Boston, Lincolnshire

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place

Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Lincoln, east of Nottingham and north-east of Peterborough. The town had a population of 45,339 at the 2021 census,<ref name="key">Template:Cite web</ref> while the borough had an estimated population of 66,900 at the ONS mid-2015 estimates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Haven in Boston flows about 5 miles away to the Lincolnshire coast at The Wash, a bay between Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

Boston's most notable landmark is St Botolph's Church, colloquially referred to as 'The Stump', the largest parish church in England,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> which is visible from miles away across the flat lands of Lincolnshire. Residents of Boston are known as Bostonians. Emigrants from Boston named several other settlements around the world after the town—most notably Boston, Massachusetts, then an English colony and now part of the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Anchor

Toponymy

Boston's coat of arms: Sable, three crowns paly OrTemplate:Sfnp

The name Boston is said to be a contraction of "Saint Botolph's town",Template:Sfnp "stone" or "Template:Lang" (Old English, Old Norse and modern Norwegian for a hamlet or farm; hence the Latin villa Sancti Botulfi "St. Botulf's village").<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The name Botulfeston appears in 1460, with an alias "Boston".<ref>Plea Rolls of the court of Common Pleas: CP40/797; second entry up from the bottom; lines 1 and 2</ref>

History

Early history

The town was once said to have been a Roman settlement, but no evidence shows this to be the case.Template:Sfnp Similarly, it is often linked to the monastery established by the Saxon monk Botolph at "Icanhoe" on the Witham in AD 654 and destroyed by the Vikings in 870,Template:Sfnp but this is doubted by modern historians. The early medieval geography of The Fens was much more fluid than it is today, and at that time, the Witham did not flow near the site of Boston. Botolph's establishment is most likely to have been in Suffolk. However, he was a popular missionary and saint to whom many churches between Yorkshire and Sussex are dedicated.<ref>Thurston, Herbert. "St. Botulph." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Access-date= 2025/06/04</ref>

The 1086 Domesday Book does not mention Boston by name,Template:Sfnp but nearby settlements of the tenant-in-chief Count Alan Rufus of Brittany are covered. Its present territory was probably then part of the grant of Skirbeck,Template:Sfnp part of the very wealthy manor of Drayton, which before 1066 had been owned by Ralph the Staller, Edward the Confessor's Earl of East Anglia. Skirbeck had two churches and one is likely to have been that dedicated to St Botolph, in what was consequently Botolph's town. Skirbeck Template:Crossref 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 DrainTemplate:Crossref, 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.Template:Citation needed It led, as it does now, to the relatively high ground at SibseyTemplate:Crossref, and thence to Lindsey.

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

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

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.Template:Citation needed The predecessor of Ralph the Staller owned most of both Skirbeck and Drayton, so it was a relatively simple task to transfer his business from Drayton, but Domesday Book in 1086 still records his source of income in Boston under the heading of Drayton, so Boston's name is not mentioned. The Town Bridge still maintains the preflood route, along the old Haven bank.

Growth

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

During the 11th and 12th centuries, Boston grew into a notable town and port.<ref>Template:Harvp.</ref> In 1204, King John vested sole control over the town in his bailiff.Template:Sfnp That yearTemplate:Sfnp or the next,Template:Sfnp he levied a "fifteenth" tax (Template:Lang) of 6.67% on the moveable goods of merchants in the ports of England: the merchants of Boston paid £780, the highest in the kingdom after London's £836.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Thus, by the opening of the 13th century, Boston was already significant in trade with the continent of Europe and ranked as a port of the Hanseatic League.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> In the thirteenth century it was said to be the second port in the country.<ref>J.B.Priestley English Journey 1934 p.373 "When Boston was a port of some importance-and at one time, in the 13th century, it was the second port in the country..."</ref> Edward III named it a staple port for the wool trade in 1369.Template:Sfnp Apart from wool, Boston also exported salt, produced locally on the Holland coast, grain, produced up-river, and lead, produced in Derbyshire and brought via Lincoln, up-river.

A quarrel between the local and foreign merchants led to the withdrawal of the HansardsTemplate:Sfnp around 1470.Template:Sfnp Around the same time, the decline of the local guildsTemplate:Sfnp and shift towards domestic weaving of English wool (conducted in other areas of the country)Template:Citation needed led to a near-complete collapse of the town's foreign trade.Template:Sfnp The silting of the Haven only furthered the town's decline.

Blackfriars Arts Centre

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

Henry VIII granted the town its charter in 1545Template:Sfnp and Boston had two Members of Parliament from 1552.

