Exhibit 23.1



                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


The Board of Directors of
Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.

     We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements
on Forms S-8 and Forms S-3 of Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc., of our
report dated January 16, 2003, except for note 22 (c) which is dated March 6,
2003 relating to the consolidated balance sheets of Boston Private Financial
Holdings, Inc., and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the
related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders'
equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
December 31, 2002, which appears in the December 31, 2002 annual report on
Form 10-K of Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.


                                                   /s/ KPMG LLP

Boston, Massachusetts
March 6, 2003