Perhaps best known as the strongest contender for America’s most Irish city, Beantown also makes a good case for being its most British.
For the history buffs among us, this will probably come as no surprise. Massachusetts was, of course, once one of 13 colonies, and was ruled by Britain for 150 years before America gained independence in 1776. In fact, it was here that the moment widely credited with sparking the American Revolution took place.
Exactly 250 years ago this weekend – on a winter’s night in December 1773 – political activists hatched a plan to rebel against a tea tax passed by the British Parliament, which they believed violated their right to “no taxation without representation”. Boarding three ships loaded with British East India Company tea, the activists managed to dump 340 chests (a hefty 46 tonnes) of the precious cargo into Boston’s harbour in protest before fighting ensued. With the Boston Tea Party, a warning shot had been fired for American independence.
Tea – not surprisingly – fell out of favour with Bostonians soon after, with coffee becoming their preferred pick-me-up. Even the leader of the American Revolution (and eventual US president), John Adams, swapped the brew for the bean at the time, writing to his wife, Abigail: “I have drank coffee every afternoon since, and have borne it very well. Tea must be universally renounced.”
But 150 years is a long time, and Britishness remains ingrained in Boston’s very fabric, making its presence felt – I’d been told – in a thousand tiny ways across the city. Keen to judge for myself, I decided to spend a day seeking them out.
A promising pre-trip Google suggested that tea is firmly back in favour in the Massachusetts capital, with countless places offering whole menus of loose-leaf blends and even afternoon teas. Accordingly, my first stop was Abigail’s Tea Room, for a tasting of the five teas thrown overboard on that fateful night. The tea room is part of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, which runs an immersive experience that leads visitors through the city’s political history, acted out in part by some of the event’s most famous historical figures.
It starts you off in a jeering courtroom before taking you onboard a restored tea ship to heave a few chests of tea into the harbour and, eventually, onwards to see some artefacts and to taste the tea itself.
Elizabeth Macintosh – one of several bonnet and petticoat-clad characters – pointed to one of five large copper tea dispensers on display in the bustling tea room. “In 1773, Boston is the biggest tea drinker in the colonies,” she explained. “As a British colony, we want to emulate our British brothers and sisters.”
I suspected this was no longer the case, but it was nice to know I wouldn’t struggle to find a decent cuppa during my stay nonetheless.
The tasting complete, I emerged onto the streets of Downtown Boston, immediately struck by how familiar they felt; the roads un-gridded, snaking and bending all over the place with wild abandon. Boston prides itself on its walkability and, much like Britain, is rich in urban parks and green spaces – which were, during my late-autumn visit, a glorious collage of burnt orange, red and mustard yellow.
Consequently, there are a number of good walking tours on offer, one of the most popular being the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, which starts at Boston Common and winds past 15 locations and historical landmarks, including the Georgian designed King’s Chapel, whose architect, Peter Harrison, was instructed to design a church “that would be equal to any in England”. I’ll let you make your own mind up about that. No need to join a group, just pick up an $8 guidebook at the start of the trail and follow the red bricks that guide the route.
If you find yourself thirsty (or homesick) along the way, never fear – there’s a whole host of boozers with hints of home (wood panelling, leather-topped bar stools and dodgy carpet – all the essentials) where you can grab a pint, including the Elephant & Castle pub, which prides itself on being “British-themed”. I made an obligatory stop there and was pleasingly (briefly) fooled into thinking I was 3,000 miles away.
As the evening set in, I caught a cab to the neighbourhood of Brighton (there’s a Cambridge, Dorchester, Hyde Park and Chelsea, too) which, much like its British namesake, is home to independent breweries, restaurants and bars. I settled myself at one such place – the upmarket Birds of Paradise, which serves travel-inspired co*cktails – and reflected on a successful day’s search. Truly, from its leafy brews to its warm beer and bending streets, Boston’s charter may no longer be British, but its soul certainly is.
Essentials
Robyn Wilson was a guest of Meet Boston. Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport (001 617 476 6664) has doubles from £290 per night. United Airlines flies from London to Boston from £580 return.
