St Botolph's Church, Boston
St Botolph's Church is the Anglican parish church of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. It has been referred to as "Boston Stump" since it was constructed in the 16th century. Its tower is tall, and was long used as a landmark for the Boston fishermen; on a clear day it can be seen from Norfolk. The church is a Grade I listed building.
Background
The church has one of the tallest medieval towers in the country, with a height of approximately 266 feet 9 inches.It can be seen for miles around; its prominence accentuated by the flat surrounding countryside known as the Fens. On a clear day, it can be seen from East Anglia on the other side of the Wash. The nickname, Boston Stump, is often used as a reference to the whole church building or for the parish community housed by it. The formal name is Saint Botolph's Parochial Church of Boston. The name "Boston" is thought to have evolved from "Botolph's Town".
Earlier buildings
Early English legends say that the church was built on the site of a monastery founded by Saint Botolph in 654. As the main source of this account is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it is strongly disputed. Modern historians believe it much more likely that Botolph's monastery was located at Iken in Suffolk.The Boston Stump is not the first church to have been built on this site. Archaeological evidence indicates that a smaller wooden and stone Norman church had existed on the location of the south aisle of the present building. William Stukeley, the 18th-century antiquary, mentions large stone remains to the south of the church. Excavations during the mid 19th century revealed a Norman stone pillar and a number of coffins from the period.
The small church was inadequate for a booming town with trading revenues to rival London. Trade was across the North Sea with the Low Countries. The town also became a theological centre, with no fewer than four religious houses. In the beginning of the 14th century, the parish began work on a much grander building, more fitting for a prosperous town.
Historically, the transformation from a small church to the equivalent of a continental European cathedral was begun in 1309 under Sir John Truesdale, Vicar of St Botolph's. In this period there was change and upheaval across the continent and England following the arrests of the Knights Templar by King Philip the Fair of France on Friday, 13 October 1307.
England became a refuge for many individuals with ties on both sides of the channel, and there was a surge in building construction across England. For approximately the next 20 years, theological determination was disputed among the crown, nobility, and clergy in England. Political turmoil from these events led to the Hundred Years' War and the eventual formation of the Church of England in the 16th century.
Foundation and architecture
The existing church was begun in 1309 at the east end, as was customary. With the chancel built, work reached the south aisle and moved on through the nave until its completion around 1390. Foundation trouble, because of proximity to the river, delayed progress while the chancel was extended to prop the building up and create a greater level of structural stability. The nave piers had been leaning dangerously to the east. This work was successful to the extent that today the tower leans by less than half a centimetre, despite its great height.The tower was not begun until 1450, by excavation of a deep, wide hole. Indicating the architectural skill employed by the builders at the time, the tower remains structurally solid and has not required any restoration work to realign it despite The Haven being only away and the original foundations built under water level.
It was completed between 1510 and 1520 in the Perpendicular style that had become popular during much of the 15th century. A walkway at roughly two thirds of the height of the tower encircles the edges, giving great views from the Wash in the east toward Lincoln in the west. Reached by 209 steps, the walkway also provides access to the tower level with the bells.
The tower is topped with a highly decorated octagonal lantern ringed with pinnacles, one of fewer than half a dozen medieval examples surviving in England. Others, including the church of Bury St Edmunds Abbey, are now ruined.
The nave is long and wide, making the internal space of the building impressive by its sheer size. It terminates in the vaulted chancel containing the high altar at the extreme eastern end of the church. The church was vaulted in wood in the 18th century, but the nave vaults were removed in the 20th century.
The relatively short period of construction for such a large church is fairly unusual in England, and an indication of the wealth of Boston. Most similarly sized churches, largely cathedrals, took hundreds of years to build due to constant fund shortages, giving them a variety of different styles as exhibited by other East Anglian churches, such as Ely or Peterborough. The Stump was built in less than 150 years, giving it a rare sense of architectural coherence and unity.
Misericords
St Botolph's has an array of sixty-two misericords dating from 1390. Subject matter includes mythology, heraldry, and some everyday scenes - NB-02, for instance "Master seated birching a boy who is trying to protect himself with a book. Three other boys are looking on," and NB-03 "Two jesters, each squeezing a cat under its arm and biting its tail".Dimensions and statistics
St Botolph's Church is the widest parish church in England, the tallest to roof, and also one of the largest by floor area. The very largest by floor area is Holy Trinity Church in Hull, now known as Hull Minster.- The tower is high.
