Discover our past
Explore the historical relationship between the two Bostons — honestly, accessibly and beautifully told.
Our shared history
From a Lincolnshire port to a city on a hill.
In the early seventeenth century, Boston, England was a centre of Puritan conviction. Under the preaching of John Cotton at St Botolph's, a generation of townspeople came to believe their future lay across the ocean.
In 1630, settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony named their new town on the Shawmut peninsula after the place many had left behind. We tell that story in full — including the Massachusett and other Indigenous peoples whose land it was, religious persecution, the history of slavery, and the many communities who have shaped both Bostons since.
c. 654
St Botolph is said to found a monastery at 'Botolph's stone' — the origin of the name Boston.
1309–1520
The Stump, St Botolph's great tower, rises over the Fens — a landmark for sailors for centuries.
1612
John Cotton becomes vicar of St Botolph's, drawing Puritan thinkers to the town.
1630
The Winthrop Fleet arrives. On 7 September the settlement at Shawmut is named Boston.
1633
Cotton himself sails to New England, joining the town that bears his parish's name.
2030
Four hundred years on: a moment to look back together — and to build forward.
