St Botolph's Church, Boston

St Botolph’s Church stands in the flat fenland town of Boston, Lincolnshire. Its great tower, known locally as ‘the Stump’, rises 81 metres above the surrounding fields. Built in the 14th and 15th centuries, the church replaced an earlier wooden structure on the same site. The tower was completed between 1510 and 1520 in the Perpendicular style and has never needed major repairs. From the top walkway, visitors look east across The Wash and west towards Lincoln, thirty-two kilometres away. The church is one of England’s largest parish buildings, with a nave 74 metres long and 32 metres wide. Its sixty-two medieval misericords show lively scenes of jesters, cats and schoolroom discipline. The tower contains 26 bells, including a carillon and a sanctuary bell. For centuries the tower served as a landmark for sailors and travellers on the flat Fens. Inside, the vaulted chancel holds the high altar at the eastern end. A wooden vault once covered the nave, but this was removed in the 20th century. The tower’s foundations were dug deep beside The Haven, only ten metres away, yet it remains perfectly upright. A spiral stair of 365 steps leads to the lantern, where the light once guided night-time journeys across the marshes.