The Stump
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Boston parish church, known popularly as The Stump, in Boston, Lincolnshire, UK is dedicated to Saint Botolph, the name "Boston" possibly being a corruption of "Botolph's Town". The church is one of the largest parish churches in England, and has the highest tower, the so-called Boston Stump.
The tower is approximately 272 feet high, and can be seen for miles around, the countryside of The Fens being famous for its flatness. It provides a landmark from East Anglia, on the other side of the Wash and is the tallest non cathedral church tower in the world to roof (not spire). The nickname is often used affectionately, for the whole church building and for the community inside it. Their formal names are of course, used where appropriate.
Contents |
[edit] Earlier Buildings
Early English legends have created the belief that the church was built on the site of a monastery founded by Botolph in 654 but with the main source of this being the Anglo Saxon Chronicle this is heavily disputed. Modern historians believe that the monastery much more likely to have been loctaed at Iken in Suffolk.
What is beyond doubt is that the Boston Stump is not the first church to have been built on site. Archaeological records indicate that a smaller wooden and stone Norman church had existed on the location of the south aisle of the present building. Excavations during the mid 19th century revealed a Norman stone pillar and a number of coffins from the period.
The size of such a small church was however inadequate for a booming town with trading revenues to rival London and a theological centre with no less than four monasteries, so work would begin at the start of the 14th century on a much grander building, more fitting for a prosperous town.
[edit] Foundation and Architecture
The existing church was begun in 1309, in the usual way, at the east end. With the chancel built, work reached the south aisle and moved on through the nave until its completion around 1390. Foundation trouble thanks to the close proximity to the river then held progress up while the chancel was extended to prop the building up and create a greater level of structural stability as the nave piers were leaning dangerously to the east. This work was successful to the extent that even today the tower leans by less than half a centimetre despite its great height.
The tower was not begun until 1450, by excavation of a deep, wide hole. Indicating the architectural skill employed by the builders at the time, the tower remains structurally solid and has not required any restoration work to realign it despite the River Haven being only ten metres away and the original foundations built under water level.
It was completed between 1510 and 1520 in the perpendicular style that had become popular during much of the 15th century and features a walkway roughly at two thirds of the height of the tower that encircles the edges giving great views from the Wash in the east towards Lincoln in the west. Reached by 209 steps, this also provides access to the tower level with the bells.
The tower is topped with a highly decorated octagonal lantern ringed with cornices, one of less than half a dozen medieval examples surviving in England, others including the similarly sized Abbey Church of St Edmund are now ruined. Not only did the tall tower serve as landmark during the day, but the hanging of a light there at night would provide a helpful guide to travellers and boats alike. At this point in its history, and right up until the 19th century, the Boston Stump had the tallest roof of any building, religious or secular, in the world.
The nave is 242 feet long and 104 feet wide making the internal space of the building impressive by sheer size. It terminates in the vaulted high altar at the extreme southern end of the church. The vaulting of the high altar, something that the nave has not had done to it hence the relatively low line of its roof, emphasises the theological importance of this area as the central place of worship compared to the large internal space that the nave encompasses in the approach.
The relatively short period of construction for such a large church is fairly unusual in England and an indication of the wealth of Boston. Most similarly sized churches, largely cathedrals, took hundreds of years to build due to constant fund shortages giving them a variety of different styles as exhibited by other East Anglian churches such as Ely or Peterborough. The Stump however was built in less than 150 years giving it a rare sense of architectural coherence and unity.
Some local historians suggest that the building was to have a spire built on the top of the lantern after the planned construction of more adjoining chapels were completed however further extension work was made impossible by political changes that were starting to occur in England.
[edit] Dimensions and Statistics.
St Botolph's Church is the widest parish church in England, the tallest to roof, and also one of the largest by floor area although contary to common belief that title is held by the Holy Trinity Church in Hull.
- The tower is 272 feet and 6 inches high, (83.05 metres).
- The walls are of the tower are 40 feet (12.1 metres).
- Ground level interior height of the tower is 137 feet (41.7 metres).
- Views from the top of the tower reach 32 miles (51.4 kilometres).
- Interior space is 20,070 square feet (1,864.56 square metres).
- Nave length is 242 feet (74 metres).
- Nave width is 104 feet (32 metres).
There are many dimensions of the church that correspond with dates in the calendar. The roof is supported by 12 pillars (months), the church is illuminated by 52 windows (weeks), 7 doors (days of the week) and there is a total of 365 steps to the tip of the tower (days of the year). There are also 24 steps to the library (hours) and 60 steps to the roof (minutes and seconds).
[edit] The Name
The official title of the church is "St Botolph's Church of the Parish of Boston" however it is more commonly known as the "Boston Stump", and more simply by locals "the Stump" ever since it was completed. In what is still a matter of debate, there are a number of believed origins of this nick-name that at first applied to the tower and is now frequently used to describe the whole church. What is certain is the real roots have long since faded from memory.
The first is that the tower took so long to build it resembled a stump during the construction phase. 70 years was not however a particularly long time for a tower of such height to be built. Many similarly tall structures would be built a level at a time over hundreds of years.
