Boston, Lincolnshire
Encyclopedia
Boston is a town and small port
in Lincolnshire
, on the east coast of England
. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston
local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census. It is due north of Greenwich
on the Prime Meridian
.
Boston's most notable landmark is St Botolph's Church (The Stump), the largest parish church in England with one of the highest towers in England visible in the flat lands of Lincolnshire for miles. Residents of Boston are known as Bostonians. Emigrants from Boston named several other settlements after the town, most notably Boston
, Massachusetts
.
or of St Botolph's stone. However, fewer people now believe the story, still current, that a settlement in Boston dates from AD 654, when a Saxon
monk, named Botolph, established a monastery on the banks of the River Witham
. One reason for doubting this is, that in 654, the Witham did not flow near the site of Boston. (The early medieval geography of The Fens
was much more fluid than it is today.) Botolph's establishment is most likely to have been in Suffolk
. However, he was a popular missionary
, to whom many churches between Yorkshire
and Sussex
, including that of Boston, are dedicated.
of 1086, does not mention Boston by name. However, the settlement of Skirbeck
is covered, as part of the very wealthy manor of Drayton. Skirbeck had two churches and one is likely to have been that dedicated to St Botolph, in what was consequently Botolph's town. Skirbeck , 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 , 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 , 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 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
of 1086, still records his source of income in Boston under the heading of Drayton, so Boston’s name is famously not mentioned. The Town Bridge still maintains the pre-flood route, along the old Haven bank.
After the Norman Conquest
, Ralph the Staller
’s property was taken over by Count Alana. 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 eleventh and twelfth centuries, Boston grew into a notable town and port
The quinzieme was a duty
raised on the fifteenth part (6.667%) of the value of merchants' moveable goods at the various trading towns of England. In 1204 when the merchants of London paid £836, those of Boston paid £780b.
Thus by the opening of the thirteenth century, it was already significant in trade with the continent
of Europe
and ranked as a port of the Hanseatic League
It was one of the official "staple towns" of England, authorized to carry on the import and export trade. Much of Boston's trade at this time was in wool
, and Boston is said by the locals to have been built on it. 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. The wool export trade began to decline in the fifteenth century as the industry shifted to the value-adding
business of weaving
, which was conducted in other parts of the country, the Hansa merchants quit the town, and Boston's wealth declined.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries four orders of friar
s arrived in Boston: Dominicans
, Franciscan
s, Carmelites
, and Augustinians
. As the English Reformation
progressed, their friaries were closed by King Henry VIII
. The refectory
of the Dominican friary was eventually converted into a theatre
in 1965, and now houses the Blackfriars Arts Centre
.
The town received its charter from Henry VIII in 1545 and Boston had two Members of Parliament
from 1552 but with The Haven silted, the town was then, rather living on memories.
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 and, although viewed askance by the Church of England for his non-conformist 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
(1630) which he was instrumental in naming. Unable to tolerate the religious situation any longer he eventually emigrated himself in 1633.
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. The feathery aspect of this is still reflected in the presence of the bedding company named Fogarty, located nearby in Fishtoft
.) 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.
The later eighteenth 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 cereal
s 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.
The railway reached the town in 1848 and briefly, it was 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 twentieth century, moving the produce of the district and the trade of the dock, plus the excursion trade to Skegness
and similar places. But it was much quieter by the time of the Beeching
cuts of the 1960s.
Boston once again became a significant port in trade and fishing when, in 1884, the new dock
with its associated wharves
on The Haven were constructed. It continued as a working port, exporting grain, fertilizer, and importing timber although much of the fishing trade was moved out in the inter-war period. During the First World War many of the town's trawlermen, together with those 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 till late September 1914. The men were taken to Sennelager
camp then on to Ruhleben POW camp where most remained till repatriated in 1918. There is a full report of their homecoming in the Lincolnshire Standard newspaper, January 1918.
The first cinema opened in 1910, and the town was used by film makers during the Second World War
to represent the Netherlands when the real thing was not available for filming. 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 light
ing was provided from 1924.
The Haven Bridge, which now carries the two trunk roads over the river was opened in 1966 and the new road built in the early 1970s rather separated Skirbeck
from Boston but the town largely avoided the development boom of the 1960s. More recently, the new shopping centre
named the Pescod Centre opened in 2004, bringing many new shops into the town. Further development is planned.
The town has experienced a decline in recent years both economically and in terms of its reputation. Exacerbated by the decline of farming, the town's traditional role as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural region has been eroded. Many retail businesses in the town are struggling at present and several have closed.
There had been widespread disillusionment with the somewhat perceived apathetic and incompetent running of the local council. In the Local Elections of 2007
this contributed to the overwhelming victory of a small bypass pressure group
, over the traditional political parties. Describing their victory the new council leader Richard Austin said: "We knew that the mood of the people of Boston was very black and they really do want something to happen to Boston that isn't happening at the moment. "It's only a reflection of this black mood of the people of Boston."
The towns economic decline has been felt more sharply because of a spate of bad news which has tarnished the reputation of Boston. Boston United football club have recently been demoted following on from several years of debt and fraud. In a recent survey the people of Boston were labelled as being the fattest in the country. Another survey highlighted the fact that Boston has the highest number of immigrants per capita of any town in Britain (an estimated 1/4 of the population are immigrants).
