Hull and the Civic Society 1964 to 2017

Prince Street (Photo: JD Scotney)

Hull Civic Society in a City of Culture

1 Contents

Introduction p.3

Chapter 1 - The beginnings of Hull Civic Society p.4

Chapter 2 - The Civic Society's activities yesterday and today p.4

Chapter 3 - People p.7

Chapter 4 - Local Government 1964 - 2017 p.9

Chapter 5 - The Old Town p.10

Chapter 6 - Pedestrianisation p.24

Chapter 7 - Transport p.25

Chapter 8 - Crossing the Humber p.30

Chapter 9 - The Port of Hull - 50 Years of Progress and Change p.33

Chapter 10 - New uses for old docks p.37

Chapter 11 - Markets, shops and shopping centres p.43

Chapter 12 - Schools 1964 - 2017 - p.46

Chapter 13 - Housing p.47

Chapter 14 - Victorian and early 20th Century buildings p.49

Chapter 15 - Modern buildings 1964-2017 p.51

Chapter 16 - Sport p.56

Chapter 17 - Hull in 2067 "A southerner revisits Hull" p.56

Chapter 18 - Challenges and opportunities p.57

Chapter 19 - "The enemy is ignorance and indifference" p.59

Published by Editor: John Scotney.

Note: unless otherwise stated, all photographs in this booklet are by the Editor. Copyright © of the contents rests with the contributors of the articles & photographs. Many thanks to all contributors to this special "Hull 2017" booklet. This booklet was printed by Jadan Press Ltd, Rainbow House, Kimberley St, Hull, HU3 1HH

2 Introduction

When Hull Civic Society was founded in 1964, it was only twenty years after the end of the Second World War and many of the effects of the war still remained to be dealt with. It was a city with many derelict sites, city centre streets choked with through traffic, much sub-standard housing and a very run-down Old Town. Of course, those characteristics were shared by many other cities at that time. What differentiated Hull was that whilst being one of the most damaged places in the country, many of its fine buildings had either escaped the bombing or were repairable. Like many cities, we were presented with a comprehensive re-development plan to put the city back on its feet, but this would have resulted in the wholesale destruction of much of the city as we still know it today, including our much-treasured Old Town with its medieval street pattern still intact. Fortunately these grand and comprehensive plans fell by the wayside and gradually, organically, the city has unfolded and evolved into the very nice and attractive place we enjoy today – a modern city but still on a very human and warm scale. The Abercrombie Plan for Hull city centre. In this comprehensive and revealing review we chronicle the story of what has happened to the looks, facilities and quality of life in the city up to the present day and the part that Hull Civic Society has played in those changes. The mottos of the Civic Society are ‘making Hull a better place to live, work, visit, play and invest’ and also, ‘promoting the future, protecting the past’ and these guiding principles should provide us with the pointers to the society’s ambitions and direct our energies and endeavours in the years to come, now that we have reached some maturity! Our Constitution, drafted more than 50 years ago by some eminent local people and leaders in the city, urged us ‘by action’ to seek to improve the looks, image, and quality of life in the city and we strive to remain true to that ambition. The challenge we face now is how to get the right balance between representing our members' interests as subscribers to a club of like-minded people with an interest in the city, but also working with others to help create positive change in the city and the world’s perception of it. Sometimes it is possible to reflect on what can be the positive practical contribution an organisation like the Civic Society can make to the city in the absence of any structural authority, political influence or financial muscle. What we do have, though, is the ability to bring together groups of people in the city’s businesses, agencies and the city council to achieve projects, such as the “What’s Happening in Hull” travelling exhibition, where professional and financial resources can be pooled to achieve good results. Our Chairman, John Scotney, is to be congratulated for his work in condensing the story of the city’s last fifty three years into this short but comprehensive review.

John Netherwood

3 Chapter 1- The Beginnings of Hull Civic Society: 1963 - 1964

In 1963 the Hull Junior Chamber of Commerce and Shipping made enquiries with the Civic Trust in London about forming a Civic Society in Hull. Discussions with the Citizens’ Arts League were followed by a meeting on 30th April 1964 at the Guildhall. The speaker, Michael Dower of the Civic Trust, gave an illustrated talk about the work that civic societies had done elsewhere. A Steering Committee met on 27th May 1964 to draft a constitution. The inaugural meeting of Hull Civic Society took place on 24th July 1964, at Ferens Art Gallery. The 42 founder members had increased to 129 by December. Over the years, monthly public meetings have been held at the Queen’s Hotel in George Street, the Ferens Art Gallery, the Old Grammar School, the Royal Hotel and, for one season, the Northern Academy of Performing Arts (former School of Art, Anlaby Road).

