30, 30a and 30b Church Street, Boston, Lincolnshire

Summary

Late C16 timber-framed house, altered and extended in the C18, C19 and C20, and converted to commercial premises and accommodation.

Description

MATERIALS: post and panel timber frame with painted brick panels. Rear extensions of painted brick except the south-west range which has exposed red brick and applied timbering. Pantile-clad roofs except the south-east wing which has a slate-clad roof. Red brick chimney stacks.

PLAN: courtyard plan formed by the late C16 north-east (front) range, with the north-west wing added or substantially remodelled in the C18 and extended in the C19, and the south-east wing and rear south-west range added in the early C20.

EXTERIOR: the front two-storey range has three bays with a mid-rail, two corner and two central posts with convex braces in the central bay on the upper floor, and slender intermediate studs. Over half of the timbers have been carefully replaced, whilst the central posts have Roman numeral carpenters’ marks. The C20 central door is flanked by large C20 multi-paned fixed windows with timber glazing bars. The outer bays of the upper floor are lit by C18 three-light windows with leaded lights and replaced timber mullions. The left and right gable ends have exposed timber framing, some of the timbers in the left gable have been replaced, and all the timbers in the right gable have been replaced as a result of alterations to the fenestration. The right gable has a C20 door to the left and a central C20 large six-light window with timber mullions and transom, above which is a similar window with leaded lights.

The C18 north-west wing has irregular C19 and C20 fenestration consisting of a bow window, segmental-arched window, C20 door, and semicircular-arched four-light window. The first floor is lit at either end by two-light casement windows, in the middle of which is a square oriel with leaded lights and tile-clad dormer head. A tall chimney stack rises through the ridge on the left and another at the gable end which is crow-stepped with triangular stone caps and lit by narrow windows on the right hand side of both floors. The early C20 south-west rear range has applied timbering with brick panels to the first floor, some laid in herringbone. The ground floor consists of a wide opening with double-leaf, glazed doors, flanked by full-height margin lights, either side of which are narrow, single-light windows. Above this is a single band of bricks laid in stack bond. The first floor is lit by a large central window with timber mullions and leaded lights, and there is a ridge stack on the right hand side. The east half of the early C20 south-east range has a slightly higher roof than the west half, and a blank side elevation. The gable end is lit on the ground floor by a small horizontal window and on the first floor by a large window with timber mullions and leaded lights.

INTERIOR: this has been considerably altered over the years. The plan form has undergone numerous phases of remodelling and many fixtures and fittings have been removed. The principal areas of interest are the C16 front range and the remodelled C18 north-west wing. Both floors of the late C16 range now have open plans. The ground floor has some exposed timbers, including two mid-rails in the south-east side wall; and in the left-hand corner of the south-west rear wall, there is a post and lintel which could be the vestige of a former doorway. The front (north-east) and north-west wall frames have partially obscured mid-rails. The mid-rail on the south-east side and the four chamfered joists seem less worn and are probably replacements. The timber frame is completely exposed at the first-floor level. The wall plate on each wall frame is partially obscured but appears to have been repaired in places with later timber. While most studs, wall posts and braces survive, some have been replaced in the north-west and south-west walls, and all of the frame on the south-east wall has been replaced. The repairs have been carried out with good quality materials, probably in the C20. There is the vestige of a coupled rafter roof with some collars and purlins which appear from their size, and the fact that they are nailed and not pegged, to date to around the late C18. On the rear south-west wall (originally the external wall) at the south end is an C18 two-light casement window with leaded lights. The three C18 windows in this room retain their iron catches.

In the north-east corner of the north-west wing is the vestige of what was probably a back-to-back hearth. It is now blocked up, the only exposed elements being the cambered arch lintels and two posts. The few, but notable, remaining elements of the C18 remodelling of this wing include the section of panelling, painted white, which has raised and fielded panels with a small incorporated fireplace. This has a shaped mantel with a dentilled soffit, supported by brackets in the form of heavy, stylised foliage. At the end of the wing in what was previously the external (south) wall is a bow window with wide glazing bars.

History

Despite some fluctuation in its fortunes Boston remained a prosperous port and market town from the middle ages into the C19, its social, economic and political history reflected in its town plan and buildings. From the C12 to the C15 it was one of the busiest ports in England, its wealth based principally on the trade in wool, cloth and luxury goods. Boston's market was first recorded between 1125 and 1135, and the annual fair was one of the great trade fairs of Europe. The medieval town grew around streets on either side of the River Witham, now the High Street to the west and South Street to the east. The latter opens to a wide market place to the north, from which narrow medieval lanes travel east and north to Church Street, St Botolph's Church and Wormgate.