Most immigrants have come from East Europe and Portugal. This has led to some social tension, which came to a head during the 2004 European Football Championship, when something akin to rioting occurred briefly with windows being smashed and shops looted, police cars overturned and set alight. Trouble once again erupted in the town, when England were knocked out of the 2006 world cup by Portugal, and there were clashes between riot police and fans from England and Portugal. Some pubs and bars in the area were vandalised with windows being smashed and tables, chairs and glasses being thrown at rival fans, riot police and shops and bars. The local Portuguese bar called 'The Volunteer' was attacked by native youths, who threw missiles, smashed windows and were in possession of petrol bombs. The youths surrounded the bar and trapped the Portuguese supporters inside. Riot police broke the situation up soon after.
However, as a sea port and holder of trade fairs, the town was long accustomed to seamen
from the Baltic
, Hansa
merchants and so on. After the surrounding land was drained, there were influxes of seasonal labourers
from other parts of England, from Ireland
or other parts of Europe. People occasionally became excited then too – the Hansa merchants finally left after one had been in a fight. But the fights are noticed because of their rarity.
is served by East Midland Trains 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.
political party, the Independent Bypass Group, campaigning for a bypass
to be built around Boston, Lincolnshire
, took control of Boston Borough Council
, removing the Labour Party
majority.
local government district of Lincolnshire
which includes the unparished town of Boston and eighteen other civil parishes.
Boston is in the East Midlands
European Parliament constituency, which elects six members. At the national level, the town is part of the Boston and Skegness parliamentary constituency, currently represented by Conservative
Mark Simmonds
. The town was previously represented in parliament for 35 years by Conservative Sir Richard Body.
In the local elections of 2007, many local councillors from the major parties were displaced by independent candidates whose main issue as a group is the construction of a road bypass which they believe is being deliberately denied by the Lincoln-centric members of the Lincolnshire
County Council.
The population of Boston was believed to have the highest rate of obesity in England, with almost one in three residents clinically obese.
s making up 0.4%. There are also small Buddhist
, Hindu
, Jewish
and Sikh
communities. 11% of the population claim no religion.
. However, there are remarkable sights of the more usual sort:
The parish church
of Saint Botolph
is known locally as The Stump and is renowned for its lantern interior and 52 misericord
s.
The Grand 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, the 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. The lawyers' quarter is still in use, just to the north of the church.
A statue of the founder of The Illustrated London News, Herbert Ingram
is now located in front of The Stump (see photograph). 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, he was also MP for Boston
, from 1856, until his death in 1860, in a shipping accident on Lake Michigan
.
The market, held on Saturdays and Wednesdays, in the Market Place and also on Wide Bargate on Wednesday. Market Place and Strait Bargate are the retail hub of the town centre. Coincidentally, No.1 Market Place and No.1 Strait Bargate are the same building, F. Hinds
jewellers.
The seven-storeyed Maud Foster Tower Windmill
, completed in 1819, by millwrights Norman & Smithson of Kingston upon Hull
for Issac and Thomas Reckitt, is currently the tallest operating windmill
in England (80 ft/24.4 metres to the top of the cap), following extensive restoration during the 1980s and early 1990s and is now a working museum
. The tall mill, without the usual tar coating in Lincs, stands on the dyke above the drain it is named after and is unusual in having an odd number (five) of sails.
The Boston Guildhall in which the Pilgrim Fathers were tried, on the first floor
, by the magistrate
s, was converted into a museum
in 1929. The American Room was opened by the U.S.
Ambassador
, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
, in 1938. The cells in which the pilgrims are said to have been held at the time of their trial
are on the ground floor
. In 2005 it is closed for repair and refurbishment. – The Pilgrim Fathers Memorial
is located on the north bank of The Haven a few miles outside the town. It was here at Scotia Creek, that the pilgrims made their first attempt to leave for Holland in 1607.
The ruined Hussey Tower is all that remains of a medieval brick fortified house. Two miles east, Rochford Tower is another medieval tower house.
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 , which straddles the line the road was named after.
The oldest landmark is the Boston May Fair which has been held in the town every year since at least 1125. This fair is held during the first week of May, and is one of the largest outdoor fairs in the country. By tradition, the fair was officially opened by the incumbent mayor
at 11 am on the May Day
bank holiday
. However this is now not the case.
The Haven Gallery, opened in 2005, was closed to the public in 2010 in a costcutting measure by Boston Borough Council.
Freiston Shore is a nature reserve, and lies on The Wash
coast north of the mouth of The Haven
.
on New Hammond Beck Road, near Swineshead
Road (A52) to the west of the town. There is an Asda
on Sleaford
Road (A52) close to the railway station
. There are Co-ops
on Argyle Street (A1137), on West Street and on Eastwood Road, heading east out of the town. Wetherspoons
have a pub, the Moon Under Water, close to the bridge over the river on the High Street. Bingo is played at The Gliderdrome Bingo Hall, Boston's original bingo. The Gliderdrome was famous in the 1960s for attracting top Motown acts as well as various other artists including, in the 1970s, Elton John
and Marc Bolan
& T.Rex and in the early 1980s "Yam Hologram". It is one of the very few English venues at which soul legend Otis Redding has performed. Up until 2009, the Gliderdrome still held various dances in "The Starlight Room", usually during the Christmas period. Marc Bolan & T.Rex recorded a live album at the Gliderdrome named 'Live at the Boston Gliderdrome' in 1972 which was released on CD in 2001.
