The Ram and the Angel Inn, Boston

Former Angel Inn, Boston Market Place

The sun may have been shining in Boston, but it is deceptively cold with freezing temperatures I've got a busy schedule today, with 6-7 sites to visit in and around the centre of Boston. Included on my list are the Angel Inn and the Ram. The Angel Inn was located at the very end of the western side of Market Place (Nos.41 and 41B), a few doors away from the crescent of shops built by the Boston Corporation in 1820. The site was listed in 1975, although no mention of the former Inn in the designation. An early 19th Century sketch of the Market Place shows the Angle Inn before later alterations (please click on title of this post to see all pictures ). A large sign can be seen in the gable end before windows replaced it. The pub was also accessible from a door on the south side (in the corner where the two ranges meet). The early 20^th Century first floor oriel bay window is also missing from the engraving, presumably added when the shopfront across the south elevation was extended.

In the 1890s, the landlord, R. O'Connell, struck up a new venture and served mineral water from a well behind the Inn. O'Connell carbonated the water to make lemonade, soda and seltzer.

Boston Market Place, c.1830s

In 1909, the Angel ceased trading and is now a mobility store. My next stop was to the Ram on Wide Bargate, another former Inn, converted into flats in the late 1990s. The current elevation looks built around the mid 19^th Century, although the Ram Inn was much older, dating back to the 1600s. The first thing I notice about the front of the building is its lack of symmetry, the front door is off centre, as are the windows to each storey, including the attic.

The Ram, Wide Bargate

The Ram overlooked the cattle market, well placed for market visitors. In 1863, the annual 'Millers' Statute was held at the Ram. The local newspaper reported many millers, masters and servants attended in the hope of employment at 'fair average wages'. They would stand outside the Ram in their best clothes in the hope of catching the eye of a prospective employer. Those hired would expect to be given a 'fastening penny', a shilling to seal the contract - no doubt spent at the nearest Taphouse behind the Ram An earlier Map (below) shows the extent of the Inn with a large yard to the left surrounded by stables, cart sheds and a tap house, facilities that would have been popular on market day.

The Ram and outbuildings behind. The yard is now a car park.