Chapter 2 - The Civic Society’s Activities Yesterday and Today

Public Meetings and Visits We hold a public meeting in the Mercure Royal Hotel, Ferensway, with a varied programme of speakers, on the second Monday of each month from October to April. Our summer programme often includes guided walks in different parts of Hull and visits to neighbouring towns or villages.

The Newsletter and Website We published the first single-sheet Newsletter in November 1965. Now, our 32-page Newsletter, printed for us by KallKwik, is published three times a year. Most members prefer to receive a printed copy, but an email version is another option available to members who prefer it. Our website is at present under review.

Planning Week by week, we monitor several pages of planning applications and decisions, commenting (for or against) to the city’s Planning Department about those we think particularly significant. We also send representatives to the monthly Conservation Areas Consultative Committee (CAAC) and occasionally meet City Council Planning and other Officers to discuss matters that are of concern. Members may opt to receive (by email) a copy of the monthly Planning Report prepared for members of the committee. In November 2015, after consultation with members, we submitted five pages of comments on the draft Local Plan, which sets planning policies up to 2030.

Listing Listing - adding a building to the statutory List of Buildings of Historical or Architectural Importance - has been one of the key ways to safeguard a building for more than sixty years. Listed buildings are graded 1, 2* or 2. The medieval churches of Holy Trinity, St Mary's Lowgate and St James, Sutton are examples of Grade 1 listed buildings. The original 1951 list for Hull has been added to many times and many of the additions have been recommended by Hull Civic Society, in conjunction with English Heritage. In 1990 English Heritage undertook the first re-survey since 1972 to identify possible additions to Hull’s stock of listed buildings. It was carried out at short notice, but Hull Civic Society was among the bodies consulted. As a result, the number of listed buildings rose by approximately 300 to about 450. Adam Fowler provided the liaison with E.H. A decade later, we and other organisations, as well as individual citizens, were invited to nominate unlisted buildings of character for “Local Listing”. Statutory listed buildings are graded on their importance to the nation and are protected by law. Listed Building Consent is required before starting any work on them. Alterations and repairs to buildings on the Local List do not need special permission, though planning permission or conservation area consent is often needed for demolition. However protection is much weaker than for statutory listed buildings.

4 Good Marks

Left: Judith Waites presents a Good Mark certificate for renovation of 154 Princes Avenue Right: the Steve Shearsmith Award presented at the Guildhall for Scale Lane Bridge 2015 In 1968, we awarded our first Good Mark, for the refurbishment of the Punch Hotel, Queen Victoria Square. We decided that it was better to celebrate improvements – good new buildings, restoration of older ones and other projects that set a good example - than to award “bad marks”. Since 1968, we have awarded several hundred Good Marks for things that enhance Hull’s environment or improve the quality of life in the city. Well-designed new buildings, sensitive restoration of historic buildings, books on local topics, walls, paving, bridges and a variety of other achievements have all received Good Marks over the years. The Steve Shearsmith Award, a silver salver given to the Society by Mr Steve Shearsmith, is presented for the most outstanding Good Mark. So far, it has been awarded to three projects: The Mash building at the Maltings, Hull History Centre and Scale Lane Bridge.

Heritage Open Days During the second weekend of September, our Heritage Open Days programme allows people to visit historic buildings and local industry, join guided walks and listen to talks about different aspects of Hull’s life. Our aim is to celebrate and to encourage wider knowledge of Hull's heritage among its citizens and visitors. We now have a Director of Projects, whose prime concern is to organise Heritage Open Days and raise sponsorship from various sources, including local firms and Hull City Council, all of whom have been very generous over the years. “Open House Weekend”, later re-branded “Heritage Open Days” in line with the nation-wide event, was first held in July 1981 under the auspices of Civic Week. Our aim was to enable people to visit historic buildings not normally open to the public. Early examples included the Banqueting Room of the former Neptune Inn (first floor at Boots Chemists), Maister House and the Charterhouse Chapel. In 2005, we were encouraged by English Heritage to change our event date to the second weekend in September, in line with the nation-wide Heritage Open Days. Malcolm Sharman was instrumental in expanding our Heritage Open Days considerably in 2007 and 2008. From 2009 this was raised to new heights by Phil Haskins, one of our members, who ran it for us on a professional basis until 2013. His achievement was recognised at the national Heritage Open Days Awards in June 2014, when we won in the Creative Minds category. Phil decided to step down from organising the Hull Civic Society event, and since 2014 Heritage Open Days has been the achievement of our former Chairman, John Netherwood, and his wife Christine.