A new shopping park opened in January 2007 on Horncastle Road. This new development has brought several large companies to the town for the first time. These include T.K. Maxx
, Bathstore
, Netto
, SportsDirect.com and Gala Bingo. Dynamic Cassette International
(Jet Tec) is one of the biggest manufacturing employers in the town.
Following the buy out of the Netto company by Asda (WalMart company) in 2011, the Netto store in the Boston shopping park became a small Morrisons outlet.
, nicknamed The Pilgrims, play in the Conference North
. The stadium is currently located on York Street in the centre of the town and has an approximate capacity of 6,200. The town's second club is Boston Town
nicknamed The Poachers, who play in the United Counties Football League
. Home games are played at their stadium on Tattershall Road, on the outskirts of Boston. The two traditionally play each other at the beginning of each season.
is also located at the Princess Royal Arena. The team play in blue shirts with narrow white stripes.It first started in 1927 by Ernst Clark, a gentleman with an interest in giving his boys and their friends something to do, or rather something to keep them out of trouble.
each year in mid-September. Crews from all over the UK compete, starting at Brayford Pool
in Lincoln, finishing in times from three to six hours.
, with one-third of adults (31%) in the town considered clinically obese. Six out of seven people fail to hit the target of three half-hour sessions a week of moderate intensity sport or active recreation. This obesity has been linked to social deprivation.
, an all male selective school, is on South End, near the John Adams Way (A52/A16), Geoff Moulder Leisure Centre and River Witham. Its female analogue, Boston High School is on Spilsby Road (A16), in the north of the town next to the Pilgrim Hospital. These two are the only schools in the town to have sixth-forms. They were planning to join schools and make a federation but financial issues prevented that from happening. Haven High Technology College
is on Marian Road to the north of the town. Boston College
is on Skirbeck Road.
Kitwood Boys School
and Kitwood Girls' School were both examples of the post-war
, secondary modern school
system. The boys' school located in Mill Road was closed in 1993 and now forms part of Boston College. The former girls' school has now become Haven High Technology College
Boston currently has the lowest standard of education in Lincolnshire, with only 72% of GCSE students receiving grades above C.
include:
Local Economy
Local newspaper
Organisations
Special interest
Videos
, retrieved 18 December 2010, retrieved 18 December 2010
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, on the east coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston
Boston (borough)
Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. It lies around N53°0'0" W0°0'0"....
local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census. It is due north of Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
on the Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
.
Boston's most notable landmark is St Botolph's Church (The Stump), the largest parish church in England with one of the highest towers in England visible in the flat lands of Lincolnshire for miles. Residents of Boston are known as Bostonians. Emigrants from Boston named several other settlements after the town, most notably Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Toponymy
The name Boston is said to be a contraction of St Botolph's townSaint Botolph
Botwulf of Thorney was an English abbot and saint. He is the patron saint of travellers and the various aspects of farming...
or of St Botolph's stone. However, fewer people now believe the story, still current, that a settlement in Boston dates from AD 654, when a Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
monk, named Botolph, established a monastery on the banks of the River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
. One reason for doubting this is, that in 654, the Witham did not flow near the site of Boston. (The early medieval geography of The Fens
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
was much more fluid than it is today.) Botolph's establishment is most likely to have been in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. However, he was a popular missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, to whom many churches between Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, including that of Boston, are dedicated.
Early history
The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, does not mention Boston by name. However, the settlement of Skirbeck
Skirbeck
Skirbeck is a suburb and former civil parish in the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Skirbeck is a long v-shaped formation wrapped around the south and east side of Boston parish. It has been incorporated into the Borough of Boston since 1932...
is covered, as part of the very wealthy manor of Drayton. Skirbeck had two churches and one is likely to have been that dedicated to St Botolph, in what was consequently Botolph's town. Skirbeck , is now considered part of Boston, but the name remains, as a church parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
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
The Haven, Boston
The Haven is the tidal river of the Port of Boston, Lincolnshire in England. It provides access for shipping between Boston Deeps in The Wash and the town, particularly, the dock. It also serves as the outfall into the sea, of the River Witham and of several major land drains of the northern Fens...
, which lies under the present Market Place. At that stage, The Haven was the tidal
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
part of the stream, now represented by the Stone Bridge Drain , which carried the water from the East and West Fens. The line of the road through Wide Bargate, to A52
A52 road
The A52 is a major road in the East Midlands, England. It runs east from the junction with the A53 at Newcastle-under-Lyme near Stoke-on-Trent via Ashbourne, Derby, Stapleford, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Bingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness before terminating on the east Lincolnshire coast at...
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 , thence to Lindsey
Lindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
.
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
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
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 SpaldingSpalding, LincolnshireSpalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
. - The SleafordSleafordSleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
route, into KestevenKestevenThe Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...
, passed via Swineshead , thence following the old course of the River Slea, on its marine siltSiltSilt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
leveeLeveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
. - The Salters’ Way route into Kesteven, left Holland from DoningtonDonington, LincolnshireDonington is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north of the market town of Spalding on the A152, and is bypassed by the A52. The parish includes the hamlet of Northorpe, and...
. This route was much more thoroughly developed, in the later Medieval period, by Bridge End Priory .
