Boston Born and Raised?

Sometimes referred to as "The Cradle of Liberty", for its role in the American Revolution, Boston Massachusettshad its beginnings in the first half of the 17th Century when Puritans first settled there. However, Boston was in fact named by the first deputy-governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Dudley, whose hometown was Boston, Lincolnshire, England.

But what do today's Bostonians know about the town in England that lent their name to liberty's cradle?

According to legend, Boston in Lincolnshire, England was named after St Botolph. It is said he came to the area during the 7th century and built a monastery. It is believed Boston actually became a proper town in the late 11th century as international trade within Europe was beginning to boom.

Because Boston was geographically well situated on England's east coast it soon became a busy port. In the Middle Ages wool had become England's most important export and by the 13th century this was the principal export from the port of Boston. In fact, during the early 13th century, Boston in Lincolnshire paid more tax than any other town except London!

The main import at this time was the drink of the upper class, wine, but timber and fish were imported from Scandinavia also.

Despite relative importance in the Middle Ages, Boston was not made a borough until 1545 when King Henry VIII granted it a Charter (document giving certain rights), and from 1552 onward Boston sent two Members to Parliament.

In the mid 16th century a writer named John Leland described Boston as: "The greatest and chief part of the town in on the east side of the river, where there is a fair market place and a cross with a square tower. The Church of St Botolph is so risen and adorned that it is the chief of the town and, for a Parish Church, is the best and fairest in all Lincolnshire' (these words altered slightly to make them easier to understand).

Despite outbreaks of plague in 1587-88, 1603 and 1625 Boston's population continued to grow. The writer Daniel Defoe visited Boston in the 1720s. He called it 'large and populous' and appeared to be impressed.

1776 saw an Act of Parliament establish a body called 'Commissioners' who were given the power to light the streets in Boston and appoint watchmen to patrol the town at night.

In 1795, a dispensary opened where the poor could obtain free medicines and by 1800 Boston had a population approaching 6,000. The coastal shipping trade was flourishing and in 1884 new docks were opened a short distance downriver of the town which further increased trade until, by 1900, the population reached 15,000.

Today Boston remains an important English trading port with a population of 35,000. Regular street markets take place under the gaze of the towering 'Stump' (the Tower of St Botolphs Church) and the Lincolnshire Bostonians are confident Thomas Dudley would still approve of his home town.