thirteenth century it was said to be the second port in the country.^[13] Edward III named it a staple port for the wool trade in 1369.^[7] Apart from wool, Boston also exported salt, produced locally on the Holland coast, grain, produced up-river, and lead, produced in Derbyshire and brought via Lincoln, up-river.

A quarrel between the local and foreign merchants led to the withdrawal of the Hansards^[4] around 1470.^[7] Around the same time, the decline of the local guilds^[7] and shift towards domestic weaving of English wool (conducted in other areas of the country) led to a near-complete collapse of the town's foreign trade.^[7] The silting of the Haven only furthered the town's decline.

Blackfriars Arts Centre

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII during the English Reformation, Boston's Dominican, Franciscan, Carmelite, and Augustinian friaries—erected during the boom years of the 13th and 14th centuries—were all expropriated. The refectory of the Dominican friary was eventually converted into a theatre in 1965 and now houses the Blackfriars Arts Centre.

Henry VIII granted the town its charter in 1545^[14] and Boston had two Members of Parliament from 1552.

17th and 18th centuries

Pilgrim Fathers Memorial

The staple trade made Boston a centre of intellectual influence from the Continent, including the teachings of John Calvin that became known as Calvinism. This, in turn, revolutionised the Christian beliefs and practices of many Bostonians and residents of the neighbouring shires of England. In 1607, a group of pilgrims from Nottinghamshire led by William Brewster and William Bradford attempted to escape pressure to conform with the teaching of the English church by going to the Netherlands from Boston. At that time, unsanctioned emigration was illegal, and they were brought before the court in the Guildhall. Most of the pilgrims were released fairly soon, and the following year, set sail for the Netherlands, settling in Leiden. In 1620, several of these were among the group who moved to New England in the Mayflower.

Boston remained a hotbed of religious dissent. In 1612, John Cotton became the Vicar of St Botolph's ^[15] and, although viewed askance by the Church of England for his nonconformist preaching, became responsible for a large increase in Church attendance. He encouraged those who disliked the lack of religious freedom in England to join the Massachusetts Bay Company, and later helped to found the city of Boston, Massachusetts, which he was instrumental in naming. Unable to tolerate the religious situation any longer, he eventually emigrated himself in 1633. ^[15]

At the same time, work on draining the fens to the west of Boston was begun, a scheme which displeased many whose livelihoods were at risk. (One of the sources of livelihood obtained from the fen was fowling, supplying ducks and geese for meat and in addition the processing of their feathers and down for use in mattresses and pillows. Until 2018, the feathery aspect of this was still reflected in the presence of the local bedding company named Fogarty.^[16]) This and the religious friction put Boston into the parliamentarian camp in the Civil War, which in England began in 1642. The chief backer of the drainage locally, Lord Lindsey, was shot in the first battle and the fens returned to their accustomed dampness until after 1750.

Boston sunset

The later 18th century saw a revival when the Fens began to be effectively drained. The Act of Parliament permitting the embanking and straightening of the fenland Witham was dated 1762. A sluice, called for in the act, was designed to help scour out The Haven. The land proved to be fertile, and Boston began exporting cereals to London. In 1774, the first financial bank was opened, and in 1776, an act of Parliament allowed watchmen to begin patrolling the streets at night.

Modern history

In the 19th century, the names of Howden, a firm located near the Grand Sluice, and Tuxford, near the Maud Foster Sluice, were respected among engineers for their steam road locomotives, threshing engines, and the like. Howden developed his business from making steam engines for river boats, while Tuxford began as a miller and millwright. His mill was once prominent near Skirbeck Church, just to the east of the Maud Foster Drain.

The railway reached the town in 1848, and it was briefly on the main line from London to the north. The area between the Black Sluice and the railway station was mainly railway yard and the railway company's main depôt. The latter facility moved to Doncaster when the modern main line was opened. Boston remained something of a local railway hub well into the 20th century, moving the produce of the district and the trade of the dock, plus the excursion trade to Skegness.