- The walls of the tower are
- Ground level interior height of the tower is.
- Views from the top of the tower reach.
- Interior space is
- Nave length is.
- Nave width is.
Significance of the tower
The tower of St Botolph's Church is high, making it the tallest parish church in England to its roof. For the last one hundred and thirty odd years, there have only been 26 bells at the Stump: 15 carillon bells, 10 bells hung for full circle ringing, and the sanctuary bell.The tower was used as a marker for travellers on The Fens and in The Wash. It is commonly believed that it was once lit from inside the tower in order to serve this purpose at night as well as during the day. George Jebb's Guide to the Church of St Botolph, with Notes on the History of Boston mentions rings in the tower from which lights could be hung, pointing out that it was a popular practice. The accuracy of this reference is not known. Pishey Thompson, in The History and Antiquities of Boston, quotes from Britton, editor of The Lincolnshire Churches, in the Division of Holland:
The tower became important again in World War II, when Lincolnshire was known as "Bomber County" for its proliferation of air bases. British and American pilots would use The Stump as a signpost to guide them back to base. It also appears that the German Luftwaffe used the tower as a marker, but the town of Boston suffered few bombings.
When floodlighting was recently fitted at The Stump, a great deal of research was done. The yellow lighting of the octagonal lantern was specially put in place to represent the historic use as a marker to guide travellers on land and sea.
Architectural influence abroad
In the 1920s, the truncated tower inspired the form of several structures during a resurgence of Gothic Revival buildings in the United States. The spire of Harkness Tower at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and Riverside Church in New York City were the closest exemplars of the original masonry structure. Skyscrapers such as the Chicago Tribune Tower and New York's American Radiator Building also took formal cues. In Boston, Massachusetts, so named for St Botolph's parish, Boston University planned its own "Boston stump" in the form of the Alexander Graham Bell tower, but these plans were never realized.Clock and chimes
The church had chimes which played for around a hundred years until the chiming machinery was allowed to fall out of repair in 1833.In around 1822 a new clock by Mr. Wynn of Dean Street, London was installed in the church tower.
In 1863, the Mayor of Boston, W. Simonds, initiated a scheme to install chimes in the church tower. In 1864 the celebrated firm of Van Aerschodt, Ainé & Co., bell founders from Louvain, Belgium visited the church to inspect the bells and the capabilities of installing extra bells to implement a complete change of chimes or carillons, using as a model those installations in Antwerp, Liege and other cathedrals.
Once the money had been raised, a contract was placed with Van Aerschodt, Aine & Co. for 36 new bells for the sum of £1,400. The treble bell dating from 1785 was sent to Louvain to provide the new bells with the key-note.
The clock which was proving unreliable was repaired in 1868 by Gillett and Bland of Croydon who also provided the mechanism to play the chimes and carillon bells. The new bells for the chimes and carillon were installed in the tower on March 1868.
They were not altogether successful and there were complaints that when they had operated, they were inaudible. By 1897 they had been out of order for several years and a scheme was proposed to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria with a new set of chimes and carillon. Gillett & Johnston wrote a report which criticised the small size of the 1868 bells. The largest of the peal only measured across the mouth, and weighed about. After an overhaul, the overhaul the chimes were reinstated in 1898 to play every three hours during the day. However, the bells were out of tune, so a decision was taken in 1899 to get the bells recast by Gillett and Johnson of Croydon. The bells were returned to the church from London on the SS Lizzie and Annie and chimed again on 5 November 1899.
The chimes and carillon were silenced at the outbreak of the First World War and were not heard again until after the Second World War. A generous bequest from Councillor Mrs E. L Mawer provided the funds for restoration by Taylor of Loughborough. Eleven new bells with the four existing clock bells provided a chime of 15 bells. The new mechanism provided 35 tunes.
A new tower clock by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon was installed in 1933. It was the first mains-driven A.C. synchronous Westminster chiming clock to be erected in a parish church.