Hull in Paint In 2013, David Smith, then a committee member, invited local artists to submit paintings of Hull for a Civic Society exhibition. The result was a wonderful range of pictures of Hull seen through different artists’ eyes. Since 2014, Hull in Paint has been organised by Ian Goodison (committee member and Vice Chairman) and Doug Smelt (artist). The exhibition is initially shown in Prince’s Quay, before touring to three or four other public venues in different parts of the city.

5 Friends of Hull General Cemetery (Formerly Friends of Spring Bank Cemetery) Established as a sub-group of the Civic Society, the Friends of Hull General Cemetery aim to work with the City Council (the legal owners) and members of the local community in caring for this former cemetery, disused for burials since 1972, in a way that preserves its historical monuments, respects it as a burial place, allows it to flourish and develop as a haven for nature and a place to be enjoyed for its natural beauty. Activities include litter-picking, research and making interesting monuments more accessible. We led a public walk round the General Cemetery during Heritage Open Days 2016. Funding has been obtained for a printed trail, which is in preparation, and a small number of information panels.

Tree-planting From the earliest days, one of Hull Civic Society’s contributions to the environment of the city has been tree-planting. The largest number planted at one time was 25 silver birches in Pearson Park to mark our Silver Jubilee in 1989. In 2012 we planted a holly oak at the History Centre to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Georgian Hull Georgian Hull, launched in 1978-79, is a well-illustrated and scholarly description of “Silver birches for a Silver Jubilee”. The late Ian Hull’s Georgian buildings. It was written by Ivan Curtis, (right) leads a team planting 25 silver birches in & Elisabeth Hall and sponsored by Hull Civic Pearson Park in 1989 to mark Hull Civic Society’s 25th Society, with generous help from three trusts: anniversary. (Photo: Judith Waites) Colonel & Mrs Rupert Alec-Smith’s Charitable Settlements, the Plaut Charitable Trust and the Marc Fitch Fund. Copies are still available from Hull Civic Society.

Heritage Trails The first of our new series of Heritage Trails, “Hull’s Amazing Old Town”, was launched in 2013 and is for sale at various locations. A series of themed trails will follow as funds permit.

Old Town Floral Town - Hull in Bloom Inspired by two floral displays, at “Picture This” in Posterngate and the Bonny Boat in Trinity House Lane, which were both awarded a Good Mark in 1985, we proposed a competition sponsored by local businesses to encourage participation in a new competition called Old Town, Floral Town. The idea was taken up by the City Council’s Public Relations officer and pupils at Sydney Smith High School 6th Form volunteered to hand out badges and leaflets to encourage residents and businesses to plant flowers, ferns and shrubs. A horticultural prize was offered by Joseph Bentley Ltd, seedsmen, and BP Chemicals at Saltend donated a trophy. The first competition was in 1986, and the winner was The Bonny Boat. Four other entrants won prizes. The competition was widened in scope to cover the whole city in 1997 and was renamed Hull in Bloom. Although the Civic Society is no longer involved, the competition still continues, run by Hull City Council.

Plaques Hull Civic Society has organised the placing of a few plaques over the years. In 1991, we arranged for a pavement plaque, sponsored the Prudential by to be placed in Queen Victoria Square on the site of the Prudential Tower in memory of the 420 people killed and 350 badly injured in the bombing raids of May 1941. We have also recommended sites for numerous Blue Plaques, and contributed to the cost of some, such as the ones at 365 and 371 Holderness Road - the homes of William Alfred Gelder and the birthplace of J Arthur Rank.

6 Other Projects Our first project in Hull was a scheme for the garden in Kingston Square. By the 1960s it had become neglected and overgrown. The scheme was drawn up in 1965, but a donation of £500 from the New Theatre Arts Club in April 1971 was the catalyst for the start of work by the Parks Department, completed in May 1971 and earning them a Good Mark. Another early project, led by Paul Priestley-Leach, was the rescue of the bridge bellpost from Victoria Dock. He and a group of his pupils at Sydney Smith School restored it and it was re- erected by City Council staff beside the Humber Dock lockpit at the Marina. Our Campaign Against Loud Music in pubs, restaurants and shops (CALM) was launched at a ceremony in Ye Olde Corn Exchange on 29th June 1990. Donald Campbell, our Secretary, proclaimed it “the first CALM pub in the world”. To qualify to display the CALM motif on the door, an establishment had to guarantee that it had at least one room where customers could talk without being deafened by loud music. This accolade was awarded to several more pubs and cafes during the course of the 1990s. No new awards have been made recently, but many establishments are still “calm”. Much of the credit for saving Hull’s last sidewinder trawler is due to one of the Civic Society’s past Chairmen, Adam Fowler, working with STAND (the pressure group devoted to keeping memories of Hull’s fishing industry alive). In 2016, we learned that a move was proposed from its present berth in the River Hull to the dry dock that was the original entrance to Queen’s Dock. The Joseph Rank Gallery at Streetlife Museum, opened in 2013, was funded by the Joseph Rank Trust. It was designed by Ian Goodison following its proposal by our then Chairman, John Netherwood. What’s Happening in Hull was a travelling exhibition in 2013 and 2014, also proposed by John Netherwood and designed by Ian Goodison. It aimed to bring information about and images of new developments to public venues, such as schools, health centres and community centres in different parts of the city. John Netherwood has been particularly active in facilitating a variety of initiatives that have brought about physical improvements or raised awareness of Hull, often with the backing of Hull City Council and local employers.