The River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
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
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, still records his source of income in Boston under the heading of Drayton, so Boston’s name is famously not mentioned. The Town Bridge still maintains the pre-flood route, along the old Haven bank.
Growth
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, Ralph the Staller
Ralph the Staller
Ralph the Staller was a landowner in both Anglo-Saxon and post-Conquest England.He is said to have been born in Norfolk of Breton parentage. He held the military post of staller, roughly equivalent to the continental constable, under King Edward the Confessor...
’s property was taken over by Count Alana. It subsequently came to be attached to the Earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre...
and known as the Richmond Fee. It lay on the left bank of The Haven.
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Boston grew into a notable town and port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
The quinzieme was a duty
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
raised on the fifteenth part (6.667%) of the value of merchants' moveable goods at the various trading towns of England. In 1204 when the merchants of London paid £836, those of Boston paid £780b.
Thus by the opening of the thirteenth century, it was already significant in trade with the continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and ranked as a port of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
It was one of the official "staple towns" of England, authorized to carry on the import and export trade. Much of Boston's trade at this time was in wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, and Boston is said by the locals to have been built on it. Apart from wool, Boston also exported salt
Sea salt
Sea salt, salt obtained by the evaporation of seawater, is used in cooking and cosmetics. It is historically called bay salt or solar salt...
, produced locally on the Holland
Holland, Lincolnshire
Holland is an area of south-east Lincolnshire, England. The name is still recognised locally and survives in the district of South Holland.-Administration:...
coast, grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, produced up-river and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, produced in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and brought via Lincoln, up-river. The wool export trade began to decline in the fifteenth century as the industry shifted to the value-adding
Value added
In economics, the difference between the sale price and the production cost of a product is the value added per unit. Summing value added per unit over all units sold is total value added. Total value added is equivalent to Revenue less Outside Purchases...
business of weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
, which was conducted in other parts of the country, the Hansa merchants quit the town, and Boston's wealth declined.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries four orders of friar
Boston Friary
Boston Friary refers to any one of four friaries that existed in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.-The Augustinian Friary:The Augustinian Friary was founded 1317/18 and was sited near St Johns Churchyard in Skirbeck. Land was acquired from Andrew son of Robert atte Gote or Gotere in 1318, John de la...
s arrived in Boston: Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s, Carmelites
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
, and Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
. As the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
progressed, their friaries were closed by King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The refectory
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
of the Dominican friary was eventually converted into a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in 1965, and now houses the Blackfriars Arts Centre
Blackfriars Arts Centre
Blackfriars Arts Centre is a theatre and community centre located in Boston, Lincolnshire, England built on the site of a mediaeval friary. The Blackfriars friary was formed some time during the 13th Century. The first written record is from 1288 when it was noted that the friary had been rebuilt...
.
The town received its charter from Henry VIII in 1545 and Boston had two Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from 1552 but with The Haven silted, the town was then, rather living on memories.
17th and 18th centuries
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
from Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
led by William Brewster
William Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...
and William Bradford attempted to escape pressure to conform with the teaching of the English church
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
by going to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
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
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
.
Boston remained a hotbed of religious dissent. In 1612 John Cotton became the Vicar of St Botolph's and, although viewed askance by the Church of England for his non-conformist 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
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, and later helped to found the city of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(1630) which he was instrumental in naming. Unable to tolerate the religious situation any longer he eventually emigrated himself in 1633.
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. The feathery aspect of this is still reflected in the presence of the bedding company named Fogarty, located nearby in Fishtoft
Fishtoft
Fishtoft is one of eighteen parishes which, together with Boston, form the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganization of 1 April 1974, which resulted from the Local Government Act 1972...
.) This and the religious friction put Boston into the parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
camp in the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
which in England began in 1642. The chief backer of the drainage locally, Lord Lindsey, was shot in the first battle
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642....
and the fens returned to their accustomed dampness until after 1750.
The later eighteenth century saw a revival when the Fens began to be effectively drained. The Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
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 cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1774 the first financial bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
was opened, and in 1776 an Act of Parliament allowed watchmen to begin patrolling the streets at night.
Modern history
In the nineteenth 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 briefly, it was on the main line from London to the North. The area between the Black Sluice
Black Sluice
The Black Sluice is the name given to the structure that controls the flow of the South Forty-Foot Drain into The Haven, at Boston, Lincolnshire, England.-History and ownership:...
and the railway station was mainly railway yard and the railway company's main depôt. The latter facility moved to Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
when the modern main line was opened. Boston remained something of a local railway hub well into the twentieth century, moving the produce of the district and the trade of the dock, plus the excursion trade to Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
and similar places. But it was much quieter by the time of the Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
cuts of the 1960s.
Boston once again became a significant port in trade and fishing when, in 1884, the new dock
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
with its associated wharves
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
on The Haven were constructed. It continued as a working port, exporting grain, fertilizer, and importing timber although much of the fishing trade was moved out in the inter-war period. During the First World War many of the town's trawlermen, together with those from Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, 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 till late September 1914. The men were taken to Sennelager
Sennelager
Sennelager is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable by the presence of a British army barracks, where the 20th Armoured Brigade are currently situated...
camp then on to Ruhleben POW camp where most remained till repatriated in 1918. There is a full report of their homecoming in the Lincolnshire Standard newspaper, January 1918.
