The Stump and St Clements church

[Yellabelly]

On a recent visit to Boston my daughter and I had the thought "we could look up family headstones" at the stump, bit sad to see there were only a couple left outside and few more on the inside covered with mats. Nothing to show where the burial places were bit sad really. You would have thought that they could have at least done a plan of the gravesites and made it available to visitors. In St Clements church yard at Skegness lots of headstones were laid out for a path! and others have been moved to the side walls so we have no idea where our ancestors are buried.

You can't look at the burial site plan anymore at skegness church "it is all probably at the archives" was what I got from a local minister when I asked about it. I remember viewing it 30 odd years ago but things have changed so much in St Clements church yard without  a map you would get lost !! sad really

[pamthomas]

I doubt that there have been any burials in the Stump graveyard for very many years.
My great-grandfather is in the burial register in 1869 but he was actually buried in Boston cemetery. I think that a lot of Stump burials prior to the cemetery opening in 1855 may have taken place in St John's churchyard near the top of  Skirbeck Road and St Johns Road which is the one that goes down to the dock. That is no longer a graveyard. Last time I was in that area it was a childrens' playground. I know that in the library there used to be a list of the MIs from St John's.
If you have some names and dates from the Stump registers (and there aren't too many!) I can check to see if they're buried in the cemetery.

[Redroger]

As a former Bostonian and keen amateur archaelogist, I would be interested to know where, given the highly urban nature of the surroundings of the Stump, Market Place, Wormgate etc,, the graveyard of the Stump was. I would guess that services were held in the church, and burials took place at a remote location, except those buried within the church. Can anyone confirm this please?

[pamthomas]

Hi Roger,
Try e-mailing the Stump offices.
If you get a reply, don't forget to tell the rest of us. 

[Redroger]

Thanks for the suggestion Pam, Will do this, but first I think I have a very old map of Boston in a book. Will keep you all posted anyway.

[pamthomas]

Ooh yes, I've got an old map too. (Several actually.  )
Hall's Plan of Boston dated 1741 shows the churchyard covering approximately the same sort of area as it does today.
Also clearly marked is St John's churchyard.
According to the book containing the maps 'An atlas of Boston' published in 1974 as part of the History of Boston project, Pishey Thompson in his book 'History Of Boston' gives a population figure of 3008 in 1709 but reckons that the figure is too high.

[Geoff-E]

According to the book containing the maps 'An atlas of Boston' published in 1974 as part of the History of Boston project, Pishey Thompson in his book 'History Of Boston' gives a population figure of 3008 in 1709 but reckons that the figure is too high.

Figures from Genuki http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Boston/#Population
1801     5,926
1831    11,240
1851    15,132

Lincoln in the same years was
1801       7,197
1831       11,217
1851       17,536

[NEILKE]

hi all ive visited boston on a good few times my mam and dad had friends there this topic has brought loads of good memories back climbing all them stairs to get to the top of the stump,the pilgrim fathers exibits and the cold outdoor swiming pool how cold just out side of the town we would borrow bikes to go.What we all found funny was the B.R.S.A. club (british rail staff asociation club) on the railway station in a old station building. my dad wotked on the railway so was a member the club at sunderland did look over the railway but is a bigish modern building.
neil

[pamthomas]

I know it's very off-topic but Neil, you obviously never had the pleasure of swimming in the indoor swimming pool down the Bath Gardens. I can assure you that the outdoor pool was like a hot bath compared to that.  (Makes me to shiver to even think about it!)

Getting somewhat back on-topic, it's interesting to note that although the population of Boston was well on the way to trebling between 1801 and 1851 in the next fifty years it barely grew at all, being 15,667 in 1901.
In the same 100 years Skirbeck showed an almost ten-fold growth from 368 to 3644, and even the little old 'hamlet of Skirbeck Quarter' went from 171 people in 1801 to 975 in 1901.
(Figures from 'An atlas of Boston', as previously mentioned.)