Boston was an urban success story of the Middle Ages, serving as an international port and hosting an important fair. Limited attention has, however, been paid to the foundation and early growth of the town. This book makes two contributions to medieval urban history. First, it fills a gap in our knowledge of Boston's history for the period 1086–1225. Secondly, it presents evidence that, in one location at least, the commercialization of the English economy had begun before 1200. Rigby states that the book is intended to reflect the interests of both local and medieval historians.
Rigby is an acknowledged authority on Boston, having previously published work on the town's customs accounts from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This new book complements that work and remains rooted in archival and archaeological evidence. Due to a lack of a surviving civic archive, royal sources and the records of religious institutions form the main evidence base. The book begins by considering Boston's position before and at the time of the Domesday Book. Four key themes are then analysed: lordship and topography; Boston's early trade; Boston fair and Boston as a borough. The book concludes with a chapter that demonstrates that evidence from Boston supports the suggestion that market growth was occurring as early as c. 1165.
Boston is characteristic, Rigby suggests, of a town which had a significant commercial function from its foundation. Little significance was attached to the town in the Domesday Book, but by c. 1150 it was familiar to international travellers. Transport links drove its rapid growth. The River Witham allowed the town to serve as an out-port for Lincoln and a convenient location for transferring goods between larger sea-going ships and smaller river craft. Connections to the inland waterways of the Trent, Humber and Ouse were provided by the Foss Dyke canal, which may have been created by the Romans. Boston was also the main bridging point for a number of roads, including those to Lincoln.
The River Witham and the Barditch dominated Boston's topography. Four different lords had jurisdiction over the town. Two were located on the east side of the river (the honour of Richmond and the abbey of St Mary's) and two on the west (held by the Croun and Tattershall families). The heart of the town was on the east side of the river and it is possible that the Richmond honour was responsible for constructing its key topographical feature, the Barditch, which may have alleviated flooding. Meanwhile the Croun family proactively invested in their western lands, creating a sluice that connected the two sides in 1142, which was later followed by a bridge. The west side was used as a business base by Lincoln merchants and the fair may have begun there before spreading over to the east side.
Wool, textiles, lead and wine were key imports and exports through the port of Boston. Rigby emphasizes that, despite their relative absence from the surviving sources, a substantial amount of trade in agricultural foodstuffs would have occurred between Boston and its hinterland. Salt sourced from Lincolnshire and Norfolk was exported overseas while new agricultural land for cultivation was created from the ongoing reclamation of the fens. A ‘positive feedback-loop’, Rigby suggests, occurred as local inhabitants invested in improvements in local infrastructure to facilitate Boston's growth, with such investments resulting in additional trade. Important amongst them was the reopening of the Foss Dyke in 1121.
An examination of the fair considers its site, administration, income and products. Of particular interest is the discussion of the monastic houses which invested in business bases in the town for use during the fair. Rigby shows that many such houses were involved in the wool trade and sold their wool in Boston to purchase wax, spices and other textiles.
Boston's operation as a borough, examined in the final thematic chapter, was informally organized by the lords of the honour of Richmond, probably with the consent of the other lords. There is little evidence of formal self-government or the appointment of local officials by the townspeople but neither does the evidence indicate substantial conflict within the town. Rigby suggests that a spirit of cohesion may have been promoted by investment by local lords in infrastructure that was beneficial to the wider community (such as that of Alan de Croun in the sluice).
The book is successful in catering to both local and academic audiences and is competitively priced. Detailed notes are provided for readers who wish to explore the primary and secondary literature further, as is a glossary of key terms. Urban historians often emphasize the significance of institutions and their administrative frameworks in the foundation and growth of towns. Results from Boston, however, suggest that it would be beneficial to consider more closely the infrastructure and the entrepreneurial initiative that funded new projects and restored old ones. Medieval towns are often presented as either very ‘outward’ looking, focused on international trade, or very ‘inward’, distracted by internal politics. Boston is therefore also interesting for urban historians as an example of a town that achieved a successful balance in offering facilities that met the needs of local residents, the immediate hinterland and regional and international consumers.
