BOSTON, an ancient English borough and seaport in Lincolnshire, on both sides of the Witham, 28 m. s.e. of Lincoln. It is supposed to be identical wills the Icanhoe, where St. Botolph founded an abbey in 654, destroyed in 870 by the Danes. Under the Normans, 13. became a place of importance, and in 1204 it pan] the largest dues of any English port except London (e836). In the reign of Edward Ill., many foreign traders settled, and the merchants of the Hanseatic league established a guild in Bos ton. After their departure, the town declined, and the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII. further injured it; but his grant of a charter of incorporation, and Mary's subsequent grant of extensive lands, partly compensated for this. Tho modern town consists chiefly of two good streets, one on each side of the river. The parish church of St. Botolph (1309), 245 by 98 ft., is one of the largest without cross aisles In
England, and has a fine tower 300 ft. high, surmounted by a lantern, visible 40 m. out at sea. The church was partially restored in 1857, at the expense of the inhabitants of Boston in America. The clearing of the river of silt, and the closing of the adja cent fens, have greatly promoted the trade of Boston. Vessels of 300 tons can reach the heart of the town. The chief export is corn. Pop. of muni. bor. (1871), 14,526; of earl., which returns two members to parliament, 18,279. 13. is a great market for cattle and sheep, and manufactures canvas, iron, brass, ropes, leather, bricks, whiting, and hats. In 1876, 542 vessels of 28,525 tons entered, and 617 of 40,586 tons cleared the port. Fox, the martyrologist, was born there.