Chapter 3 - People

Over the past 53 years, so many people have contributed to the ethos, ideas, activities and success of Hull Civic Society that it would require a complete book to mention everyone. We owe a great debt of gratitude to members past and present, individual and corporate, all of whom have given generous support over the years. Without our members, Hull Civic Society would not exist.

The Committee We have no President at the moment, but past Presidents - Brynmor Jones, Jim Gordon, James Priestman, John Rixon Matthews and Mike Killoran - have done much to promote the Society. The committee comprises Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and up to 10 other committee members. We hold committee meetings monthly in the “Plotting Parlour”(!) at Ye Olde White Harte. Some committee members have served for only a few years, others for much longer, but each one brings his or her own skills and ideas and we are very fortunate to have had many talented committee members. Past Chairmen include Mr. A. Arschivir ("Archie"), Maurice Gabb, Donald Campbell (1967-9), Elisabeth Hall, John Kaye, Dan Tunnicliffe, John Netherwood (1979- 81), Paul Priestley Leach (1981-3), Sheila Rooney (1983-4), Colin Cooper (1984-7), John Scotney(1987-9), Cynthia Fowler(1989-91), Judith Waites (1991-3), Roy Rawson (1993-4), Peter Lawson (1994-6), Adam Fowler (1996-2007), John Netherwood (2007-2015) and John Scotney (from 2015). During their long tenure, both Adam Fowler and John Netherwood did much to foster good external relations, especially with the city council and local firms.

7 Since 1969, we have had three Secretaries: Donald Campbell (1969-31.Dec.1992), Ken Baker (1.1.1993 to 8.1.2011) and Cynthia Fowler. Their work has provided continuity, order and the encouragement of new ideas that have moved the Society’s work forward. Donald was Buildings Officer at Hull University and Ken was an architect and a keen jazz musician. Sadly, Donald and Ken are no longer with us. Cynthia Fowler (one of our longest-serving and most active committee members) became Secretary in 2011 and has proved herself a worthy successor! Ian Ashley Cooper was our Treasurer from the 1960s to 1998. He was a quantity surveyor and in retirement ran a stamp shop. From 1998 to 2006 our Treasurer was Ernie Cudbertson, formerly an architect in the firm of Gelder and Kitchen. In 2008, Walter Houlton became our Treasurer. He had already served as Project Officer, Vice Chairman (2003–4) and was a keen monitor of planning applications. Sadly, Walter Houlton died in 2013 and his work was continued by Cynthia Fowler, as Acting Treasurer as well as Secretary, until 2014, when Allison Marling became our Treasurer. Despite increased work commitments, Allison has continued as Assistant Treasurer, since 2015. As a temporary measure, the 2015 annual accounts were produced by Mr Lacey of the accountants Harris, Lacey & Swain, in conjunction with Allison and Cynthia. Allison has done an excellent job as our Treasurer, bringing her professional expertise to the work. We start 2017 with Lisa Hewson as our new Treasurer (subject to approval of the Society’s members at the AGM). She has the support of Allison and Cynthia during the hand-over period. Elisabeth Hall, Paul Priestley Leach, John Netherwood (1981-1990) and John Scotney (since 1990) have been our Newsletter Editors, assisted by Lawrence West in the 1980s and Teresa Myers and Jean Atkinson in the 1990s. Other past committee members I remember are Erica, Anita & Rosie Dalheim, Pauline Lunt, Edward Waterson, Geoff Haslam, Marita Staite, Jill Crowther, Margaret Lawson, Amy Osbourne, Eric Robertson, Pam Swinburne, Ian Curtis (tree expert), Val Wooff, Keith Tyson, Stuart Spandler, Janet Green, Joe Gilbanks, Chris Lefevre, Mike Bisby, Patrick Horton, Nick Garbutt, David Smith, Chris Zanetti, Kevin Marling, Paul Schofield, John Sharp, Liz Gowland, and Malcolm Sharman. Records from the Society's earlier decades are sparse and many were lost after Ken Baker died, as they were stored in his office, so I apologise in advance to anyone I have left out. Several former committee members still play an active role in the society: Malcolm Sharman, who stepped down from the committee in April 2016 after more than 13 years’ service, is still our representative at Yorkshire & Humberside Association of Civic Societies. Colin Cooper (a committee member from 1973 to 2014), still serves on the Programme Sub-Committee and Paul Schofield often guides visiting groups around the Old Town on behalf of the Civic Society. At the end of 2016, the committee comprised John Scotney, Cynthia Fowler, John & Christine Netherwood, Colin McNicol, Paul Priestley Leach and Lisa Hewson (co-opted member, pending the 2017 AGM). Some of us have been members of Hull Civic Society since the earliest years.