17th and 18th centuries

Pilgrim Fathers Memorial

The staple trade made Boston a centre of intellectual influence from the Continent, including the teachings of John Calvin that became known as Calvinism. This, in turn, revolutionised the Christian beliefs and practices of many Bostonians and residents of the neighbouring shires of England. In 1607, a group of pilgrims from Nottinghamshire led by William Brewster and William Bradford attempted to escape pressure to conform with the teaching of the English church by going to the Netherlands from Boston. At that time, unsanctioned emigration was illegal, and they were brought before the court in the Guildhall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Boston remained a hotbed of religious dissent. In 1612, John Cotton became the Vicar of St Botolph's <ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> and, although viewed askance by the Church of England for his nonconformist preaching, became responsible for a large increase in Church attendance. He encouraged those who disliked the lack of religious freedom in England to join the Massachusetts Bay Company, and later helped to found the city of Boston, Massachusetts, which he was instrumental in naming. Unable to tolerate the religious situation any longer, he eventually emigrated himself in 1633.<ref name=":2" />

At the same time, work on draining the fens to the west of Boston was begun, a scheme which displeased many whose livelihoods were at risk. (One of the sources of livelihood obtained from the fen was fowling, supplying ducks and geese for meat and in addition the processing of their feathers and down for use in mattresses and pillows. Until 2018, the feathery aspect of this was still reflected in the presence of the local bedding company named Fogarty.<ref name="LL_Fog">Template:Cite news</ref>) 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Boston sunset

The later 18th century saw a revival when the Fens began to be effectively drained. The Act of Parliament permitting the embanking and straightening of the fenland Witham was dated 1762. A sluice, called for in the act, was designed to help scour out The Haven. The land proved to be fertile, and Boston began exporting cereals to London. In 1754, the first financial bank was opened,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 1776, an act of Parliament allowed watchmen to begin patrolling the streets at night.Template:Citation needed

Modern history

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

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

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

At the beginning of the First World War, a number of the town's trawlermen, together with some from Grimsby, were taken prisoner after their ships were sunk by German raiders in the North Sea. Their families did not know what had happened to them until late September 1914. The men were taken to Sennelager camp, then on to Ruhleben POW camp, where most remained until repatriated in 1918. A full report of their homecoming is in the Lincolnshire Standard newspaper, January 1918. During the war the port was used by hospital ships and some 4,000 sick or wounded troops passed through Boston.<ref name="cwgc1">[1] CWGC Cemetery Report, Boston Cemetery.</ref> The town was bombed by a Zeppelin on 2 September 1916, injuring three adults and killing a child.<ref name=Hurt>Template:Cite book Chapter – Zeppelins WWI.</ref>

The first cinema opened in 1910, and in 1913, a new town bridge was constructed. Central Park was purchased in 1919, and is now one of the focal points of the town. Electricity came to Boston during the early part of the century, and electrical street lighting was provided from 1924.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Second World War

During the Second World War, 17 residents of the borough were killed by enemy air raids.<ref>[2] CWGC Cemetery Report, Boston Municipal Borough.</ref> A memorial in Boston Cemetery commemorates them.<ref name=cwgc1 />

There were 16 air raids, with 14 people killed in the town, and 18 in the whole county of Holland. There were 40 high explosive bombs over the town, but the county of Holland had 695 high explosive bombs, 30 oil bombs, and 8 parachute mines.

  • 11 April 1941, there was a main raid, with many incendiaries on the church from 2.02am to 2.40 am
  • 12 June 1941 at 2.40am, a parachute mine landed near West Street and James Street, causing a crater 60 ft wide, 14 ft deep, killing two men, three women and four children
  • 27 July 1942 at 7.55am, a single aircraft flying low dropped 4 high explosives near Liquorpond Street, a 64 year old woman was killed
  • 22 August 1942 at 11pm, high explosive bombs were dropped, cutting off the electricity to the whole mid-Lincolnshire area, and a 70 year woman and 50 year old man were killed; a 18 year old male and 16 year old girl died later of their injuries.<ref>Lincolnshire Standard Saturday 7 October 1944, page 8</ref>

Recent development

The Haven Bridge, which now carries the two trunk roads over the river, was opened in 1966, and a new dual carriageway, John Adams Way, was built in 1976–1978 to take traffic away from the town centre. A shopping centre, named the Pescod Centre, opened in 2004, bringing many new shops into the town.

Healthcare

Boston Cottage Hospital opened in 1871,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was rebuilt in the 1960s,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and is now called the Pilgrim Hospital, having been officially opened by Princess Anne on 23 June 1977.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The hospital is currently building a new Emergency Department extension next to the current one, costing £35 million and doubling the current department in size.Template:Cn

Transport

Railway

Boston railway station is a stop on the Poacher Line; East Midlands Railway operates a generally hourly service between Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These services are run by the Class 170, 158 or the older Class 156 trains.Template:Cn

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

Boston was the southern terminus of the East Lincolnshire Line to Template:Rws and Grimsby, until its closure in 1970.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Buses

Bus services in the area are operated predominantly by Stagecoach East, Stagecoach East Midlands and Brylaine Travel. Key routes link the town with Lincoln, Skegness and Spalding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Politics

The Municipal Buildings in West Street, completed in 1904

Boston residents voted strongly (75.6%) in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, the highest such vote in the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Boston Borough Council

In the 2019 Borough elections, the Conservatives were confirmed as the majority party on Boston Borough Council with 16 of the 30 seats, followed by independents with 11.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2007, a single-issue political party, the Boston Bypass Independents campaigning for a bypass to be built around the town, took control of the council when they won 25 of the 32 council seats,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> losing all but four of them in the subsequent election in 2011.

