Parish Church of St Botolph, Boston, Lincolnshire

Description

BOSTON

TF3244SE CHURCH CLOSE
716-1/7/8 (South side)
27/05/49 Parish Church of St Botolph

GV I

Parish church. 1309 work commenced on chancel, nave and aisles
completed 1390, tower started c1450 and completed 1520.
Restoration by Gilbert Scott in 1845 and George Place of
Nottingham in 1851-53. Further restoration of 1929 by Sir
Charles Nicholson. Nave altar of 1978 by Ronald Sims.
MATERIALS: ashlar with lead roofs.
PLAN: western tower with tall octagonal lantern called 'The
Stump', nave with clerestorey, aisles, chancel, south porch
and chapel, north vestry.
EXTERIOR: tall 3-stage tower with stepped set back buttresses,
all panel traceried with crocketed pinnacles. Deeply moulded
plinth with quatrefoil frieze, moulded offsets to each stage,
blank tracery to all surfaces, castellated parapet. Tall
octagonal lantern with flying buttresses, decorated parapet
with ogee arches, crocketed pinnacles to each angle. To all 4
sides a pair of 2-light double height windows to the middle
stage, with pointed heads and crocketed ogees over. To the
belfry stage a single broad opening with moulded pointed head,
containing pierced 4-light bell openings. On the south and
north sides the ground floor stage has a tall double height
4-light window with pointed head and cusped tracery. To the
west side a pair of doors with traceried heads, set in a wide
recessed doorway with cusped and crocketed ogee arch over,
seaweed tracery, double panelled spandrels and to either side
double height blank statue niches with nodding ogees, all with
castellated and arcaded parapet. Above a very large 8-light
west window, with cusped tracery and continuously moulded
pointed surround.
The north aisle has a moulded plinth and parapet, plain
stepped buttresses with decorated gablettes, figures and
pinnacles. In the west end a C15 5-light window. The north
side is of 7 bays with tall 4-light windows with flowing
tracery, hood moulds with human head stops. The 2nd bay from
the west has a doorway with pointed moulded surround and
traceried C14 door. Above is a 4-light traceried window. At
each end of the north aisle is a tall pinnacle with statue
niche.
The clerestorey is of 14 bays with closely set 2-light
windows, quatrefoil frieze to parapet and flat pilaster
buttresses with decorated pinnacles with statue niches, some
containing original carved figures. At the west end is a
battlemented stair tower.
The north aisle east window is of 5 lights, with reticulated
tracery. The aisle end has a pierced quatrefoil frieze to the
parapet. The organ chamber and vestry extension by Sir Charles
Nicholson has a flat roof behind a parapet.
The chancel is of 4 bays, with tall stepped buttresses with
diamond-set tall pinnacles. It has a moulded plinth and
panelled frieze to the parapet with lobed quatrefoils. 4
windows of 4 lights, 2 with flowing tracery, 2 with
perpendicular tracery. The eastern one is partly blocked off
due to the altar reredos.
The east window is of 7 lights with flowing tracery and by
George Place. Pierced gable parapet to chancel and nave. The
south side of the chancel is of 5 bays and similar to the
north side. Under the central window is a priest's doorway
with ogee moulding over pointed head, with foliate pinnacle.
It is flanked by statue niches and has a castellated top.
The south aisle has a moulded plinth and wave-moulded parapet
with tall panelled pinnacles with crocketed finials and statue
niches. It is of 5 bays, with gabled stepped buttresses. The
east window is of 5 lights with flowing tracery.
The south side has similar 4-light windows.
The nave clerestorey is similar to the south side, but has
alternating forms of flowing traceried windows. The south
porch is of 2 storeys with parvise. The buttresses have 3
tiers of niches and pinnacles. To the east side is a chimney
stack with brattished top and side pinnacles. The south
doorway is deeply moulded with thin moulded shafted reveals
and above a cusped moulded arch. In the gable a 5-light
4-centred arched window. The parapet has a quatrefoil frieze
and sundial dated 1757.
The porch has side stone benches and half engaged triple wall
shafts. The inner doorway has 3 thin shafts and moulded
surround and late C14 traceried door. Beyond the porch is the
3-bay Cotton Chapel with 3-light reticulated traceried
mullions, and buttresses with gablettes. Beyond is the choir
vestry by Sir Charles Nicholson. At the corner of the aisle is
a prominent turret pinnacle.
INTERIOR: 7-bay tall nave arcades, having quatrefoil piers
with fillets, annular capitals and tall bases. Double moulded
pointed arches, with continuously linked moulded heads. Roll
moulded string to base of clerestorey and flower frieze at
head. Painted timber nave ceiling 1927, by Sir Charles
Nicholson, with moulded beams in coffered formation with
bosses at intersections. Tall continuously moulded painted
tower arch. Arcaded tower walls. High up, at the top of the
second stage is a star lierne vault by GG Pace, using the
springers of an unexecuted medieval vault. Broad double
moulded pointed chancel arch, with quarter engaged responds
and capitals. Small pointed doorway to rood stairs and blocked
upper door.
The south aisle has a moulded sill band and painted timber
roof with trusses supported on beast corbels. At the west end
is an arcade of 2 bays into the Cotton Chapel, with quatrefoil
pier and heavily moulded arches.
The south doorway has on the inside 2 wide chamfers and hood
mould on head stops, and the dovetailed planks of the C14 door
can be seen. Next is the doorway to the porch parvise, and a
blocked door to the demolished chapel of the Corpus Christi
Guild, containing a reset medieval brass. Two shafted tomb
recesses and canopies with nodding ogees. Triple sedilia with
quatrefoil columns, cusped arches and heads.
The north aisle is as the south, with 3 low tomb recesses. The
chancel has a C18 painted barrel-vaulted ceiling and a flower
frieze as the nave. 9 steps up to the sanctuary.
FITTINGS: include an octagonal C19 font in elaborate C14
style, by Edward Welby Pugin, on large stepped stone plinth.
Reredos of 1890 by WS Weatherley. Pulpit of 1612, octagonal
on carved polygonal shaft, with richly carved panels,
gadrooned arches, paired fluted Ionic columns, carved back panel,
tester with full cornice and obelisk finials. Curved C18
stairs with slender barley-sugar twist balusters and fluted newels.
Choir stalls of c1390 with good misericords. Canopies of 1853-60.
Communion rails wrought-iron of 1754 altered 1853. C17 parish
chest. Door knocker on south tower door of C13 with lion's
head. Charles I coat-of-arms and 10 hatchments in the tower.
Stained glass: by M & A O'Connor 1853, Kempe 1889, Burlison
and Grylls 1944 and others.
MONUMENTS: include at west end of north aisle an incised slab
of Tournai marble 1312 to a Hanseatic merchant. 2 busts of
c1400 - Walter Pescod and wife d 1398 and a priest c1400. In
south aisle a c1400 brass, and C15 alabaster knight on
tombchest, with ogee panels and angels, and alabaster lady,
possibly Dame Margaret Tilney. By the tower 2 early C18
cartouches. Various late C18 and early C19 classical wall
tablets to members of the Fydell family.
(Buildings of England: Antram N: Lincolnshire: London: 1989-:
156-61; Spurrell Rev M: Boston Parish Church: Boston).

Listing NGR: TF3268844184

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British Listed Buildings

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Parish Church of St Botolph

A Grade I Listed Building in Boston, Lincolnshire

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