St Botolph's Church (The Boston Stump)

St Botolph's Church, nicknamed the Boston 'Stump,' is described by Pevsner as ‘a giant among English Parish churches.' It has always been a landmark both to seafarers and people travelling across the flat fenland that surrounds the town.

Replacing an earlier Norman church, construction of the present building commenced in 1309 at the east end and was completed by 1390. The tower construction was started in 1425 - 1430 but not completed until 1510-1520. The Chancel was originally only designed to be three bays long but was lengthened by two additional bays to the east, possibly because of the growing importance of commercial and religious life of the town.

Since the Reformation the building’s exterior has remained much the same. Internally, however, a major programme of work remodelled the church with box pews, a timber and plaster vault and a sweeping away of the medieval screens, rood and seating arrangements. The interior of the church now largely reflects two significant periods of restoration, in the mid 19th century and in the second decade of the 20th century.

Over its 700 years the church has played its part in both national and international history. It will be forever linked through the Puritan emigrants who in 1630 followed in the wake of the Pilgrim Fathers and founded a new Boston in the United States of America. This city has long since surpassed the Lincolnshire Boston in size and importance, but their close links have never been forgotten.