FYDELL HOUSE
Historical Notes
The house was probably built around 1700 for the prosperous JACKSON family, possibly for the widow Mrs Lennox Jackson. In October 1706, Mrs Lennox Jackson died.
A plan of the present house is shown in a document of February 1707, when the Jacksons purchased what is now the rear garden from Boston Corporation for £20. It had been owned by the Corporation since 1554 and appears to have been horticultural land attached to St Mary’s Guildhall.
In February 1708, Mrs Jackson’s son Israel died and the house and garden were transferred to her favourite grandson Samuel Jackson.
He sold the house in 1720 to Joseph Fydell, including the adjacent wine cellars (now the Haven Gallery). Down spouts were stamped with his initials and the year of purchase, and the property named “FYDELL HOUSE”.
Joseph Fydell had no interest in the house’s origins, and any documents in his possession were lost.
Below the American Room, the main stairwell and library, is an arched-brick cellar, indicating a pre-existing building separated only by Beadsman’s Lane from the Guildhall.
Further excavations were carried out under the Green Room and the Common Room to create additional cellar storage for the present house.
Substantial foundations indicate the Green Room to have been at its current size from the outset, and the Common Room to have been the original kitchen.
Joseph Fydell (1687 to 1731) was a mercer, an Alderman and Major of Boston 1722 and 1730. In 1726, jointly with his cousin Robert, he obtained a coat of Arms-with a latin pun on his surname: “Esto FIDELIS usque ad finem” (Always be faithful and just). Then he bought the house next to his venerable place of work The Guildhall, home then to Boston Corporation. Financial troubles caught up with him and at the time of his death Fydell House was fully mortgaged.
Richard Fydell, (1710-1780) son of Robert, bought the house and Dalby Manor, in 1733. His father Robert was a London brewer and Richard was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College Cambridge. He became MP for Boston in 1734 to 1754.
His father Robert was declared bankrupt in 1738 and Richard’s properties were set against the debts. The family lost Dalby Manor but kept Fydell House.
In 1739 Richard became an Alderman and Mayor of Boston,(also in 1753 and 1776) In 1740 he married an heiress Elizabeth Hall and became a wine merchant. He leased the extensive Corporation land to the rear of Fydell House and the original Gysor’s Hall directly opposite the house for wine storage.
In 1762 the Witham Drainage Act was passed, to drain and enclose the common fen land west of Boston, with Richard as a senior Commissioner of the Witham Drainage Board. In 1769 he swapped land with the Corporation to buy the leased land to the rear of Fydell House. He died in 1780 and Thomas Fydell inherited the estates.
Thomas Fydell 1740-1812 had already set up businesses in Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire and his name was synonymous with Boston, prominent in the wine trade, property, banking and livestock. He was MP for Boston from 1790 to 1812 with his son taking over in 1803 to 1806 during an electoral dispute. In 1791 he bought Gysor’s Hall from the Corporation for £400 and rebuilt it in 1810 as a multi-storey warehouse. A close friend was Sir Joseph Banks who was a frequent visitor from his home in Revesby.
He died in 1812 and the properties passed to Samuel Richard Fydell who choose to live in Rutland, and Fydell House was then leased to tenants.
1816-1844: Henry Rogers a solicitor and lord of the manor of Butterwick and Freiston lived in the house. In 1831 a mob broke the front windows during disturbances over the proposed Reform Act
1844-1866 : Francis Yeatman- followed by his widow Caroline1866-1875 lived in the house with 4 sons 4 daughters and 5 servants. A wine merchant and expert gardener the rear gardens were declared “the finest in the Borough”
1875-1885: Mrs Jane Collins widow of the Vicar of Freiston, 3 sons 5 daughters and 4 servants
1890-1905: Samuel Waddington, a local trader, president of the Liberal Club, Alderman and Mayor of Boston
1906-1923: Tom Kitwood, local trader, Alderman and a Conservative mayor
1926-1935: Fred. Miller, Customs Officer and artist.
In 1928 the house was used to launch American funding for the Stump Renovation and annual American visits were established.
When George Fydell Rowley died in 1933 all the family’s properties were sold.
1934 Canon Cook and John Sutcliffe raised support for a Boston Preservation Trust to save Fydell House from being demolished for an access road to a new housing estate.
1935 July: BOSTON PRESERVATION TRUST is incorporated and Fydell House is bought for £1,600 with 10% raised from subscriptions and the rest on mortgage.
1935-1939: Fundraising with plays, lectures concerts, exhibitions and functions at Fydell House while volunteers carry out substantial restoration.
1938: Senator Joseph Kennedy visited and the American Room was dedicated in recognition of the American donations and friendship.
1939-1945: The house was taken over by the Womens’ Voluntary Services (WVS) with Mrs Phoebe Rennel in the top flat as house keeper. An incendiary bomb in April 1941 caused fire and then water damage to the attic and first floor.
1946: Pilgrim College established for adult education, with support from Nottingham University and Workers’ Education Association. Fydell House has now been taken over from tenants, by the Preservation Trust. They intend to bring the house back to its former glory to be enjoyed by the people of Boston and visitors from all over the world.