The 'castle' was built in 1775 by the Earl of Effingham as a hunting lodge and named in protest of the harsh treatment being meted out by the British to the American Colonists. Tea drinking was banned by the Earl as a further measure. Against such an interesting and colourful backdrop Rotherham Council have allowed it to fall into dereliction and disrepair. Well it's cheaper to clear up a pile of rubble that it will eventually fall into than fix cracks in walls like this:
Not Civil War seige damage, Rotherham Council damage...
Leaving the sad state of Boston Castle behind we venture into the town itself. Rotherham straddles the River Don as it flows gracefully through the civic centre. Some commentators have said it resembles the mighty Tiber, or indeed the majestic Rhine as it meanders through the burg. I will mearly allow you to make up your own mind from this view:
If you fall in, just hang onto the chains until someone notices you and try not to swallow any water...
Around the river are dotted the latest in a new Council initiative: the Rotherham Renaissance. New buildings have been springing up, all resplendent in steel and concrete. Eager to take on new businesses and tenants, the shops and flats have lain empty since the buildings were completed about two years ago:
Fabulous Business opportunities await in your new premises!
Meanwhile over the road, the ancient dwellings known as the Imperial Buildings lie equally empty. Until only a few years ago this complex was awash with many small businesses supplying all the meat, tobacco and flowers a small town could need.
It has been rumoured that these businesses had been in existence since the dawn of Man. After touching the obelisk, whilst several monkeys went on to smash each other's heads in with bones, one astute simian began trading, in a cave, Zippo lighters and pouches of Drum Tobacco. Over the following centuries that cave became the nucleus of the Imperial Buildings. Until a few years ago when the council saw fit to encourage business growth by MOVING ALL THE BUSINESSES OUT! Far be it for me to criticise, I am no fiscal expert, so I guess the Council must know what the fuck they are doing. Right?
Other places in Britain take pride in their historic buildings, affording them all the beautifying treatment they deserve. Not so in dear old Rotherham. There appears to be an active program against incongruous and anachronistic beautification. Along with the Council's ingenious plan of allowing Boston Castle to fall into a state of dereliction, several other historic buildings around town have also received the same treatment. They are a savvy bunch, the councillors. Why pay for the costly demolition of a building when time will take it's toll anyway?
Beautiful crumbling facades. Rotherham's heritage.
There's more to come in Part Two, get ready for more historical buildings left to rack and ruin, Jamie Oliver's attempts to make the town thin thwarted by bad juxtapositioning, a nightlife unparallelled elsewhere in the country and THE BIG TELLY!