Secondly it was intended to be completed with a spire. This seems unlikely as there has not been a single recorded lantern tower in England that has been topped with a spire.
The third explanation is that it is named after the dramatic appearance it creates rising from the flat fenlands that surround it for miles. Other churches, including Ely Cathedral, also derive nicknames from their appearance when viewed from the fens.
[edit] The Library
As a centre of learning, St Botolph's also has a library that is located on the first floor within the tower. The height of this above ground level is perhaps to protect the precious books contained within from flooding, an event that was all too frequent when the church was originally built.
The library was originally built in 1634 under the orders of Archbishop Laud, and there is no history of the early years of it. What is known is that the bookshelves date from 1766 and indications from the books show the library was not chained. It was not until 1819 that the contents were finally recorded for the first time creating a list of about 950 books although this also lead to 150-200 being sold.
By 1950 this collection had swollen to more than 1500 volumes including 150 printed before 1600 and even a small amount predating 1500. The bulk of the rest, 1200 in total, were relatively speaking more modern dating from 1600-1700. Many of these books are believed to be a gift of the vicar serving when the library was first established, Rev'd Anthony Tuckney.
The most notable titles are a 12th century manuscript, St. Augustine's Commentary on Genesis, and a 1542 edition of the The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Religious books from the time of the early printing press include the Book of Common Prayer from 1549, a 1585 Baskerville Bible with its revolutionary type-face, and also a collection of books by the Dutch philospher and theologian Eramus published from 1545 to 1548.
Many sermons were also recorded and are hosted within the library. Some of these are of political and religious importance and were given by the preacher Robert Sanderson, a royalist during the English Civil War who at one point served as the personal chaplain to King Charles the First. The importance of preachers at the time who combined religion with politics mean they provide a unique viewpoint into the Royalist mindset.
Although the parish records from before 1900 were moved to Lincoln in 1988 for safe keeping, the parish library remains one of the ten biggest in England today and with a dedicated cataloguer finally employed is now undergoing a period of restoration work.
[edit] The Political Climate and its Effects
As with many churches, and in particular grander places of worship, the reformation in England was not kind. At its peak the church was even bigger today and included a number of attached buildings including the Corpus Christi Chapel to the south-western edge of the porch and Charnel House on the eastern side of the nave opposite the Cotton Chapel. Together these extensions would have created a traditional cruciform shape to the building.
However, in 1612 the church was damaged by militant local puritans and this is the year that the present pulpit was installed. Its grand style and prominence indicate the importance accorded to preaching in the time of the Pilgrims.
A 17th century vicar of Boston, John Cotton made use of the pulpit. His views were questioned by the hierarchy but he expanded the congregation of the church. He moved to Massachusetts in 1633 as a leader of the settlers already there and some of his own people. He was instrumental in founding and naming Boston, Massachusetts. The "Cotton Chapel", named after him, was at one time used as a school, but was restored in 1857.
More damage was done by Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War. They are said to have used the church as their camp in 1643. Many windows that the Parliamentary forces found politically or religiously offensive were destroyed, as with many other churches in Lincolnshire.
[edit] Restoring the Stump
Early restoration work to repair war damage was carried out during the 17th and 18th centuries. The organ, lost in the reformation, was replaced in 1715.
From 1851 to 1853, under the direction of George Gilbert Scott, George Pace worked on the church as lead architect a major period of restoration occurred. Amongst the changes they oversaw was the removal of the tower ceiling and the addition of stone vaulting as originally featured in the medieval plans. The end of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century were a high point in craftsmanship and it shows here, particularly in the carved wood and stained glass with contributions from Augustus Pugin such as the baptismal font that dates from 1853.
Between 1929 and 1932 the peal of bells in the tower was restored with a new bell frame increasing the number of bells from eight to ten at the joint expense of both Boston in the USA and Boston in the UK. This was increased again in 1951 to 15 with the bells now fitted on three racks of five funded by a legacy.
Restoration work is currently underway once more having begun in 1979 in preparation for the 700th anniversary. Currently the western side of the tower is sheathed in scaffolding. This programme, lead by architect Nicholas Rank, is set to cost something in the region of £3 million of works.
[edit] The Environment
Although climate change has now lead to lower levels of the River Haven, 500 years ago when Boston was at its zenith the river would have regularly flooded. The buttress on the south-west corner of the tower has been used for keeping a record of the heights and dates of flooding of the river that runs past it. Ample flood defences built around Boston since the North Sea Flood of 1953 have kept the church dry for the past decades.
[edit] Present Day
The building is now considered by many as one of the outstanding pieces of Christian architecture in England. Simon Jenkins' book, England's Thousand Best Churches, has St Botolph's ranked within the top 18. Architectural writer Pevsner claims it is "a giant among English parish churches".
As befits the size and architectural importance, not to mention the massive running costs of such a building, St Botolph's is a member of the Anglican Greater Churches Group, established for the small number of parish churches that have cathedral-like proportions without the title to match.
[edit] Bibliography
Spurrell, M. Boston Parish Church
Jenkins, S. England's Thousand Best Churches
Parish of Boston. Boston Stump Guide Book