The first cinema opened in 1910, and the town was used by film makers during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to represent the Netherlands when the real thing was not available for filming. 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
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
came to Boston during the early part of the century, and electrical street light
Street light
A street light, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or walkway, which is turned on or lit at a certain time every night. Modern lamps may also have light-sensitive photocells to turn them on at dusk, off at dawn, or activate...
ing was provided from 1924.
The Haven Bridge, which now carries the two trunk roads over the river was opened in 1966 and the new road built in the early 1970s rather separated Skirbeck
Skirbeck
Skirbeck is a suburb and former civil parish in the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Skirbeck is a long v-shaped formation wrapped around the south and east side of Boston parish. It has been incorporated into the Borough of Boston since 1932...
from Boston but the town largely avoided the development boom of the 1960s. More recently, the new shopping centre
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
named the Pescod Centre opened in 2004, bringing many new shops into the town. Further development is planned.
The town has experienced a decline in recent years both economically and in terms of its reputation. Exacerbated by the decline of farming, the town's traditional role as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural region has been eroded. Many retail businesses in the town are struggling at present and several have closed.
There had been widespread disillusionment with the somewhat perceived apathetic and incompetent running of the local council. In the Local Elections of 2007
Boston Borough Council elections, 2007
Elections for Boston Borough Council, which covers the Borough of Boston, were held on 3 May 2007. The Boston Bypass Independents won the election in a landslide victory with 25 seats, the first party ever to take overall control of the council since the borough was formed in 1973. It was a...
this contributed to the overwhelming victory of a small bypass pressure group
Boston Bypass Independents
The Boston Bypass Independents were elected to Boston Borough Council at the 2007 local elections. The party campaigned on a wide range of issues but principally on the more vigorous promotion of a bypass for the town of Boston, Lincolnshire....
, over the traditional political parties. Describing their victory the new council leader Richard Austin said: "We knew that the mood of the people of Boston was very black and they really do want something to happen to Boston that isn't happening at the moment. "It's only a reflection of this black mood of the people of Boston."
The towns economic decline has been felt more sharply because of a spate of bad news which has tarnished the reputation of Boston. Boston United football club have recently been demoted following on from several years of debt and fraud. In a recent survey the people of Boston were labelled as being the fattest in the country. Another survey highlighted the fact that Boston has the highest number of immigrants per capita of any town in Britain (an estimated 1/4 of the population are immigrants).
Most immigrants have come from East Europe and Portugal. This has led to some social tension, which came to a head during the 2004 European Football Championship, when something akin to rioting occurred briefly with windows being smashed and shops looted, police cars overturned and set alight. Trouble once again erupted in the town, when England were knocked out of the 2006 world cup by Portugal, and there were clashes between riot police and fans from England and Portugal. Some pubs and bars in the area were vandalised with windows being smashed and tables, chairs and glasses being thrown at rival fans, riot police and shops and bars. The local Portuguese bar called 'The Volunteer' was attacked by native youths, who threw missiles, smashed windows and were in possession of petrol bombs. The youths surrounded the bar and trapped the Portuguese supporters inside. Riot police broke the situation up soon after.
However, as a sea port and holder of trade fairs, the town was long accustomed to seamen
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
from the Baltic
Baltic region
The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
, Hansa
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
merchants and so on. After the surrounding land was drained, there were influxes of seasonal labourers
Migrant worker
The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...
from other parts of England, from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
or other parts of Europe. People occasionally became excited then too – the Hansa merchants finally left after one had been in a fight. But the fights are noticed because of their rarity.
Railway
Boston railway stationBoston railway station
Boston railway station serves the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Services are operated by East Midlands Trains.-History:The station has declined in importance since the 1960s. In its heyday the station employed over 50 staff and had two through tracks and cover over the platform tracks...
is served by East Midland Trains on the Poacher Line from Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
to Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
. It was the southern terminus of the East Lincolnshire Line
East Lincolnshire Railway
The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848 and was closed to passengers in 1970.-History:...
to Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
and Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
until closure in 1970.
Boston Bypass
In May 2007 a single-issueSingle-issue politics
Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea.-Political expression:...
political party, the Independent Bypass Group, campaigning for a bypass
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
to be built around Boston, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, took control of Boston Borough Council
Boston (borough)
Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. It lies around N53°0'0" W0°0'0"....
, removing the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
majority.
Governance
Boston received its charter in 1545. It is the main settlement in the BostonBoston (borough)
Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. It lies around N53°0'0" W0°0'0"....
local government district of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
which includes the unparished town of Boston and eighteen other civil parishes.
Boston is in the East Midlands
East Midlands (European Parliament constituency)
East Midlands is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 5 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
European Parliament constituency, which elects six members. At the national level, the town is part of the Boston and Skegness parliamentary constituency, currently represented by Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Mark Simmonds
Mark Simmonds
Mark Jonathon Mortlock Simmonds is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire, and was first elected in 2001, succeeding Sir Richard Body...
. The town was previously represented in parliament for 35 years by Conservative Sir Richard Body.
Electoral wards
- Central Ward elects one councillor.
- Fenside Ward elects two councillors.
- North Ward elects two councillors 1 2.
- Pilgrim Ward elects one councillor.
- Skirbeck Ward elects three councillors 1 2 3.
- South Ward elects one councillor.
- Staniland North Ward elects one councillor.
- Staniland South Ward elects two councillors 1 2.
