Boston 1; The Heritage Trail

Boston is a market town and inland port in Lincolnshire; it is situated on the River Witham and used to be the second largest port in the UK after London, but decline started when the flat countryside around the town, The Fens, started to be drained.

We start our Heritage Trail walk at the station; close to this is Swan House - located on Trinity Street, the building has been converted into flats, but it was originally built for the processing of feathers for pillow cases.  We walk into town and pass the Municipal Buildings on West Street before crossing the Haven to the town centre, and the Market Place (the River Witham is known as The Haven on its route through Boston).  From here we cross to St Botolph's Church (aka The Stump); this is Boston's most notable landmark and the largest parish church in England - it has one of the tallest medieval towers in the country (over 266 feet) and this is visible from miles away across the surrounding flat countryside. 

From here, we walk the length of Bargate and cross the Maud Foster Drain to see the Maud Foster Windmill, a seven-storey, five sail windmill; the tower mill and adjoining granary is a grade I listed building.  We double back into town to see the magnificent War Memorial before turning off to see Pescod Hall, originally built in 1450 and now in front of the Pescod Square Shopping Mall.  Then its back to the Market Place and along South Street towards the Cultural Quarter; here we see Shodfriars Hall, a substantial timber-framed building of three storeys, and in a road behind it is the Blackfriars Arts Centre, situated in a converted medieval friary.  Along South Street is The Guildhall, a former municipal building and now as a local museum, and next door to this is Fydell House, a Queen Anne house and open to the public for room hire, conferences and weddings.  We cross the John Adams Way to South End for the short walk past Boston Grammar School to see Hussey Tower, hidden away behind some new houses on the edge of the School playing fieds; this is a grade II listed historic tower, dating back to 1450, and the remains of a medieval brick-fortified house.  

It has been a very interesting walk around Boston; there is more to see here than one thinks.Read more