Boston once again became a significant port in trade and fishing in 1884, when the new dock with its associated wharves on The Haven were constructed. It continued as a working port, exporting grain, fertiliser, and importing timber, although much of the fishing trade was moved out in the interwar period.

At the beginning of the First World War, a number of the town's trawlermen, together with some from Grimsby, were taken prisoner after their ships were sunk by German raiders in the North Sea. Their families did not know what had happened to them until late September 1914. The men were taken to Sennelager camp, then on to Ruhleben POW camp, where most remained until repatriated in 1918. A full report of their homecoming is in the Lincolnshire Standard newspaper, January 1918. During the war the port was used by hospital ships and some 4,000 sick or wounded troops passed through Boston.^[17] The town was bombed by a Zeppelin on 2 September 1916, injuring three adults and killing a child.^[18]

The first cinema opened in 1910, and in 1913, a new town bridge was constructed. Central Park was purchased in 1919, and is now one of the focal points of the town. Electricity came to Boston during the early part of the century, and electrical street lighting was provided from 1924.^[19]

In the Second World War, the borough lost 17 civilian dead through enemy air raids.^[20] A memorial in Boston Cemetery commemorates them.^[17]

The Haven Bridge, which now carries the two trunk roads over the river, was opened in 1966, and a new dual carriageway, John Adams Way, was built in 1976–8 to take traffic away from the town centre. A shopping centre, named the Pescod Centre, opened in 2004, bringing many new shops into the town.

Railway

The railways came to Boston in 1848 following the building of the East Lincolnshire Railway from Grimsby to Boston and the simultaneous building of the Lincolnshire Loop Line by the Great Northern Railway, which ran between Peterborough and York via Boston, Lincoln, and Doncaster. This line was built before the East Coast Main Line and for a short while put Boston on the map as the GNR's main locomotive works before it was relocated to Doncaster in 1852.

Boston railway station is served by East Midlands Railway on the Poacher Line from Grantham to Skegness. It was the southern terminus of the East Lincolnshire Line to Louth and Grimsby until closure in 1970.

Boston Borough Council

In the 2019 Borough elections, the Conservatives were confirmed as the majority party on Boston Borough Council with 16 of the 30 seats, followed by independents with 11.^[25]

In May 2007, a single-issue political party, the Boston Bypass Independents campaigning for a bypass to be built around the town, took control of the council when they won 25 of the 32 council seats,^[26] losing all but four of them in the subsequent election in 2011.

Governance

Boston received its charter in 1546.^[27] It is the main settlement in the Boston local government district of Lincolnshire, which includes the unparished town of Boston and 18 other civil parishes.^[28]

Borough Council wards

As of 2015, Boston Borough council consisted of 30 members:^[29]

Lincolnshire County Council divisions

In 2017, six county council divisions existed for the Borough of Boston, each of which returned one member to Lincolnshire County Council:

UK Parliament

The town is part of the Boston and Skegness parliamentary constituency, currently represented by Conservative MP Matt Warman. The town was previously represented for 35 years by Conservative Sir Richard Body.

European Parliament

Prior to the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, Boston was part of the East Midlands European Parliament constituency, which elected five members.

Landmarks

The Stump, viewed from the Market Place: The statue of the journalist and politician Herbert Ingram is in the left foreground.

The parish church of Saint Botolph is known locally as Boston Stump and is renowned for its size and its dominant appearance in the surrounding countryside.

The Great Sluice is disguised by railway and road bridges, but it is there, keeping the tide out of the Fens and twice a day, allowing the water from the upland to scour the Haven. Not far away, in the opposite direction, was the boyhood home of John Foxe, the author of Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

The Town Bridge maintains the line of the road to Lindsey and from its western end, looking at the river side of the Exchange Building to the right, it is possible to see how the two ends of the building, founded on the natural levees of The Haven, have stood firm while the middle has sunk into the infill of the former river.

From 1552, Bostonians used to have their jail near the Stump (about where the red car in the photograph is located). This is likely to be where the Scrooby Pilgrims were imprisoned in 1607.