- West Ward elects one councillor.
- Witham Ward elects two councillors. 1 2
In the local elections of 2007, many local councillors from the major parties were displaced by independent candidates whose main issue as a group is the construction of a road bypass which they believe is being deliberately denied by the Lincoln-centric members of the Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
County Council.
Population
According to the 2001 census, there were 35,124 people residing in Boston town, of whom 48.2% were male and 51.8% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5% of the population. 23% of the resident population in Boston were of retirement age.The population of Boston was believed to have the highest rate of obesity in England, with almost one in three residents clinically obese.
Religion
80% of the population are Christians, the next highest religious minority were MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s making up 0.4%. There are also small Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
communities. 11% of the population claim no religion.
Landmarks
Some of the most interesting things to be seen in Boston lie not in the usual list of tourist features, but in the area of civil engineeringCivil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. However, there are remarkable sights of the more usual sort:
The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Saint Botolph
Saint Botolph
Botwulf of Thorney was an English abbot and saint. He is the patron saint of travellers and the various aspects of farming...
is known locally as The Stump and is renowned for its lantern interior and 52 misericord
Misericord
A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer.-Origins:...
s.
The Grand 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
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
, the author of Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, more accurately Acts and Monuments, is an account from a Protestant point of view of Christian church history and martyrology...
.
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, the 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
Scrooby
Scrooby is a small village, on the River Ryton and near Bawtry, in the northern part of the English county of Nottinghamshire. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 329. Until 1766, it was on the Great North Road so became a stopping-off point for numerous important figures...
Pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
were imprisoned in 1607. The lawyers' quarter is still in use, just to the north of the church.
A statue of the founder of The Illustrated London News, Herbert Ingram
Herbert Ingram
Herbert Ingram was considered the father of pictorial journalism through his founding of The Illustrated London News. He was a Liberal politician who favoured social reform and represented Boston for four years until his early death in a shipping accident.-Early life:Ingram was born at Paddock...
is now located in front of The Stump (see photograph). 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, he was also MP for Boston
Boston (UK Parliament constituency)
Boston was a parliamentary borough in Lincolnshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1547 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the constituency was abolished.-History:...
, from 1856, until his death in 1860, in a shipping accident on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
.
The market, held on Saturdays and Wednesdays, in the Market Place and also on Wide Bargate on Wednesday. Market Place and Strait Bargate are the retail hub of the town centre. Coincidentally, No.1 Market Place and No.1 Strait Bargate are the same building, F. Hinds
F. Hinds
F. Hinds is a jewellery retailing chain, operating in England and Wales. There are currently 110 F Hinds stores within the United Kingdom.The chain is an independent retailer which was founded in 1856 by George Henry Hinds, although his father Joseph was also a clockmaker in Stamford,...
jewellers.
The seven-storeyed Maud Foster Tower Windmill
Maud Foster Windmill
Maud Foster Windmill is a seven-storey, five sail windmill located by the Maud Foster Drain in Skirbeck, Boston, Lincolnshire, which she takes her name from...
, completed in 1819, by millwrights Norman & Smithson of Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
for Issac and Thomas Reckitt, is currently the tallest operating windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
in England (80 ft/24.4 metres to the top of the cap), following extensive restoration during the 1980s and early 1990s and is now a working museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. The tall mill, without the usual tar coating in Lincs, stands on the dyke above the drain it is named after and is unusual in having an odd number (five) of sails.
The Boston Guildhall in which the Pilgrim Fathers were tried, on the first floor
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
, by the magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s, was converted into a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in 1929. The American Room was opened by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. was a prominent American businessman, investor, and government official....
, in 1938. The cells in which the pilgrims are said to have been held at the time of their trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
are on the ground floor
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
. In 2005 it is closed for repair and refurbishment. – The Pilgrim Fathers Memorial
Pilgrim Fathers Memorial
The Pilgrim Fathers Memorial is located on the north bank of The Haven at the site of the former Scotia Creek, Fishtoft, seaward of Boston in Lincolnshire, England, and consists of a small granite obelisk mounted on a granite block...
is located on the north bank of The Haven a few miles outside the town. It was here at Scotia Creek, that the pilgrims made their first attempt to leave for Holland in 1607.
The ruined Hussey Tower is all that remains of a medieval brick fortified house. Two miles east, Rochford Tower is another medieval tower house.
In Skirbeck Quarter, on the right bank of The Haven, is the Black Sluice, the outfall
Outfall
An outfall is the discharge point of a waste stream into a body of water; alternatively it may be the outlet of a river, drain or a sewer where it discharges into the sea, a lake or the like....
of the South Forty-Foot Drain
South Forty-foot drain
The South Forty-Foot Drain is the main channel for the land-drainage of the Black Sluice Level in the Lincolnshire Fens. It lies in eastern England between Guthram Gowt and the Black Sluice pumping station on The Haven, at Boston...
.
The Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
passes through the eastern side of Boston, marked by the fairly modern, suburban Meridian Road , which straddles the line the road was named after.
The oldest landmark is the Boston May Fair which has been held in the town every year since at least 1125. This fair is held during the first week of May, and is one of the largest outdoor fairs in the country. By tradition, the fair was officially opened by the incumbent mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
at 11 am on the May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
bank holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
. However this is now not the case.
