Monument record MLI10029 - Hussey Tower, Boston

Summary

Hussey Tower, Boston.

Type and Period (2)

  • (Medieval - 1400 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Medieval to Modern - 1489 AD to 2050 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Hussey Tower is a red brick building dated 1489. It belonged to Lord Hussey who was beheaded by Henry VIII in 1537, for failing to suppress the Lincolnshire Rising. {1} A square brick tower with octagonal stair turret at the north-east corner. It is three storeys high with a portion of crenulated parapet surviving. Some square-headed windows with stone surrounds and some earlier arched brick openings are visible. At ground level there is a rib-vaulted chamber with a hearth and a further hearth at first floor level. The staircase has a finely moulded brick inset handrail in good condition, but the steps are fairly worn and a number are missing. The roof line of another building is visible against the east wall which has a sizeable crack showing. Generally the tower is in a fairly poor condition. A tower house type of building. {2} In a rental of the guild of Corpus Christi, a 'Richard Benyngton Toure' is mentioned in 1489 and the name Benyngton Tower appears again in 1564. The original extent of Hussey Hall unknown, but the gatehouse was demolished in 1565 and probably fronted the southern end. The enclosure wall within which the tower stands is ancient and many foundations may be traced within it. In the 18th and 19th centuries, various buildings were taken down, including a 'brewhouse' and mill house. {3}{4}{5} Remains of the Hussey Tower stand within iron railings, surrounded by warehouses and playing fields. {6} A trench was excavated at right angles to the tower to a depth of 3m; all the pottery found dated to the 15th century. {7}{8} For detailed surveys of the surviving structure, including plans, elevations, and structural details as well as the history of the building and its context see T. Smith (1979), N. Pevsner (1989) and the building report of RCHME (1992). {9}{10}{11} A late 14th century or early 15th century brick tower, 40 feet high and 30 feet square, with an octagonal turret at the south-east angle. There are crenellated parapets and a rib-vaulted ground floor. Originally called Benyington Tower, it was sold to the Boston Corporation and dismantled after 1545 when Lord Hussey was attainted. {12} The scheduling was revised 16 April 1999. {13} A feasibility study for re-roofing the tower was carried out in 2005, including a detailed photographic building survey and condition survey carried out in 2004. The building was shown to be in reasonable condition but currently at risk from the weather, pigeons and vandalism. For a detailed description of the tower and its current state as well as photographs, plans, elevations and architect's drawings as well as proposals for a new roof, see the survey report. {14}

Sources/Archives (14)

  •  Scheduling Record: MINISTRY OF WORKS. MOW 819. -.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. 1987. Scheduled Ancient Monuments record printout. Lincs 49.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. TF 34 SW: 10.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Pishey Thompson. 1856. The Histories and Antiquities of Boston. pp.242-4, illustration.
  •  Article in Serial: THOMPSON, A.H.. 1934. ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL. vol.89, p.370.
  •  Photograph: City and County Museum. Photograph in the Historic Environment Record files. AO:65:18:5-6.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. TF 34 SW: C.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. SAM 49.
  •  Article in Serial: Smith, Terence Paul. 1979. 'Hussey Tower, Boston: A Late Medieval Tower-House of Brick' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.14, pp.31-7.
  •  Report: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992. Hussey Tower, Boston. -.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.169.
  •  Index: Department of Culture, Media and Sport. 1999. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 716-1/11/282.
  •  Scheduling Record: English Heritage. 1999. Revised scheduling document 31625. MPP 23.
  •  Unpublished Document: Anderson and Glenn. 2005. Feasibility Study for Re-roofing Hussey Tower, Boston. -.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 33081 43631 (11m by 10m) Surveyed
Civil Parish BOSTON, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

Related Events/Activities (3)

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Record last edited

Aug 30 2024 2:46PM

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