There is a statue of Herbert Ingram, founder of The Illustrated London News, in front of the Stump. The statue was designed by Alexander Munro and was unveiled in October 1862. The allegorical figure at the base of the monument is a reference to Ingram's efforts to bring the first piped water to the town. He was also instrumental in bringing the railways to Boston. Born in nearby Paddock Grove, son of a butcher,^[31] he was also MP for Boston, from 1856 until his death in 1860, in a shipping accident on Lake Michigan.^[32]

Maud Foster Mill

The seven-storeyed Maud Foster Tower Windmill, completed in 1819 by millwrights Norman and Smithson of Kingston upon Hull for Issac and Thomas Reckitt, was extensively restored in the late 1980s and became a working mill again. It stands next to the drain after which it is named, and is unusual in having an odd number (five) of sails.

The Guildhall in which the Pilgrim Fathers were tried was converted into a museum in 1929. The cells in which the pilgrims are said to have been held at the time of their trial are on the ground floor. After a major refurbishment during which the museum was closed for several years, it reopened in 2008.

The Pilgrim Fathers Memorial is located on the north bank of The Haven a few miles outside the town. Here at Scotia Creek, the pilgrims made their first attempt to leave for the Dutch Republic in 1607.

Hussey Tower

The ruined Hussey Tower is all that remains of a medieval brick-fortified house, built in 1450, and occupied by John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford until he was executed in the wake of the Lincolnshire Rising.^[33] 2 miles (3 km) east, Rochford Tower is another medieval tower house.^[34]

In Skirbeck Quarter, on the right bank of The Haven, is the Black Sluice, the outfall of the South Forty-Foot Drain.

The Prime Meridian passes through the eastern side of Boston, marked by the fairly modern, suburban Meridian Road (PE21 0NB), which straddles the line after which the road was named.

The annual Boston May Fair has been held in the town since at least 1125. This fair is held during the first week of May, and is one of the few remaining fairs in the country still held in the town centre. By tradition, the fair was officially opened by the mayor at midday on 3 May, although this date has varied in recent years.

The Haven Gallery, opened in 2005, was closed to the public in 2010 in a cost-cutting measure by Boston Borough Council.^[35]

Blackfriars is a theatre and arts centre^[36] that was formerly the refectory of the Benedictine friary, built in the 13th century and once visited by King Edward I.

Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore are two nature reserves, managed by the RSPB, which lie on The Wash coast on either side of the mouth of The Haven.^[37][38]

Rugby

The Princess Royal Arena is located on the Boardsides, just outside Boston, and is the home of Boston Rugby Football Club. The club was established in 1927 by Ernst Clark, who had an interest in providing activity for boys.

Football

The town has two nonleague football clubs. The more senior Boston United, nicknamed the Pilgrims, plays in the National League North. The stadium is currently located on York Street in the centre of the town and has an approximate capacity of 6,200. Boston United moved out of their former ground, York Street, for the 2020–21 season, to the Jakeman's stadium on the outskirts of town.^[45] The town's second club, Boston Town, nicknamed the Poachers, plays in the United Counties Football League. Its home games are played at their stadium on Tattershall Road, on the outskirts of Boston.

Rowing

Boston Rowing Club, near Carlton Road, hosts the annual 33 miles (53 km) Boston Rowing Marathon each year in mid-September. Crews from throughout the world compete, starting at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, and finishing in times from three to six hours.

Speedway

Speedway racing was staged at a stadium in New Hammond Beck Road in the 1970s and 1980s. The Boston Barracudas raced in the British League Division Two, (now the Premier League) and in 1973 won the League and the Knock-out Cup, with one member winning the League Individual Championship. After the New Hammond Beck Road Stadium was sold for redevelopment in 1988, attempts to secure a new venue in the 1990s failed. A team, known as Boston, raced in the Conference League at King's Lynn.

An advert for a speedway meeting on Thursday 16 July at the greyhound track in Shodfriers Lane in 1936 appeared in The Guardian on 10 July 1936. Other sources now confirm this was a grass track venue.

Swimming

Boston Amateur Swimming Club holds galas and open meets, including the Boston Open, and two yearly club championship events. It trains at the Geoff Moulder Swimming Pool.