Two Founder Members deserve special mention.

Ian Ashley Cooper (1925-2003) - a Memory by Donald Campbell Ian Ashley Cooper and I were friends from the earliest days of Hull Civic Society. Both attended the inaugural meeting, both were founder members and both served on the first committee under Arschavier (“Archie”) as chairman. Ian was always to the fore in our first impact-making projects, such as clearing the rubbish from the circular garden of Kingston Square opposite the New Theatre, to make way for its rejuvenation as the pleasant garden we know today. He was much involved, as we all were, with the seminal Report No. 1 on the Old Town, the inspiration of Archie and first draft by him. After only a few years he was elected Honorary Treasurer and held that office for the best part of thirty years. During twenty five of those years, I was Honorary Secretary (or Chairman), so that we worked closely together. He was a meticulous Treasurer, accuracy his watchword as befitted a practising Quantity Surveyor. His financial statements at AGMs were knowledgeable, trenchant and amusing.

8 He liked to encourage social events and was adept at managing them - remember the “champagne” parties in the Guildhall, Society dinners in the old Hymerians’ Club House and the Millennial Celebration at which Alan Plater was our guest and speaker! Committee members will remember his house of character (and its approach through the meticulous lawn and the high hedges), the venue on many occasions for the despatch of the Newsletter, a co-ordinated effort by many hands, folding, enclosing and sealing, to the accompaniment of much chatter about Society - and other - matters and rewarded by drinks, hot sausage rolls and ample goods provided by Ian. As overseer of CALM, I was often thankful for Ian’s advice as a connoisseur of good pubs. His death is a sad loss to the Civic Society and I shall miss our chats in the Stamp Shop. Donald Campbell (January 2004).

Donald Campbell (died 2010) Donald, together with a group of enthusiasts, set about forming Hull Civic Society to stop the destruction of buildings which they thought should be preserved. The inaugural meeting took place on 24th June, 1964. Donald occupied the chair of Hull Civic Society in 1968 and in 1969 became Hon. Secretary, a position he held for 23 years. During his tenure of office, he became the face of Hull Civic Society. Donald always kept a close eye on all planning issues, and was instrumental in saving the warehouses in High Street which are now in residential occupation. All planning applications were meticulously researched, on behalf of Hull Civic Society. Donald was also a member of the Old Town Conservation Area Advisory Panel, which still meets today. For many years, Donald was the Buildings Officer for the University of Hull which gave him the necessary experience to deal with at times complex planning issues. On 25th June, 1990 he launched CALM (Campaign against loud music) on behalf of Hull Civic Society. This initiative was particularly aimed at loud music in pubs. The first pub to receive this award was Ye Olde Corn Exchange. Donald was also active in drama circles in Hull and took part in numerous productions in the city. Although Donald was not born in Hull, he grew to love the city, and for many years, worked tirelessly to make it a better place. In recognition of his work for Hull Civic Society, Donald was made Vice President of the Society in 1999. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Donald and those early pioneers, who had the foresight to form Hull Civic Society which continues today with over 300 members. Donald Campbell in 1983 Cynthia Fowler (February 2010).

Chapter 4 - Local Government 1964 - 2017

In 1964, the City and County of Kingston upon Hull was governed by Hull Corporation, comprising the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors. Hull was separate from the East Riding County Council. Under the Local Government Act, 1973, Humberside County Council took over responsibility for local government in Hull, the East Riding and northern Lincolnshire with effect from 1st April 1974. Hull City Council had more limited powers than the Corporation it replaced. On 1st April 1996, Humberside was abolished and replaced by the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and Hull City Councils, which regained full administrative powers as separate unitary authorities. Once the value of conservation and protection of the city’s environment was recognised, Hull City Council and its predecessors played an important part in the protection of Hull’s heritage, with the designation of Conservation Areas and Housing Action Areas, appointment of a Conservation Officer and protection of listed buildings. Other policies include public realm improvements, developing Hull’s museums and attracting new industries as older ones have declined over the last 53 years.

