About Boston Park
Boston Park is about half a mile from Rotherham town centre. It covers 23 acres,it was formerly the property of the Earl of Effingham and opened as a public park in 1876 to celebrate the first centenary of the American Declaration of Independence.
Rotherham Corporation spent £3918 in laying out cricket, football, croquet and bowling grounds.
The park now offers a range of attractions including walks, a bowling green, gardens, wooded areas and extensive views. On a clear day there are good views across Don Valley to Meadowhall, and the Peak District.
A doorway which formed part of the demolished College of Jesus, founded by Thomas Rotherham in the fifteenth century, is preserved in the park, and a sighting disc on a grindstone standing on the lawn to the front of the castle points to many local landmarks as well as to Boston, Massachusetts.
Previous to 1872, Boston Wood was merely woodland and quarries worked by Mr. Birks. The people of Rotherham were very proud when Rotherham Corporation decided to lease it and convert it into a park. After its completion, thousands of visitors from all over the district came to see its beauties. On Easter Mondays, trains from the local towns were crowded with people and in the evenings, the stations were thronged with the returning multitudes. Its flower beds were the envy of the whole of Yorkshire, and many compliments were paid to Henry Albiston (b,1823) - the park keeper. Galas were held in the park. On one occasion America's famous Gilmore's Band played here.
Boston Park was Rotherham's first public park. A major feature of the of the park is the face of an old quarry with a sandstone known as Rotherham or Mexborough Red Rock. This was extensively quarried in the area and can be seen in use in a number of Rotherham's buildings, including the Parish Church. Set into the rockface is the doorway from Jesus College, founded by Thomas Rotherham in 1483. In 1480 he founded the Chapel of Jesus within the Parish Church and in 1482 he created the red brick college of Jesus.