The Haven Gallery, opened in 2005, was closed to the public in 2010 in a costcutting measure by Boston Borough Council.
Freiston Shore is a nature reserve, and lies on The Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
coast north of the mouth of The Haven
The Haven, Boston
The Haven is the tidal river of the Port of Boston, Lincolnshire in England. It provides access for shipping between Boston Deeps in The Wash and the town, particularly, the dock. It also serves as the outfall into the sea, of the River Witham and of several major land drains of the northern Fens...
.
In popular culture
- The novel The Last DickensThe Last DickensThe Last Dickens is a novel by Matthew Pearl published by Random House. It is a work of historical and literary fiction. The novel is a Washington Post Critics' Pick. It contains some characters from The Dante Club.-Plot summary:...
is set in Boston. - Boston is often assumed to be the prototype for FlaxboroughFlaxboroughFlaxborough is a fictitious town in Lincolnshire, created by author and local journalist Colin Watson as the background for a series of detective novels featuring Detective Inspector Purbright and a cast of similar comic characters....
, in the detective novels of Colin WatsonColin Watson (writer)Colin Watson was a British writer of detective fiction and the creator of characters such as Inspector Purbright and Lucilla Teatime. He is most famous for the twelve Flaxborough novels, typified by their comic and dry wit and set in a fictional small town in England which is closely based on... - Boston was the birthplace of the 19th Century author and poet Jean IngelowJean IngelowJean Ingelow , was an English poet and novelist.- Early life and education :Born at Boston, Lincolnshire, she was the daughter of William Ingelow, a banker...
Local economy
There is a TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
on New Hammond Beck Road, near Swineshead
Swineshead, Lincolnshire
Not to be confused with Swineshead, BedfordshireSwineshead is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, around miles west of the town of Boston...
Road (A52) to the west of the town. There is an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
on Sleaford
Sleaford
Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
Road (A52) close to the railway station
Boston railway station
Boston railway station serves the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Services are operated by East Midlands Trains.-History:The station has declined in importance since the 1960s. In its heyday the station employed over 50 staff and had two through tracks and cover over the platform tracks...
. There are Co-ops
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
on Argyle Street (A1137), on West Street and on Eastwood Road, heading east out of the town. Wetherspoons
Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon plc is a British pub chain based in Watford. Founded as a single pub in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company now owns 815 outlets. The chain champions cask ale, low prices, long opening hours, and no music. The company also operates the Lloyds No...
have a pub, the Moon Under Water, close to the bridge over the river on the High Street. Bingo is played at The Gliderdrome Bingo Hall, Boston's original bingo. The Gliderdrome was famous in the 1960s for attracting top Motown acts as well as various other artists including, in the 1970s, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
& T.Rex and in the early 1980s "Yam Hologram". It is one of the very few English venues at which soul legend Otis Redding has performed. Up until 2009, the Gliderdrome still held various dances in "The Starlight Room", usually during the Christmas period. Marc Bolan & T.Rex recorded a live album at the Gliderdrome named 'Live at the Boston Gliderdrome' in 1972 which was released on CD in 2001.
A new shopping park opened in January 2007 on Horncastle Road. This new development has brought several large companies to the town for the first time. These include T.K. Maxx
T.K. Maxx
T.K. Maxx is a retailer with stores throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Poland. The company is part of the TJX Companies which also owns other 'off-price' retail chains such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States and Winners in Canada...
, Bathstore
Bathstore
Bathstore.com Ltd., trading as Bathstore is a specialist bathroom retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena...
, Netto
Netto (store)
Netto is a Danish discount supermarket operating in several European countries. Netto is owned by Dansk Supermarked Group, which in turn is partly owned by A.P. Møller-Mærsk Group.Netto also operates an express version of the store, known as Døgn Netto...
, SportsDirect.com and Gala Bingo. Dynamic Cassette International
Dynamic Cassette International
Dynamic Cassette International is an internationally-recognised Boston, Lincolnshire, UK based ink cartridge and laser toner manufacturing company, producing products under the Jet Tec brand name. DCI is the sole UK manufacturer of compatible ink cartridges...
(Jet Tec) is one of the biggest manufacturing employers in the town.
Following the buy out of the Netto company by Asda (WalMart company) in 2011, the Netto store in the Boston shopping park became a small Morrisons outlet.
Sport
The Princess Royal Arena is located on The Boardsides, just outside Boston. This stadium is unique owing to its attention given to the disabled.Football
The town has two non-league football clubs. The more senior Boston UnitedBoston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...
, nicknamed The Pilgrims, play in the Conference North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
. The stadium is currently located on York Street in the centre of the town and has an approximate capacity of 6,200. The town's second club is Boston Town
Boston Town F.C.
Boston Town F.C. is an English football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division and play at Tattershall Road.-History:...
nicknamed The Poachers, who play in the United Counties Football League
United Counties Football League
The United Counties Football League is an English football league covering Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, as well as parts of Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. It has a total of four divisions, two for first teams and two for reserve teams...
. Home games are played at their stadium on Tattershall Road, on the outskirts of Boston. The two traditionally play each other at the beginning of each season.
