The Still Inn, Boston

Last week ended with attendance at a heritage and craft day at Boston's beautiful 14^th Century Guildhall. A range of activities were offered, including live demonstrations of spinning yarn, medieval cooking and wood carving – but alas, no mead tasting! The event was a chance to speak to visitors about the Inns on the Edge project and hear from members of the public about pubs in Boston. I talked to several people about the project with one lovely lady handing me a list of old pubs to research.

This week, the recording project raised its game with visits to 12 Boston pubs. Among those surveyed was the Still Inn overlooking the Market Place. An inn has existed for centuries on this site (the outline of the medieval burgage plot is relatively unchanged). The front of the building was rebuilt at the beginning of the 19^th Century in Gault brick, a smooth heavy yellow clay brick that became popular during the Victorian era. At 4-storeys high, the Still is one of the tallest buildings along this range with an extra floor compared to its neighbours on either side.

For many years, the Still operated like a working men club with women not made to feel welcome – thankfully those attitudes are ancient history and today the Still is undergoing a transformation to a new bar and restaurant. Throughout the 19^th Century, the Still doubled as a wholesale and import business. In 1891 this was in the hands of Charles William Rysdale and would remain so until the 1930s. An 1891 advert from the Boston Guardian tells us that in addition to offering ales and London stout, Rysdale dealt in whiskey, gin, and a suite of 'Old Bottled Ports and Sherries, Clarets, Burgundy, Champagnes etc., at prices to meet the times'. The festive period was a busy time for the pub's wholesale business; customers were told to get their orders in early to be 'certain for a joyous Yuletide' – some things never change! The wholesale business ended long ago, but its buildings remain behind the pub today.