Boston Town Defences

In the civil parish of Boston. In the historic county of Lincolnshire (Modern Authority of Lincolnshire, 1974 county of Lincolnshire).

From C12 the east side was enclosed by a moat or open sewer known as the Barditch which had an internal earth bank. Scant traces remain. Pavage grant of 1285 has been misidentified as murage grant. Some doubt if Barditch was defensive in nature. May have had thin brick wall.
The town of Boston began as the port of St Botolph shortly after the conquest. In 1203 the citizens were granted a charter by King John. At some uncertain period the town on the east bank of the Witham was ditched and walled, and in 1285 the walls were repaired. There is mention of Wormgate, Bargate and St John's Gate, St John's Bridge, mentioned in 1567 when it was ordered that a gate should be placed there, was at the south end of the ditch where it meets the river. In 1643 the town was besieged and taken by the Parliamentarians. Excavations by M. Barley in the grounds of Fydell House at TF32854387, on the inner lip of the ditch, revealed a brick wall, going down to brick and stone foundations, 6 feet thick, on a timber platform. On pottery evidence the wall appears to be early 14th century. The Barditch had been piped in a brick conduit about 1725, and 'no clear indications were found of the medieval ditch which probably lay further east'. (This appears to be a somewhat ambiguous reference to the line of the ditch before it was piped or to its outer lip.) Further excavations at Fydell House by P. Mayes and also east of the Odeon Cinema, yielded a large range of pottery from the 11th century onwards. In all the cuttings the wall and ditch were found on the expected line. There was no proof that the wall was ever defensive. (Lincolnshire HER)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TF32674380

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 353928
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 12644 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p24, 72, 156, 267
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p69 [slight]
    Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p266
    Harden, G., 1978, Medieval Boston and its archaeological implications (South Lincolnshire Archaeological Unit)
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71 plan p61
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p118
    Thompson, P., 1856, The Histories and Antiquities of Boston p241
• Journal Articles
  • Oetgen, J. and Healey, H., 1987, Lincoln Archaeology p17-19
    Harden, G., 1983, Lincolnshire history and Archaeology Vol12 p108-110
    Harden, G., 1977, Lincolnshire history and Archaeology Vol12 p72-3
    Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, D.G., 1961, 'Medieval Britain in 1960' Medieval Archaeology Vol5 p323 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, D.G., 1958, 'Medieval Britain in 1957' Medieval Archaeology Vol2 p200 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Thompson, A.H., 1932, The Archaeological Journal Vol89 p368 [plan]