Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Kingston upon Hull: The history and buildings of a European port  

A lecture by Dr David Neave

Hull’s status as Yorkshire’s second-most historic city and the variety and richness of its architecture are too often overlooked.  Few cities have experienced Hull’s uninterrupted position as one of Britain’s leading centres of population and economic activity over nine centuries.  This illustrated talk will explore the port’s long history through its buildings from the splendid Holy Trinity church, founded by King Edward I, through the fine merchant houses of the 17th and 18th centuries and grand Victorian and Edwardian commercial and civic buildings, to the Deep which heralded the city’s 21st century regeneration.

The role of key figures in Hull’s past will be explored including the De la Poles, wealthy merchants who became dukes of Suffolk and possible contenders for the throne, the poet Andrew Marvel who was an active MP for the town for almost 20 years, and William Wilberforce, whose contribution to the abolition of the slave trade have encouraged the continuing involvement of the city in contemporary human rights issues.

Report

There is no more knowledgeable guide to Hull than David Neave, editor of the revised Pevsner, Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (1995), and the much more detailed Hull (Pevsner Architectural Guide, 2010) co-authored with his wife Susan. With illustrations of the town’s finest buildings, Dr Neave showed how the port, founded in 1293, grew in prosperity through the centuries. There were several surprises: Holy Trinity chancel may be the earliest surviving brick building in the country; the fishing industry, with which most people probably associated Hull, was relatively new, facilitated by rail distribution from the 1840s, and short-lived; for much longer, Hull had imported Bordeaux wine; and although it suffered more bomb damage in the second world war than anywhere outside London, it can be argued far more historic buildings were lost subsequently through municipal disregard. With the outstanding success of the Deep, however, Hull was now looking up again.

Stop press: Hull is to be UK City of Culture 2017

Bob Hale