Did You Know?

Boston is a medieval town in Lincolnshire. Its famous for it's traditional markets which started over 400 Years ago. Boston sits along side the St Botoph's Church known as The Stump which was built in 1309.

During the medieval period, the busy market town of Boston was one of the busiest port cities in Britain. The town has strong associations with the founding of America; the settlers who founded Boston, Massachusetts sailed from here in 1630, and leaders of the Pilgrim movement were tried at the Guildhall, which is now a museum.

Boston town has served as a small port and market town since the 13th century, when, as a member of the Hanseatic League, it traded in wool, wine, leather, tin, lead, and other commodities. With the progressive silting of the river and changing patterns of trade, the town’s prosperity declined.

Like a great many towns in the United States, Boston has its naming roots in old England. Boston, Massachusetts is named after Boston, Lincolnshire, England

The 14th-centry medieval St Botolph's Church, whose 272 feet tower, known locally as the 'Boston Stump', is a prominent landmark in the town.

Standing beside the Maud Foster Drain in Skirbeck is this Boston icon; a 5 sail windmill standing 7 storeys high. The mill was built in 1819 and is among the largest mills in England still in operation. It was made to grind grain for the Reckitt brothers, millers and bakers.

Boston's most notable landmark is St Botolph's Church ("The Stump"), said to be the largest parish church in England, visible for miles around from the flat lands of Lincolnshire.

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

English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton was born in a manor house at Boston, near Grantham.

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.

Immigrants who settled in the United States of America started their pilgrimage from Boston, in Lincolnshire, to Boston, Massachusetts during the early 1600s.

As well as weekly markets Boston had an annual fair by 1125. In the Middle Ages fairs were like markets but they were held only once a year. Merchants came from all over Europe to buy and sell there..

The first policewoman to be granted full powers of arrest in Great Britain 100 years ago was Boston woman Edith Smith who patrolled the streets of Grantham.

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.