The medieval period is represented by fragments of the Dominican friary surviving as the Blackfriars Arts Centre (Grade II*) on Spain Lane, the only visible evidence of the four friaries established in the town in the C12 and C13. Evidence of the town's thriving C14 and C15 engagement in the North Sea wool trade survives in the Guildhall (Grade I) of the Guild of St Mary, one of several religious guilds in the town at this period. Following the incorporation of Boston as a borough in 1545 and the dissolution of the religious guilds two years later, the assets of the Guild of St Mary, including the Guildhall, were transferred to the Corporation. Later C18 fen drainage and the construction of the Grand Sluice realised the value of the Corporation's estate, the increase in income funding significant building projects in the town, including the Exchange Buildings of 1770-1772 (formerly the Corporation Buildings) to the west of the Market Place (Grade II*). This renewed prosperity continued into the first half of the C19, when agricultural enclosure generated new wealth from a now highly productive rural hinterland. The corporation invested in further public building, notably the Assembly Rooms, completed in 1822 (Grade II*) to the north of the Exchange Buildings. The Grade II listed buildings that form an irregular terrace, 42-50 Market Place, mostly date to the first half of the C19, as do eight Grade II listed warehouses. Between the mid-C18 and mid-C19 the town's suburbs grew to the north-west and east of the Market Place, with limited development to the west of the river.

Boston continued to thrive economically until the construction of the railway in 1848; this brought a station and growth to the west of the town, but withdrew outgoing goods from the port. A new dock constructed by the corporation to the south of the town in 1884 renewed seaborne trade and brought development to an area of previously agricultural land. By the late-C19 the town had reached almost its present extent. Although there was new building within the town in the C20, notably the construction of the inner ring road, John Adams Way, much historic fabric has been retained; this is reflected in the comprehensive coverage of Boston in the National Heritage List for England. Most list entries in Boston date to 1975 and the resurvey of 1991.

According to the Historic Area Appraisal for the Market Place, Boston (2009), development in the area around St Botolph’s Church was probably speculative building by St Mary’s Abbey, York, as a means of obtaining income from rentals. Hall’s 1741 map of the town indicates that the buildings in the Church Street and Church Lane area were generally oriented along the main street frontages in the manner of rows. 30 Church Street was possibly part of a late medieval row and therefore appears to be one of the last remaining row-type buildings in the area. The numbering on the framing would suggest that two bays have been lost at the southern end, and it is possible that the row extended further to the north towards the church. What remains of the building is a late-C16 three-bay front (north-east) range that has been extended and altered in the C18, C19 and C20. The rear north-west wing incorporates two parallel timber arched former openings, now blocked, which appear to be a vestige of an earlier back-to-back hearth. It is not clear if this hearth belonged to a contemporary C16 wing but this rear range was certainly substantially rebuilt in the C18.

An undated historic photograph, probably taken around the mid-C19, shows a single-storey extension at the end of this wing which, later in the C19, was built up to two storeys with a crow-stepped gable. The photograph shows that the main frontage was rendered and had a large chimney stack rising through the centre of the ridge which has since been removed. There was a narrower window on the ground-floor right bay, and the north gable end was lit on the ground floor by a nine-light window and in the attic by a small window. The rear north-west wing had on the ground floor a door, a blocked window, followed by another window and then what appears to be a door; and two two-light windows on the first floor. Another undated historic photograph, taken later in the C19 or early C20, shows the exposed timber framing, what appears to be the current wide window on the ground-floor right bay of the frontage, and a gabled dormer window on the front roof pitch which has since been removed. The north gable end has what appears to be the current large ground-floor window, a new window on the first floor, and the small window in the attic has been enlarged. The rear wing is partly obscured but the photograph shows that the door and blocked window have been replaced by a much larger window, possibly the current canted bay. The Ordnance Survey maps from 1889 and 1905 indicate that the building was subdivided into two premises, one formed of the first two bays of the front range, and the other the third bay and rear wing. The internal wall dividing the two dwellings in the front range has since been knocked through to form two wide openings. Soon after the publication of the 1905 OS map, the rear south-east wing and the south-west range were added, thereby creating a courtyard plan. Further alterations have taken place in the C20, including the replacement of timbers, the insertion of a door on the left side of the north gable end, the blocking up of the window at attic level, and the addition of a first-floor square bay window in the north-west wing. The interior has been substantially remodelled. The first floor of the north-west wing has been converted into a flat, and the south-east wing has a kitchen on the ground floor and a flat above.

30 Church Street has had various uses over the years. At the turn of the C20 it was owned or occupied by George Hackford, a local Photographer, Antiquarian and Amateur Artist, who ran a photography studio (called Church Key Studios) and an antiquarian/curiosity shop from the premises. The building has been in commercial use for much of the C20.

Reasons for Listing

30, 30a and 30b Church Street, a late-C16 timber-framed house, altered and extended in the C18, C19 and C20, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the main three-bay timber-framed range dates to the late C16 and is thought to be possibly one of the last remaining late medieval row-type buildings in the area. The building has undergone several phases of change which reflect the evolving needs of succeeding occupants and add to its interest, particularly in the north-west wing which retains the vestige of a back-to-back hearth as well as C18 panelling with an incorporated fireplace;
* Historic interest: it is a significant building in one of the most important historic spaces in Boston which forms the setting for the Church of St Botolph;
* Group value: it has strong group value with the Grade I listed church as well as with the adjacent listed buildings on Church Street and Church Close.

External Links

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