Skegness Magazine

Museum seeks trace of this old pilgrims’ token

DURING the medieval period many thousands of English men and women undertook pilgrimages to shrines and holy places in Britain and overseas.

As we know from Chaucer’s ”Canterbury Tales” people went on pilgrimages for a variety of reasons — some went to fulfil a vow or a promise made at a time of illness or personal crisis, others went in the hope of curing a malady like leprosy or blindness; many went simply for a holiday or “to get away from it all.”

In Lincolnshire, a number of pilgrimage centres are known to have existed. At Lincoln itself there were the well known shrines in the cathedral; while Sempringham, Crowland, Rippingale and Grantham were all favourite centres and attracted many pilgrims. One such centre seems to have existed at Boston.

Sometime about 1815 a little metal crucifix about two inches by one and half inches, surrounded by an inscription, was found at Brothertoft. The inscription read, “The Token of the Good Rood in the Walle at Boston”, and suggests the existence of a Holy Cross or “Rood” set into a wall in Boston.

The crucifix is most likely to have been a token or a badge sold to pilgrims to this holy place. Many thousands of such tourist souvenirs were produced for pilgrims at the major shrines, and were worn pinned onto their hats or coats to show which shrine or shrines they had visited.

The little token from Brothertoft was last seen sometime in the 1850′s when Mr Pishey Thompson published a little drawing of it in his book “The History and Antiquities of Boston”. Mr Timothy Ambrose, Assistant Keeper of Archaeology at the City and County Museum in Lincoln is trying to track it down.

He said, “there seems every possibility that this token is still in existence somewhere in the county. It is not the sort of thing that gets thrown away. It may have ended up in somebody’s jewellery box or on their mantelpiece, and its significance forgotten. If anyone knows of its whereabouts I would be only too pleased to hear from them.”

If any reader can help over this matter, Mr Ambrose asks them to contact him at the City and County Museum, Broadgate, Lincoln. (Tel Lincoln 30401).

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