Rugby
Boston Rugby ClubBoston Rugby Club
Boston Rugby Football Club is a Rugby union club from Boston, Lincolnshire. Boston Rugby Club was founded in 1927 by Ernst Clark, a gentleman with an interest in giving his boys and their friends something to do, or rather something to keep them out of trouble.The first 'home' pitch was off...
is also located at the Princess Royal Arena. The team play in blue shirts with narrow white stripes.It first started in 1927 by Ernst Clark, a gentleman with an interest in giving his boys and their friends something to do, or rather something to keep them out of trouble.
Rowing
Boston Rowing Club, near Carlton Road, hosts the annual 31 mile Boston Rowing MarathonBoston Rowing Marathon
The Boston Rowing Marathon is a Head race taking place on the third Sunday of September annually in Lincolnshire, England, over the exceptionally long distance of 31 miles...
each year in mid-September. Crews from all over the UK compete, starting at Brayford Pool
Brayford Pool
The Brayford Pool is a natural lake formed from a widening of the River Witham in the centre of the city of Lincoln in England. It was used as a port by the Romans - who connected it to the River Trent by constructing the Foss Dyke - and has a long industrial heritage.-History:The Pool has been the...
in Lincoln, 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 completed a clean sweap winning the League, Knock-out Cup, and Arthur Price won the League Individual Championship, after the New Hammond Beck Road Stadium was sold for re-development in 1988 attempts to secure a new venue failed in the 1990s a team, known as Boston, raced in the Conference League out of King's LynnSwimming
Boston is home to a successful swimming club, Boston Amateur Swimming Club. Each year they host two club championship events and many galas and open meets, including the Boston Open. They train at the Geoff Moulder Swimming Pool and are open too many ages. Certain members of the club also teach younger children to swim and are very successful in this.,Health
Boston has been shown to have the highest obesity rate of any town in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, with one-third of adults (31%) in the town considered clinically obese. Six out of seven people fail to hit the target of three half-hour sessions a week of moderate intensity sport or active recreation. This obesity has been linked to social deprivation.
Independent Schools
St George's Preparatory school, established in 2011, is situated at 126 London Road in the town, housed in a grade 2 listed building that is the former home of the town Architect William Wheeler. Catering for the 3-11 yr age group it is the town's only independent School. www.saintgeorgesprep.co.ukSecondary schools
Boston Grammar SchoolBoston Grammar School
The Boston Grammar School is a selective grammar school and sixth form college for boys aged 11 to 18 and girls attending the sixth form aged 16–18 located in Boston, Lincolnshire, England....
, an all male selective school, is on South End, near the John Adams Way (A52/A16), Geoff Moulder Leisure Centre and River Witham. Its female analogue, Boston High School is on Spilsby Road (A16), in the north of the town next to the Pilgrim Hospital. These two are the only schools in the town to have sixth-forms. They were planning to join schools and make a federation but financial issues prevented that from happening. Haven High Technology College
Haven High Technology College
Haven High Technology College is a comprehensive school located on Marian Road in the north of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. HHTC offers a broad and flexible curriculum to students of most abilities. The college combines its distinctive approach to the education of young people with the added...
is on Marian Road to the north of the town. Boston College
Boston College, Lincolnshire
Boston College is a predominantly further education college in Boston in Lincolnshire, England. It is a Centre of Vocational Excellence for Early Years Care.-History:...
is on Skirbeck Road.
Kitwood Boys School
Kitwood Boys School
Kitwood Boys School was a Secondary modern school for boys which began life in the early 1950s as part of the new Attlee Labour government's education programme . Initially the school provided an education to those not attaining higher Grammar School standards...
and Kitwood Girls' School were both examples of the post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
, secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
system. The boys' school located in Mill Road was closed in 1993 and now forms part of Boston College. The former girls' school has now become Haven High Technology College
Haven High Technology College
Haven High Technology College is a comprehensive school located on Marian Road in the north of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. HHTC offers a broad and flexible curriculum to students of most abilities. The college combines its distinctive approach to the education of young people with the added...
Boston currently has the lowest standard of education in Lincolnshire, with only 72% of GCSE students receiving grades above C.
Town twinning
Boston's twin townsTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
include:
| – Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... (United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... ) – Laval Laval, Mayenne Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:... (France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... ); Boston's link with Laval is one of the oldest twinnings in the world. – Hakusan Hakusan, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa, Japan.The city was founded on February 1, 2005 from the merger of the city of Mattō with seven towns and villages from Ishikawa District. As of April 1, 2008 population data, the city has an estimated population of 110,654 and a density of 147 persons per km²... (Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... ) |
Destinations
See also
- Boston United F.C.Boston United F.C.Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...
- Dynamic Cassette InternationalDynamic Cassette InternationalDynamic Cassette International is an internationally-recognised Boston, Lincolnshire, UK based ink cartridge and laser toner manufacturing company, producing products under the Jet Tec brand name. DCI is the sole UK manufacturer of compatible ink cartridges...
- List of road protests in the UK and Ireland – Boston Bypass is listed
External links
Archival material- This appears to have been lifted from a nineteenth century trade directory. It would therefore, itself be an historical text.
- Boston's entry in the Parliamentary Gazetteer of 1843–4
- The Parliamentary Boundary Commissioners’ Report on Boston Borough, 1831
Local Economy
Local newspaper
Organisations
- St Nicholas' Church, Skirbeck, Boston – Parish Church Website
- There is now an arts centre called The Haven.
- Victoria Group – Port of Boston
Special interest
Videos
, retrieved 18 December 2010, retrieved 18 December 2010