Governance

Boston received its charter in 1546.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is the main settlement in the Boston local government district of Lincolnshire, which includes the unparished town of Boston and 18 other civil parishes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The borough council is based in the Municipal Buildings in West Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Borough Council wards

As of 2015, Boston Borough council consisted of 30 members:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

  • Coastal Ward elects two councillors
  • Fenside Ward elects two councillors.
  • Fishtoft Ward elects three councillors.
  • Five Villages Ward elects two councillors.
  • Kirton & Frampton Ward elects three councillors.
  • Old Leake & Wrangle elects two councillors
  • Skirbeck Ward elects three councillors.
  • Staniland Ward elects two councillors.
  • Station Ward elects one councillor.
  • St Thomas Ward elects one councillor.
  • Swineshead & Holland Ward elects two councillors.
  • Trinity Ward elects two councillors.
  • West Ward elects one councillor.
  • Witham Ward elects two councillors.
  • Wyberton Ward elects two councillors.

Template:Div col end

Lincolnshire County Council divisions

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

  • Boston Coastal
  • Boston North
  • Boston Rural
  • Boston South
  • Boston West
  • Skirbeck

Template:Div col end

UK Parliament

The town is part of the Boston and Skegness parliamentary constituency, currently represented by Reform UK chairman, Richard Tice.

Demography

According to the 2021 Census, the population of Boston is around 70,500. This is 9.1% higher than the 64,600 reported in the 2011 Census. This was a higher percentage of growth than the 6.6% national average for England during the same period.<ref name=":0" /> Much of this population growth is due to high levels of immigration to the town, especially from eastern Europe. The 2021 Census states that 23.6% of Boston's population was born outside of the UK. 5.6% of the population of Boston was born in Lithuania and 5.4% was born in Poland. This is the highest proportion of Lithuanians anywhere in the UK and the second highest number of Poles, behind Slough, Berkshire.<ref name=":1" /> Polish is the main language of 5.68% of the inhabitants.

Arts and culture

Boston has historically had strong cultural connections to the Netherlands, and Dutch influence can be found in its architecture.<ref name="Brexitland versus Londonia">Template:Cite news</ref>

Landmarks

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

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

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

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.Template:Citation needed

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

There is a statue of Herbert Ingram, founder of The Illustrated London News, in front of the Stump. The statue was designed by Alexander Munro and was unveiled in October 1862. The allegorical figure at the base of the monument is a reference to Ingram's efforts to bring the first piped water to the town. He was also instrumental in bringing the railways to Boston. Born in nearby Paddock Grove, son of a butcher,<ref>The Oxford Book of National Biography – September 2004, quoted on The Early History of The Illustrated London News</ref> he was also MP for Boston, from 1856 until his death in 1860, in a shipping accident on Lake Michigan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Maud Foster Mill

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

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

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

Hussey Tower

The ruined Hussey Tower is all that remains of a medieval brick-fortified house, built in 1450, and occupied by John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford until he was executed in the wake of the Lincolnshire Rising.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Convert east, Rochford Tower is another medieval tower house.<ref>Template:Cite PastScape</ref>

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

The Prime Meridian passes through the eastern side of Boston, marked by the fairly modern, suburban Meridian Road (Template:Mmukpc), which straddles the line after which the road was named.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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

The Haven Gallery, opened in 2005, was closed to the public in 2010 in a cost-cutting measure by Boston Borough Council.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Blackfriars is a theatre and arts centre<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> that was formerly the refectory of the Benedictine friary, built in the 13th century and once visited by King Edward I.

Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore are two nature reserves, managed by the RSPB, which lie on the Wash coast on either side of the mouth of The Haven.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Boston Preservation Trust has recently extended its Blue Plaque Trail to include a total of 27 examples (as of 2024) of significant heritage to the town and its place in the world. The 2024 additions include:

Scott House
  • Scott House (Boston Workhouse entrance building), designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Open Plaques

Local economy

Boston's most important industries are food production, including vegetables and potatoes; road haulage and logistics companies that carry the food; the Port of Boston, which handles more than one million tons of cargo per year including the import of steel and timber and the export of grain and recyclable materials; shellfishing; other light industry; and tourism. The port is connected by rail, with steel imports going by rail each day to Washwood Heath in Birmingham, and the port and town are also connected by trunk roads including the A16 and the A52.

