Church Street & St Botolph, Boston, Lincolnshire

I've photographed this scene a few times since I moved to Lincolnshire, always looking to improve on what went before. Church Street is a narrow thoroughfare that leads to the mighty medieval church of St Botolph, its tower being Boston's famous "Stump". From the Assembly Rooms end of the street the buildings provide framing for the tall tower, a subject that usually involves a lot of the composition being sky. Is this better than my earlier endeavours? I'm not so sure. If you want to see some of the previous shots look here, here and here.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Boston incongruity

It's hard to imagine a greater incongruity than the airbrushed painting and coloured lights of a ride at Boston's May Fair and the top of the medieval tower of the church of St Botolph. However, it caught my eye and appealed to me, not least because the ornate stone lantern that tops the tower appeared to be an unlikely crown on the painted girl's head.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Another view of St Botolph, Boston

A view that takes in the whole of the medieval parish church of St Botolph in Boston, Lincolnshire, is hard to find. The great height of its lantern-topped tower combined with the size of its nave, chancel and aisles make it larger than some cathedrals. And, unlike many cathedrals it does not stand in a large "close", a space in which the building is set: here the surrounding houses, businesses and the river are close by. But this upstream location gives a reasonable idea of St Botolph's size and its setting, something that is difficult to achieve with a closer closer viewpoint.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

A view of St Botolph, Boston

A view of the medieval tower of St Botolph, Boston seen above the back of the cream-painted former Assembly Rooms (1822). To the right of this is the brick-built, pedimented, Corporation Building of 1772 erected by the town as a mixed residential and commercial development. At this point the curve of the River Witham takes it under the Town Bridge (1913). The buildings backing on to the river, making maximum use of the tight space, give the scene an interesting, jumbled appearance, the whole bringing to mind the subjects and lighting favoured by eighteenth and nineteenth century watercolourists.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100