Peter Shakerley Boston (10 September 1918 – 19 November 1999) was a British architect and illustrator, best known for the illustrations he made to the books written by his mother, author

Lucy M. Boston Lucy M. Boston (1892–1990), born Lucy Maria Wood, was an English novelist who wrote for children and adults, publishing her work entirely after the age of 60. She is best known for her " Green Knowe" series: six low fantasy children's novels p ...

(1892–1990), who wrote under the name L.M. Boston. The best known of these books were the

Green Knowe Green Knowe is a series of six children's novels written by Lucy M. Boston, illustrated by her son Peter Boston, and published from 1954 to 1976. It features a very old house, Green Knowe, based on Boston's home at the time, The Manor in Heming ...

books. In those illustrations, Peter Boston included items from his mother's home, The Manor in

Hemingford Grey Hemingford Grey is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Hemingford Grey lies approximately east of Huntingdon. Hemingford Grey is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well a ...

, Cambridgeshire, one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain.

Personal life

Boston was born in

Looe Looe (; kw, Logh, ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe ( kw, links= ...

, Cornwall, to Harold and Lucy Maria Boston. Peter's father left his wife in 1935, but the couple's only son continued to live with both. Boston married Diana Robertson, a widow with two sons, in 1967. They had two children together, Kate and Harriet, and lived in a converted mill in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

; however, the Bostons moved into The Manor when Boston's mother died in 1990, making repairs and opening the ancient home to visitors. Boston's widow, Diana Boston, continues to preside over the house, and was still leading tours in 2010. Boston served with the Royal Engineers in North Africa in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He received the Military Cross for his service. Boston died at

Ashwell, Hertfordshire Ashwell is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire situated north-east of Baldock. History To the southwest of the village is Arbury Banks, the remains of an Iron Age hill fort which have been largely removed by agricultural activity. I ...

Architectural career

Boston began reading Engineering at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, but later switched to Architecture, and graduated with a first. He furthered his architectural training at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

after World War II, and worked as an architect for the rest of his life, even after he began illustrating his mother's books. Boston joined a firm in 1956 that eventually became Saunders Boston, which had offices in London, Cambridge and Liverpool. The firm remains in existence in Cambridge. Boston's best-known architectural work are his private homes in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Amongst Boston's more notable designs are Black Swan House, built in London in 1975 for the

Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is ''Vinum Exhilarat A ...

but now razed; Gilmerton Court on the Trumpington Road in Cambridge, the Fisher Building at

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

and the Mong Building at

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

.Cambridge 2000: Sidney Sussex College: Mong Building
/ref> In Boston's obituary, ''The Independent'' stated, "Boston managed to show sympathy for both neighbours in a design which is intricate, picturesque and self-effacing, housing a music room and other functions." One of Boston's creations, the house he designed in 1959 for artist Elisabeth Vellacott, sister of

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Philip Vellacott Philip Humphrey Vellacott (16 January 1907 – 24 August 1997) was an English classical scholar, known for his numerous translations of Greek tragedy. He was born at Grays, Essex and educated at St Paul's School, London and Magdalene College, Ca ...

, served as the basis of the home in

Rebecca Stott Rebecca Stott (born 1964) is a British writer and broadcaster and, until her retirement from teaching in 2021, was Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of ...

's 2007 novel ''Ghostwalk''.

Illustrator career

In 1939, while Boston was still at university, Lucy Boston bought The Manor, which was to so suffuse the Green Knowe books. Mother and son worked together to refurbish the house, which dates to the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

. Boston's mother based the fictional character Tolly (short for Toseland) on her son Peter. Visitors to the Manor can still see many of the rooms and items that inspired Peter Boston's illustrations. These include the mirror that first greets Tolly and Tolly's magical Japanese mouse of carved wood, which Diana Boston called "the most important thing in the house." Mrs. Boston said that the sight of the toy, a favourite feature of the novels, would provoke adults to nostalgic tears. In addition to illustrating his mother's books for children, Boston illustrated the dust jackets of L.M. Boston's adult books, ''Yew Hall'' (1954) and ''Persephone'' (1969).

References

External links

* A gallery of the real Green Know
The Manor at Hemingford GreyInterview with Diana Boston
* Examples of Boston's illustrations a
Google Books

Saunders Boston Homepage
* Home designed fo
artist Elisabeth Vellacott
Frances Spalding, ''The Independent'', 27 June 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010. * Photograph of th

* Photograph o

* Photograph of th

* Dust jacket o

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boston, Peter 1918 births 1999 deaths English illustrators 20th-century English architects Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Liverpool People from Looe Recipients of the Military Cross People from Hemingford Grey Architects from Cornwall Architects from Cambridgeshire British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers soldiers