9 Chapter 5 – The Old Town

At the start of the 20th century, Hull’s original town centre around Holy Trinity church and Market Place, had been replaced by the new city centre designed by William Alfred Gelder, with Queen Victoria Square as the focal point of roads and tramways. From then onwards, there was a gradual decline in the Old Town. During the Second World War, Hull suffered badly from enemy bombing. The first priorities for reconstruction after the war were the port, industry and housing, and then the main shopping centre. Planning started as early as 1944 in the form of the Abercrombie Plan, published in 1946. Hull’s devastation was seen as an opportunity to start afresh and it was envisaged that most of the surviving buildings of the city centre would be swept away in favour of new roads and new buildings.

Left: Market Place looking north circa1904 (postcard). Right: The same scene circa1972 (2nd Old Town Report).

Fortunately, there was resistance to such a radical change, mainly from influential retailers, such as Hammond’s, Bladon’s and Thornton Varley, who wished to rebuild on their original sites. In the early 1960s, a revised plan was published by the city council in a booklet called “Planning in City centre plans from "Planning in Action" (Kingston upon Hull Corporation, c. 1960) Action”. In the early post- war period, there was very little appreciation of Georgian and Victorian buildings. Many of the Georgian houses in High Street and historic buildings in Market Place and Mytongate that had survived the blitz with relatively minor damage were demolished from 1947 onward. “Planning in Action”, while not as radical as the Abercrombie Plan, still showed a major road along the line of Mytongate and High Street that would have swept away almost everything except Wilberforce House.

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Above: Some of the buildings threatened by 1960s road plans - left: Mytongate (south side) in 1970 (mainly demolished), - right: High Street in 2014 (saved from widening as a main traffic route) Below: Market Place 1963 and Mytongate (north side) 1970 - both largely demolished.

The Old Town: an Appreciation - by Colin Mc Nicol I was born in Hull and have lived here for most of my life and I’m very proud of my city, which should be called, in formal terms, Kingston upon Hull. It has been styled in past times as ‘The Queen of the Humber’ since the waterfront overlooks the mighty Humber estuary into which all the major eastern rivers pour their waters from the Swale to the Trent, then flowing down twenty- miles to the North Sea along a flat shoreline shaped by the Ice Age. It was a purely chance remark that really re-captured my interest in the Old Town. I was attending a meeting of the Hull Heritage Committee on behalf of the Hull Civic Society and on leaving, Professor David Neave, who was also an attendee, remarked, “You know, Hull is almost unique in England, in that it has retained its medieval street pattern, thanks to the building of the town docks along the line of the moat”. That was indeed fortuitous and the fact that it escaped some of the worst damage caused by the bombing of Hull during World War II, was too. Of course, as a long term citizen of Hull, I knew the Old Town, or at least I thought I did. But his remark kindled my interest and I decided to delve further and you know, he was correct – it does have a fantastic story to recount contained within a fairly confined space. This fantastic story tells of a place that was founded by a king over 700 years ago and that has seen many other visits by royalty since. It has been awarded several Royal Charters and has seen the development of massive fortifications, built over several years and which was one of the major engineering projects carried out in the middle ages. It has suffered long periods of strife, starvation, protests, riots, rebellion, revolution, war, disease and pestilence.

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Hull in 1610 (Speed's plan) and today (Old Town shaded purple)

It has witnessed an ever-growing mercantile importance, through the development of trade, commerce and industry, including fishing and whaling in distant waters, several ship repair yards, shipbuilding yards and ever-expanding shipping routes to distant lands. It has also had an ever- evolving social history, with a host of fascinating personalities who helped to shape the town and others who ventured overseas and found fortune, fame and honour in foreign lands. In short, it has a fascinating heritage and lies at the heart of our modern city. However, I occasionally feel that it is an undervalued and under-exploited asset, whereas it should be the brightest jewel in the largest crown of our city emblem. A good start has been made in defining the boundaries of the Old Town for visitors, through the placing of the blue and white street signs. But there is much more to be done. There are many intriguing places of interest to explore along the narrow, winding, cobbled streets, including High Street, (formerly Hull Street).which forms one of only two medieval street patterns to be found in Yorkshire. The narrow, cobbled staithes leading down to the riverfront were the main arteries of trade, as the ‘lumpers’ (stevedores) pulled along their laden wooden sleds from the ships in the crowded Haven to the nearby merchants’ warehouses. The fantastic Museums Quarter lies in High Street and along the way there you can appreciate some of the excellent hostelries in this Quarter and take note of the distinctive architecture, much of it displaying a Dutch influence, gained as a result of trading with our nearest trading partner. Aldegate, now re-named as Whitefriargate, is probably the second oldest street in Hull. It was re-named in commemoration of the White Friars who came to Hull in the 13th century and had their friary along the south side of the street. It terminates at Beverley Gate, Beverley Gate - Civic Society and Historical Association where King Charles I and his retinue members meeting the national President of the Historical arrived to find the town gates closed, Association, Professor Jackie Eales, during her visit to Hull on locked and barred. In April 1642, he was 3rd April 2012

