The
Unofficial WebsiteBoston Park
The park together with Canklow Woods cover an area of very poor soil on an escarpment overlooking the floodplains of the Rivers Don and Rother. There is evidence of glaciation in the form of lateral moraines and erratics. I believe that this formed part of the Town Moor over which the citizens of the town had grazing rights. The paucity and poverty of the soil made the area unsuitable for any other form of agriculture. Sandstone was later quarried here and there are deep remains in which generations of children have enjoyed themselves enormously and dangerously. The woods are quite thin and consist in places largely of scrub oak. My father said that it had once been densely wooded but that during the Depression poor people had cut down much of the wood for fuel.
The People's Park, or Boston Park as it is now known, was formerly the grounds of
Boston Castle. It became a public park in 1876, the official opening being on the 4th July that
year.
The park incorporates football pitches, footpaths, bowling green and access through to Canklow
Woods, acquired by the Borough Council with help from the National Lottery.
The quarry face near the bowling green incorporates the doorway from the medieval College of Jesus formerly in the town centre. The park also contains other bits of old Rotherham - the base of the direction indicator is a millstone from the windmill which once stood on Percy Street, the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway Coat of Arms is set in the wall near the castle and there is a carved stone from the Corn Exchange face down in the car park. The direction indicator had been nicked last time I visited.
The park commands spectacular views across the Don Valley to Meadowhall, Sheffield and, on clear days, the Peak District. There really isn't anything else here, no cafe so bring your own picnic - there are a few picnic tables. I'd really rather not mention the toilets, but if you're in the market for an original Victorian bog you can have this one. They are now closed but I think that there are loos available in the portacabin by the bowling green open as long as the park keeper is there. Otherwise its the bushes.
A development plan is in place which covers Moorgate Cemetery, Boston Castle, Boston Park, Canklow Woods and Canklow Open Space. It is intended to introduce a ranger scheme, an events programme, and educational support. Boundaries will be improved and motorcycle barriers erected. New signs and site maps will be set up. Moorgate Cemetery will be repaired and a Family History Centre will be set up in one of the restored chapels. Boston Castle and outbuildings will be restored to provide a visitor centre, toilet and cafe. Historic Landscape Reconstruction is proposed in Boston Park, a viewing terrace and a geological nature reserve is proposed, together with a new bowls pavilion. It is also proposed that a city farm is started.
Public Meetings are planned for discussions about the future of the area. Contact Philip Gill 01709 822430 or Any Lee 01709 822457 if you are interested in the future of Canklow Hillside. In 2007 I can't see that any of this has started.
The Friends of Boston Castle and Boston Park website can be found at http://www.fobcap.org.uk.
Then there's the Belvedere at the bottom of Boston Castle Grove for a spot of refreshment. It belongs to a chain now - which of us doesn't - so it is not the pub it was in my youth but it will do.
See also Canklow Woods.