Taiban Valley news., 1921-10-21


are disclosed. Along either side of these are
tall timber piles and stagings in every circum
stance of age or newpess, with lofty wharves and
warehouses of antique modern appearance
The hest residential suburb of Boston is Shir-
heck which indeed claims to be older than Boston
itself for while the town is not mentioned III
Domesday Book, Shirbeck finds a place in It's
pages,
Always a seaport and thriving trade with
Russia, with Sweden and Norway and the Baltic,
as well as on its fisheries, Boston has In most OF
its streets and queer od-wOrd lanes tang OF
the sea Yet the visitor will see nothing OF the
ocean in Boston town unless he cares to ascend
the lofty tower of the parish church, whose IAN
tern stnge was built for the purpose not only OF
a landmark when roads scarce existed ana wheh
the fens largely overspread the land. but also
as a beacon for mariners out at sea and ascending
the winding river channel. 1t has been stated
that Boston steeple can be 40 miles out at
sea and certainly it is easily visible 20 miles
away on the land. Roads leading from the town
to seashore are few and the shore itself when
reached is not attractive.
Why It Has Foreign Air.
TIE curiously foreign air of Boston, like that
u OF Kings Lynn, is derived from its trade with
foreign parts and from the merchants of other
countries who once had houses here in the times
of its great commercial prosperity. For Boston
was ut one time second only to London as port.
That was in the opening years of the Thirteenth
century While London and other ports have de-
veioped. Boston has simply stood still.
There was, however, period when "decayed
might well have been applied here. 1t was, curl
Ously enough exactly at the time when the III
grim Fathers sought to leave these shores; for in
1907 the corporation petiOned that their borough
might be put among the decayed towns Inc
object to escape paying subsidies Dut tne
ecay was there. The cause of decline was the
,radIal choking up by mud of the winding river
al MoIa 6nplyc
Ahirbeck- have, together with railways, brought
back prosperity; and there seems no reason to
doubt but that in the future there will be con-
siderable expansion.
ea-borne trade has been shifted below the town
exceut for quite small vessels. 1t Is a pity to
observe many of those old warehouses empty
and soon no doubt to be dismantled for they
have nm architectural distinction which the mod
ern ones wholly lack. Looking at them, we see
another reason apart from their situation why
they are no longer desirable. They are Duudhgs
with the small windows That make dark interiors
The modern warehouses have little wall space
and much window. Secular architecture has, In
fact followed on exactly the same lines as eccle-
siastiral for Romanesque developed into Comic
from few and tiny Norman windows into the vast
and ghtsome fenestraton of the Sixteenth cen
tury.
We find this we'll exempliied in the case of the
great church Of Boston, that of st. Botolph's,
whose dedication gave the town its name. The
existing church is largely of the decorated and
perpendicular periods of the Fourteenth and Fff-
teenth centuries when windows had already at
tanned great size.
Boston Church and the "Stump."
Boston church entirely dominates the town. as
the lofty steeple does the surrounding country
II is said to be the Largest parish church in Eng
land" There are several claimants to this dig
nifty st. Michaels. Coventry, Is however, the
largest but ST. BotOlph's interior certainly con-
yeys the impression of greater size. 1t is an
amazingly ample ana dignifed interior. There
are ancient memorial brasses, a wonderful series
of sculptured "miserere" seats, beautiful ia
cobean pulpit of 1920 far more restrained in style
than commonly to be met with of that period
and an efigy of the lady, Dame Margaret Tilney,
who placed f5 on the foundations of the great
tower, excavated in 1909.
This tower Of Boston church. so noble, so re-
marIable known in endearng fashion to all Lin
colnshre folk as Boston stump" from its sngu
iarly blunted outline, rises to a height of 2SS feet.
n seems astounding that the builder should have
had the confidence to raise so lofty and heavy
building upon the banks of muddy river chan
nel only some 40 feet from its shore; but the
foundations were carried down 30 feet, to a stone
bed five feet below the level of the river bottom
FOR 20 years the work of building the tower was
staved and then recommended, being finished
without tile topmost octagonal stage, which was
added at later period, especially to exhibit
fight fer sailors making the haven.
The south chapel, used In the Eighteenth cen
fury and until comparatively recent years as
are engine house, was restored by citizens of Bos-
ton in America in honor Of Rev. John COtton'
who resigned his post as vicar in 1888 and accom-
panied by many Of Boston's most prominent men,
safied n the Griffin for the newer Boston. 1t IS
now known as Cotton chapel.
Selling Their Antiquities.
Boston has never been a good warden Of her
historic buildings and picturesque corners, ana
very much has been destroyed. The Guildhall is
long low building Of two floors. Built in red
brick in the Fifteenth century, II was evidently
originally of religious character, from the great
rhurch-llke window still containing some stained
glass once representing the twelve apostles. The
two narrow cells are survivals of several made
IN 1862 by order Of the town council They are
hut seven feet long and high and about five feet
across staircase once led to the courtroom,
hut when the new sessIonshouse built in
1913 these cells were disused and the staircase