Geograph - photograph every grid square

The parish church of St Botolph's in Boston, colloquially known for centuries as "The Stump", is one of the finest churches in Britain. Commenced in 1309 in the Decorated (middle) Gothic architectural period, the main part of the church was completed in 1390. However the tower for which it is famous was not started until somewhere between 1425 and 1450, and was completed in 1520 placing it in the last phase of Gothic architecture, the Perpendicular. The tower is a particularly good example of Perpendicular Gothic, rising to 272' (83m) making it the tallest church tower in Britain (though there are several spires that achieve a greater height). The internal roof of the tower, at 137' (42m) was the tallest internal roof in any building anywhere in the world until the C19th. The nave and chancel form an impressively large space, and indeed volume when combined with their substantial height. The nave is 242' (74m) long and with its side aisles is 104' (32m) wide, making it the widest parish church in Britain while the total floor area is over 20,000 ft² - second only to Holy Trinity, Hull (for a parish church).
One of the most interesting features of St Botolph's is its magnificent choir stalls and misericords dating from the C14th and decorated with numerous interesting and whimsical carvings.

If you are feeling energetic you can climb about 2/3 the way up Boston's famous landmark - the tower of St Botolph's church, known as The Stump.
There are over 200 steps to ascend to the gallery, and slightly fewer (but still over 200) to descend via a different staircase. The spiral staircases are in two halves each of about 100 steps, the higher rise being far narrower than the lower one. The rise and pitch of the individual steps varies and my thigh muscles were complaining by the time I got to the gallery ! As the tower is 272' tall, the gallery must be at about 180' elevation.
The views from the gallery are excellent, and apparently on a clear day such as this can be over 30 miles over the surrounding very flat countryside. At the time of our visit the northern walkway was closed off as the parapet wall was damaged - and you really wouldn't want to plummet from this height I can assure you!