Sailing

Witham Sailing Club is based on the banks of the Witham, with its own clubhouse.

Secondary schools

Boston Grammar School an all-male selective school, is on Rowley Road. Its female counterpart, Boston High School is on Spilsby Road. Both schools have sixth forms open to both boys and girls. Haven High Academy is on Marian Road – it was created in 1992 on the site of Kitwood Girls' School following its merger with another secondary modern school, Kitwood Boys' School. The town previously also had a Roman Catholic secondary school, St Bede's in Tollfield Road, but this was closed in 2011 following poor exam results.

Colleges

Boston College is a predominantly further education college that opened in 1964 to provide A-level courses for those not attending the town's two grammar schools. It currently has three sites in the town. It also took over the site of Kitwood Boys' school in Mill Road following the school's merger with Kitwood Girls' School in 1992, but this was closed in 2012, with the buildings subsequently demolished and housing built on the site.

Independent schools

St George's Preparatory School is the only independent school in the town. Established in 2011, it is housed in a Grade II listed building, the former home of the town architect William Wheeler, and caters for the 3–11 year age group.^[50]

Politics

Herbert Ingram, 1860

• Anthony Irby (1547–1625) lawyer and politician^[51] sat in the House of Commons for Boston variously from 1589 to 1622
• William Ellis (1609–1680) lawyer,^[52] judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons for Boston and Grantham variously between 1640 and 1679
• Herbert Ingram (1811–1860) journalist and politician, founder of The Illustrated London News^[53]
• William Garfit (1840–1920) banker and Conservative politician,^[54] MP for Boston 1895 to 1906
• Fred Maddison (1856–1937) trade unionist^[55] and Liberal politician
• Sir Walter Liddall CBE (1884–1963) Conservative MP^[56] for Lincoln from 1931 to 1945
• John McNair (1887–1968) socialist politician^[57]
• David Ward (born 1953) Liberal Democrat politician,^[58] MP for Bradford East 2010 to 2015
• Robin Hunter-Clarke (born 1992) UKIP^[59] politician

Memorial to Bishop Simon Patrick in Ely Cathedral

Church

• Sir Thomas Dingley (executed 1539) Catholic martyr^[60]
• Simon Patrick (1626–1707) theologian^[61] and bishop
• Joseph Farrow (1652–1692) nonconformist^[62] clergyman
• Andrew Kippis (1725–1795) nonconformist clergyman^[63] in Boston (1746 to 1750) and biographer
• John Platts (1775–1837) Unitarian minister^[64] and author, a compiler of reference works
• John James Raven (1833–1906) cleric and headmaster,^[65] known as a writer on campanology

Public service

John Westland Marston

Janet Lane-Claypon, 1907

• Sir Richard Weston (1465–1541) KB courtier and diplomat,^[66] Governor of Guernsey
• John Foxe (1516/17–1587) historian^[67] and martyrologist
• Edmund Ingalls (ca.1598–1648) emigrated to Salem in 1628 and founded Lynn, Massachusetts
• John Leverett (1616–1678/9) colonial magistrate,^[68] merchant, soldier and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• George Bass (1771–1803 presumed) naval surgeon^[69] and explorer of Australia
• John R. Jewitt (1783–1821) an armourer in Canada,^[70] wrote memoirs of his captivity by local indigenous people
• James Richardson (1809–1851) explored Africa,^[71] published his travel notes and diaries
• Frederick Flowers (1810–1886) police^[72] magistrate.
• John Conington (1825–1869) classical scholar^[73]
• William Henry Wheeler (1832–1915), civil engineer architect, inventor and antiquarian
• Major Walter George Burnett Dickinson FRSE FRCVS TD (1858–1914)^[74] veterinary surgeon
• Arthur James Grant (1862–1948) historian^[75]
• Arthur Callender (1875–1936) engineer and archaeologist,^[76] assisted Howard Carter in excavating Tutankhamun's tomb
• Janet Lane-Claypon, Lady Forber JP (1877–1967) physician^[77] and epidemiologist
• Hedley Adams Mobbs (1891–1970), architect and philatelist
• Joseph Langley Burchnall (1892–1975) mathematician, introduced Burchnall–Chaundy theory
• Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Lee MC (1894–1975) senior RAF officer and autobiography writer
• Henry Neville Southern (1908–1986) ornithologist^[78]
• Victor Emery (1934–2002) specialist^[79] on superconductors and superfluidity
• Richard Budge (1947–2016) coal mining entrepreneur^[80]
• John Cridland (born 1961) former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry, Chair of Transport for the North
• Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE (born 1964), Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England during the COVID-19 pandemic

