Memories of Boston

Showler's of Dolphin Lane

What a lovely site this is. I didn't live in Boston but spent many happy years in the 60' and 70's staying with my Grandma, Doris Showler, who had owned the sweetshop 'Showler's' in Dolphin Lane since the 1930's and later carried on working in it when she sold it on and it became 'Cuthbert's'. It's the shop which is now the perfumerie. It seems that anyone who grew up in the area at that time visited the shop for their sweeties and, later, their ciggies! I'm currently writing a book about my past and would love to hear from anyone who has personal memories of the shop and my lovely gran. You can find me at www.hazelquinn.com - I would love to hear from you. Thanks!

Town of my great/grt. grandfather

My Great, great Grandfather--Thomas Garnham was married in this lovely church three days before the battle of Trafalgar in Oct---1805. He was described as a 'Sailmaker' at this time aged 24 years. He had connections to the 'Red-Cow' where is wife's parents lived and later was the landlord of the'Cross-Keys' which was eventually pulled down and replaced by what is now 'The New-England Hotel. I have searched for years for his place of birth with negative results. He died in 1841.

The Barge Inn

I have such fond memories of my school holidays staying with my Uncle Jack and Aunty Anne at the Barge Inn, Tattershall Road, ( I think they may have actually owned the pub). I used to love being spoilt by my aunt and uncle and also my father's brother Harry Pick who used to frequent the pub. They used to have loads of fishermen staying there and there was a massive kitchen where Ann and her mum Mary used to do all the baking, I used to collect eggs early morning from the sheds with Ann and blackberries etc, for the home made pies.

I would stay for a few weeks during school summer hols and Easter time. I hadn't been back to that area for over 40 years until a couple of years back I went up to visit all my cousins living in Boston and they took me round to where The Barge used to be, what a disappointment to me, there are mews houses standing where the pub used to be and the road there was so busy, to think I used to take my cousin Linda in her pram over to the river bank. Mum and Dad were yearly visitors back to Boston to stay with Jack and Ann as Dad was born there in 1920 in Caroline Street, his first job was working for WH Smith & Sons as a delivery boy. I think he stayed in Boston until he joined the army when he was about 19 and was in the Royal West Kents, of course stationed around the Kent area, where he would have met Mum and they married in 1945 and Dad and Mum lived in my grandmother's house in Sydenham, South East London and later moved to Downham, Bromley where they remained until passing away, Mum in 1998 and Dad in 2003, so because of Dad's love for his old home town it was only right that some of his ashes be scattered in Caroline Street where he was born, although even the name of the street had changed. He would have been so happy had he known that's what we were going to do for him.

Great grandmother, Elsie Clara Doughty

my great grandmother, Elsie Clara Doughty, died two weeks ago. My great grandmother was married to Charles Doughty, my great grandfather, who Doughty Quay was named after in Boston.