Building record MLI10030 - Shodfriars Hall, Boston

Summary

Former guildhall built in about 1400, with 17th century alterations, and was restored and extended by Sir George Gilbert Scott 1873. Now in use as shops, offices and an entertainments hall.

Type and Period (5)

  • (Medieval to Modern - 1400 AD? to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1400 AD? to 1873 AD?)
  • (Post Medieval to Modern - 1873 AD to 2050 AD)
  • (Post Medieval to Modern - 1873 AD? to 2050 AD)
  • (Post Medieval to Modern - 1873 AD to 2050 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

A doubly jetted timber-framed house, flanked by lanes on either side, and fronting on to South Street. The twin gables are late 19th century, with quite inappropriate timbering after an Elizabethan model. The timbers of the ground floor, first floor and half of the second are 15th century in date, however, and judging by the square quatrefoil ornament carved on the fine corner-posts, quite early in the century. Another early feature is the lack of close parallel 'stude'. Thompson gives an engraving showing its condition in about 1850, without the gables. Used as shops, offices and club-rooms. {1}{2}{3}{4}{5}{6}{7} The building was originally scheduled (as SAM 111). It was de-scheduled in 1989, though is still a listed building: Former guildhall built in about 1400, with 17th century alterations, and was restored and extended by Sir George Gilbert Scott 1873. Now in use as shops, offices and an entertainments hall. It is a timber-framed building with lath and plaster nogging and red brick elements, and features plain tile roofs. It is of three storeys plus attics, with the first and second floors being jettied. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate entry in the National Heritage List for England. {8}{9}{10}{11} Shodfriars Hall was the subject of a programme of historic building recording, conducted in December 2013 to inform its future conservation. The substantial timber-framed structure forms the earliest part of the building, which is thought to date to the last quarter of the 14th century. It was originally known as the 'Old Flemish House', and is thought to have served as the guildhall or principal mansion for the Guild of Corpus Christi. The building underwent some alterations in the 17th century, and much more extensive alterations and extensions in the late 19th century, when the Boston Conservative Club funded its restoration. It was at this time that the building acquired its current name of Shodfriars Hall. The Club had commissioned George Gilbert Scott to redesign the building, so that it could be used as club rooms, shops, offices and a grand hall for theatrical performances and public meetings. Scott remodelled the medieval building, and added a new connected hall, designed in the European Gothic style, to the east. {12}{13}

Sources/Archives (13)

  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. TF 34 SW: D.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. SAM 111.
  •  Scheduling Record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1989. DESCHEDULING DOCUMENT. -.
  •  Photograph: PARISH FILE. BOSTON. P22/79.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Pishey Thompson. 1856. The Histories and Antiquities of Boston.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris. 1964. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (First Edition). p.473.
  •  Article in Serial: Nigel Kerr. 1986. 'Timber Framed Buildings in Boston' in East Midlands Archaeology. vol.2, pp.70-8.
  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1975. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 716-1/7/169.
  •  Website: Historic England (formerly English Heritage). 2011->. The National Heritage List for England. http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/. 1388998.
  •  Unpublished Document: Historic England. Document Held by The Historic England Archive. BF093538.
  •  Unpublished Document: Historic England. Document Held by The Historic England Archive. NMR06.
  •  Report: English Heritage. 2015. Shodfriars Hall, 2-4 South Street, Boston. -.
  •  Website: Boston Preservation Trust Heritage Trail The Warehouse - Boston Preservation Trust. https://bostonpreservationtrust.org.uk/heritage-trail/. No.8.

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Grid reference Centred TF 32858 43998 (41m by 14m) Surveyed
Civil Parish BOSTON, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Jun 16 2025 10:40AM

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