Boston
Boston’s most notable landmark is The Stump, the parish church with one of the highest towers in England, visible in the flat lands of Lincolnshire for miles. 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 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 twentieth century, moving the produce of the district and the trade of the dock plus the excursion trade to Skegness and similar places, but became quieter by the time of the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
The market, held on Saturdays and Wednesdays in the Market Place and also on Wide Bargate on Wednesday, is a worthwhile experience.
The seven-storied Maud Foster Tower Windmill, completed in 1819 by millwrights Norman & Smithson of Hull for Isaac and Thomas Reckitt, is momentarily the tallest operating windmill in England at 80ft/24.4 metres to the top of the cap. The mill stands on the dyke above the drain it is named after and is unusual for having an odd number of sails (five).
The Boston 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. 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. Next door, at Fydell House, the American Room was opened by the U.S. Ambassador, Joseph Kennedy, in 1938.
Always check train times before travelling. Call National Rail enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or check their website.
Train Operator:
East Midlands Trains
Ticket sales by ‘phone: 08457 125 678
Tourist Information Centre:
The Haven, Tel: 01205 356656