Boston's market<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is held every Wednesday and Saturday<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is in one of England's largest marketplaces, with an additional market and outside auction held on Wednesdays on Bargate Green.

The town has many local and national stores. Pescod Square shopping centre, located in the centre of town, houses several branded stores including Next, HMV, Waterstones and Wilko. Other big name stores in Boston include New Look, Sports Direct, Dunelm, TK Maxx and Boots. There are several supermarkets, including Tesco, Asda, Aldi and two Lidls. Several Lincolnshire Co-op stores are located around the town and both Sainsbury's (inside Dobbies Garden Center) and Morrisons (in Wide Bargate) have a small presence.

However, recently the town centre has been hit by the loss of many retailers. Marks & Spencer closed in 2019 after over 100 years in the marketplace,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the town’s flagship department store, Oldrids, closed in 2020 after 216 years on the same site in Strait Bargate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was replaced by a new department store, Rebos, but this in turn closed in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2024 WH Smith closed, amid reports that a quarter of shops in the town were now empty.

In late 2013, a £100 million development was announced for the outskirts of town on the A16 towards Kirton. This development, named the Quadrant, is split in two phases. Phase one consists of a new football ground for Boston United F.C., 500 new homes, retail and business outlets, and a possible supermarket. This development also includes the beginning of a distributor road that will eventually link the A52 Grantham Road and the A16 together. Phase two, still in the development stage, consists of a possible second new marina, more new homes, and retail units.

Crime

In 2016, Boston was named as the most murderous place in England and Wales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Health

In the mid-2000s Boston was shown to have the highest obesity rate of any town in the United Kingdom, with one-third of its adults (31%) considered clinically obese. Obesity has been linked to social deprivation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sport

Template:More references

Rugby

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

Football

The town has two nonleague football clubs. The more senior Boston United, nicknamed the Pilgrims, plays in the National League following promotion in 2024. The stadium is currently located on York Street in the centre of the town and has an approximate capacity of 6,200. Boston United moved out of their former ground, York Street, for the 2020–21 season, to the Boston Community Stadium on the outskirts of town.<ref>Boston Standard, 9 July 2020, "The aim is to give them the best ground we can!"... retrieved 27 July 2020</ref> The town's second club, Boston Town, nicknamed the Poachers, plays in the United Counties Football League. Its home games are played at their stadium on Tattershall Road, on the outskirts of Boston.

Rowing

Boston Rowing Club, near Carlton Road, hosts the annual Template:Convert Boston Rowing Marathon each year in mid-September. Crews from throughout the world compete, starting at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, and finishing in times from three to six hours.

Speedway

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

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

Swimming

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

Sailing

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

Media

Boston has two weekly newspapers, the Boston Standard<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Boston Target.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Boston Standard (previously Lincolnshire Standard) was founded in the 19th century and has been the main newspaper. The Boston Target is owned by Local World, and is Boston Standard's main rival.

The town is served by a community radio station, Endeavour FM.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It had previously been called Endeavour Online and Stump Radio, set up as a collaboration between Blackfriars Arts Centre and Tulip Radio, which first started broadcasting in 2006 on 107 FM.

Education

Secondary schools

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

Colleges

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

Independent schools

St George's Preparatory School is the only independent school in the town. Established in 2011, it is housed in a Grade II listed building, the former home of the town architect William Wheeler, and caters for the 3–11 year age group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable Bostonians

Politics

Herbert Ingram, 1860
Memorial to Bishop Simon Patrick in Ely Cathedral

Church

Public service

John Westland Marston
Janet Lane-Claypon, 1907

Arts and writing

Jean Ingelow
Brian Bolland, 2010

Sport

Crista Cullen, 2009
Simon Lambert, 2015

Crime

International relations

Template:See also Boston joined the new Hanseatic League, in July 2015, a project for trade, cultural and educational integration. Boston's twin towns include:

  • Boston, Massachusetts, United States.<ref>Kennedy, Lawrence W. (1994). Planning the City Upon a Hill: Boston Since 1630. University of Massachusetts Press. P11-12 ISBN 978-0-87023-923-6</ref>
  • Laval, France; Boston's link with Laval is one of the oldest twinnings in the world.Template:Citation needed
  • Hakusan, Japan

Climate

Since 1991, the highest recorded temperature was Template:Convert on 19 July 2022 and the lowest was Template:Convert on 11 February 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Weather box

Destinations

Template:Geographic location

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Citations

Template:Reflist

Sources

Further reading

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Template:Commons category Template:Wikivoyage

Wikisource

Template:Portal bar Template:Hanseatic League Template:Lincolnshire Template:The Fens

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