12 turned away from the walls by the town Governor, Sir John Hotham, who was acting on the express orders of Parliament to secure the extensive town magazine. Many claim that his refusal lit the fuse that led to the start of the English Civil War. The king accused Sir John of high treason and declared him a traitor. Parliament responded by calling his statement a ‘high breach of privilege’, and voted the thanks of the House to Sir John. There are other streets in the Old Town that give clues as to the activities that were carried on there. Bishop Lane is a case in point, the Archbishop of York having had a property in this narrow lane. Blackfriargate refers to the Augustinian friary that was founded at the beginning of the 14th century and whose members wore black habits. Silver Street, originally part of Aldegate, marks the street where the Hull silversmiths were located. Hull silver had a high reputation and although little remains, it is still highly prized. Posterngate marks a small, secondary opening in the town walls, quite separate from the main entrance gate. Lowgate formed the rear access of High Street and was formerly known as Market Gate, whilst Blanket Row marks the place where blankets were made and sold. There are some exciting plans afoot to create an iconic new building and to restore other historic locations. Holy Trinity is a case in point. It is the largest parish church in England and the earliest record of the church dates from 1285. It has what is widely acclaimed as some of the finest medieval brick-work in the country, particularly in the transepts. An inspiring vision will see the church restored and re-ordered in the next few years, creating a fabulous space for worship and for banquets, cultural events and performances, whilst Trinity Square will be re-modelled as a stunning public space. Humber Street, home to ‘Fruit’, is an area of arts, culture, business and innovation and has received a grant from the Coastal Communities Fund, matched by Hull City Council, which will see ten former warehouses transformed into eight units of flexible space for galleries, offices, independent restaurants and café units to add to the vibrant community already established there. The Centre for Digital Innovation, C4DI, provides a perfect iconic counterpoint to The Deep. There is just so much to see and appreciate in the Old Town and so as to help visitors understand the Old Town better, the Hull Civic Society has published an Old Town Trail booklet under the banner of "Hull’s Amazing Heritage". It is available from the Museums, Art Gallery and Tourist Information Office. Colin McNicol Buildings of the Old Town

Old Town Medieval churches: left, Holy Trinity and right, St Mary's, Lowgate

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Top: 5 Scale Lane (15th Century) and Old Grammar School (1583), Middle: Wilberforce House (1660s & 1760s) and Ye Olde White Harte (1660s) Bottom: George Crowle’s House, 41 High St (1664) and Trinity House (1753 almshouse block)

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Above: Maister House (1744) plain exterior, decorative interior. Below: Blaydes House (1760), Neptune Inn (1797)

The Old Town Reports, 1966 and 1972

In 1966, Hull Civic Society published a report setting out our own ideas on the “relationship of the Old Town to the Hull of 2000 A.D.” We considered that it should once again become the nucleus of the city, which we thought might grow, as a regional capital, to a million inhabitants. We wanted to see an Old Town “filled with as many people as possible for as long a time as possible” with “central area uses and residential uses”. However, comprehensive development was still the norm and in 1966 even the Market Place 1971 Civic Society regarded the derelict warehouses and other buildings south of Whitefriargate as “over-ripe for redevelopment”, stating that “virtually the whole area can be razed without loss of amenity or practical consequence”. A deck was proposed for the area south of Mytongate (now Castle Street) with parking and other services beneath for the housing and public buildings that would be located on the deck. We drew attention to the recreational value of the Town Docks and the survival of the Old Town’s medieval street plan and were against any major road development across the Old Town.

15 The historic buildings we did see as important were: Holy Trinity and St Mary Lowgate churches, the Old Grammar School, Trinity House and its chapel, Wilberforce House, Maister House, No 7 Bonded Warehouse on Castle Street (demolished in 1971), King Street and Prince Street.

