Boston: The Small Town with a Big Story

The entire history of Boston – from salt making during the Roman occupation to the current flood barrier construction – is laid out in a new book.

Author, Richard Austin, felt there had never been a book published which dealt with the entirety of the town’s history so he assembled a team of writers to tackle 55 topics covering almost 2,000 years of history up to the modern day.

“I didn’t want it to be an academic tome, but a book which anyone could access, dip in and out of and learn more about Boston beyond what is readily known. Boston has a rich heritage, but only a small bit is understood by the majority of people. This book is an easy read, with plenty of illustrations and it’s my hope that it will whet the appetite for people to want to find out more.”

Beginning on a muddy creek meandering through fenland marshes on its way to the Wash, Boston emerged in time as an important trading centre. Over the intervening centuries, its people helped to lay the foundations of the United States of America, map newly discovered lands on the other side of the world, tame the local fenlands and revolutionise farming and food production in the UK. They even took the lead in producing the humble duvet (Fogarty’s).