Arts and writing

Jean Ingelow

Brian Bolland, 2010

Courtney Bowman, 2022

• John Taverner (c1490–1545) composer^[81] and organist
• Pishey Thompson (1784–1862) publisher^[82] and antiquarian writer
• George French Flowers (1811–1872) composer^[83] and musical theorist, promoted counterpoint
• John Westland Marston (1819–1890) dramatist^[84] and critic
• Jean Ingelow (1820–1897) poet^[85] and novelist
• Elizabeth Jennings CBE (1926–2001) poet^[86]
• Barry Spikings (born 1939) film producer,^[87] incl. 1978 film, The Deer Hunter
• Pamela Buchner (born 1939) actress
• Dusty Hughes (born 1947) playwright^[88] and director, writing for both the theatre and television
• Brian Bolland (born 1951) comics artist^[89] produced most of his work for DC Comics
• Alan Moulder (born 1959) record producer,^[90] mixing engineer and audio engineer
• Hilary McKay (born 1959) writer^[91] of children's books
• Wyn Harness (1960–2007) journalist^[92] at The Independent from its creation in 1986
• Amanda Drew (born 1969) actress,^[93] plays May Wright in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
• Robert Webb (born 1972) comedian,^[94] actor and writer, one half of Mitchell and Webb
• Carl Hudson (born 1983) pianist and keyboardist
• Georgina Callaghan (born 1986) singer-songwriter,^[95] currently lives in Nashville
• Courtney Bowman (born 1995) stage actress and singer^[96]

Sport

Crista Cullen, 2009

Simon Lambert, 2015

• Bill Julian (1867–1957) football player^[97] and coach
• Cyril Bland (1872–1950) first class cricketer
• Jack Manning (1886–1946) footballer who scored 31 goals from 218 appearances
• Bernard Codd (c1933–2013) motorcycle road racer, double winner at the 1956 Isle of Man TT motorcycle race
• Mike Pinner (born 1934) international amateur football goalkeeper, 1956 and 1960 Olympics
• Gordon Bolland (born 1943) retired footballer, was player-manager of Boston United F.C.
• Simon Garner (born 1959) former footballer,^[98] 474 pro appearances for Blackburn Rovers F.C.
• Simon Clark (born 1967) former footballer^[99] and manager, now coach at Charlton Athletic F.C.
• Howard Forinton (born 1975) footballer,^[100] approx. 300 pro appearances
• Matt Hocking (born 1978) football defender,^[101] over 300 pro appearances
• John Oster (born 1978) former footballer,^[102] made 487 pro appearances
• Danny Butterfield (born 1979) former footballer,^[103] 488 pro appearances
• Anthony Elding (born 1982) professional footballer,^[104] over 400 pro appearances
• Melanie Marshall (born 1982) Olympic athlete, European Gold Medal-winning swimmer, now coach to Olympic Gold medal winner Adam Peaty^[105]
• Hannah Macleod MBE (born 1984) field hockey player^[106]
• Crista Cullen MBE (born 1985) Olympic Gold Medal winning^[107] English field hockey player
• Dave Coupland (born 1986) professional golfer
• Simon Lambert (born 1989) speedway^[108] rider
• Emma Bristow (born 1990) motorcycle trials rider and current Women's World Champion
• Scott Williams (born 1990), darts player
• Kieran Tscherniawsky (born 1992) paralympian athlete,^[109] category F33 discus
• Ollie Chessum (born 2000), rugby player

Crime

• William Frederick Horry (1843–1872) murderer,^[110] first to be executed by the long drop method