Left: the council's road plan in 1966. Right: Hull Civic Society's preferred solution. (Old Town Report 1966). By 1966, the planners were proposing two highways: the South Orbital along Mytongate and High Street and the South Docks Road along Kingston Street, across Humber Dock, along Blanket Row and over the River Hull by a new bridge to join Hedon Road. Our solution to the problem of east-west traffic would have been one elevated road along the waterfront, crossing both the Humber Dock lockpit and the mouth of the River Hull. The aim of our second report (1972) “was to examine the situation in the Old Town in the light of new circumstances since the first report” i approval of the Mytongate section of the South Orbital road; ii firm plans to extend the road from Mytongate across the River Hull by a new bridge instead of widening High Street; iii deferment of a decision on the route of the South Docks Road across the Old Town; iv the demolition of No 7 Bonded Warehouse v the Corporation’s decision to purchase the Town Docks from the Docks Board. Our report recognised that an east-west road was essential. Although we were opposed to widening Mytongate, it was clear by 1972, that the Mytongate route would soon become a reality. Our report questioned the need for two roads across the Old Town and proposed eventual abandonment of the Mytongate route and replacement by a South Docks Road running alongside the River Humber, passing under the Humber Dock Basin, the Pier and the mouth of the River Hull through a tunnel. We were emphatic in our opposition to any new road construction northward from Mytongate through the Old Town and insisted that it should be routed up the eastern side of the River Hull. We wanted to see the Old Town reinvigorated by infusion of new uses, especially provision for more people living there, rehabilitating the waterfront and the surroundings of Holy Trinity and the market place and retention of the character of the Town Docks. The value of the ancient street pattern was also recognised and its retention recommended.

The Old Town Conservation Area

By the late 1960s the concept of a conservation area was developed. This recognised that our historical heritage includes the humbler buildings which form the setting and historic context of the important listed buildings. England’s first conservation area was designated in 1967 and Hull’s first, Garden Village, in 1970. The Old Town gained this status north of Castle Street in 1973. This has protected a number of historic streets such as Prince Street and High Street, one at risk

16 from dilapidation, the other from road plans. It was too late to protect the 16th, 17th and 18th century buildings of Mytongate, Queen Street and Blanket Row. The conservation area was extended in 1981, 1986 and 1994 and the whole of the Old Town is now protected. The Christmas 1980 Civic Society Newsletter reported that the City Council had set up the Old Town Conservation Area Advisory Panel, an encouraging development, considering that as recently as 1977 we had been in conflict with the City Council over conservation of a group of six Georgian buildings just north of St Mary’s church (23-28 Lowgate). No 28, Lowgate Coffee House at the corner of Chapel Lane was a listed building. They were to be demolished to make way for Hull’s new Crown Court. We objected and argued that they could be incorporated into the proposed court development. In 1977, the Secretary of State, Michael Heseltine, upheld our objections. That brought us into conflict with the City Council at a time when conservation was dismissed as a foolish hindrance to modern development. The then leader of the ruling party declared that “Civic Society members should be dragged in chains to see the monstrosity they have caused to be preserved”! Donald Campbell composed this limerick for the December 1978 Newsletter: The name of our Civic Society Has gained an unfair notoriety; For to save the Old Town And not knock it down Is a sign of a civic sobriety. However, the Council simply neglected the buildings and rejected every offer to rent them. By August 1980, their condition had deteriorated to the point where they had to be demolished. The Secretary of State, giving permission for demolition, was very critical of the Council “whose neglect of them accords badly with their role ...... of protectors of historic buildings and areas.” The incident illustrates a significant change in official attitudes in both national and local government towards conservation and a contrast with today’s constructive relations between Hull City Council (who have had a Conservation Officer for many years) and Hull Civic Society!

Lowgate – Alfred Gelder Street corner in 1965 and 2013.

THE OLD TOWN - TRIUMPHANT DECADE OR A DECAYED TRIUMPH? BY ALAN PLATER

Alan Plater, playwright, lived in Hull from 1938 until 1984 and was one of the founders of the Spring Street Theatre, forerunner of Hull Truck Theatre. His interests included jazz and football and he remained a supporter of Hull City even after moving to London in 1984. He also retained his membership of Hull Civic Society and was the speaker at our Millennium Dinner in 2000. The only time I had a proper job, with a boss and a notional. 9-to-5 working day, was from 1957 until the very last day of 1959: on January 1st 1960 I became self-employed - 'the only proper condition of mankind’ to quote the fine Tyneside dramatist, Tom Hadaway.

17 The job was in an architect's office in Scale Lane. We worked in a cheerful, Dickensian attic, nice and handy for the market-place, the pier, the pubs and Charlie Foster's sandwich shop. The factor common to all these institutions was a crumbling of the fabric, if not of the spirit. The Old Town was beautiful and simultaneously it was falling apart. It follows that I'm now celebrating my twentieth anniversary of muttering in print about the Old Town saying, more or less, Something should be Done. In May 1961 I said it in the 'Architectural Review' and I also said it at various times in other architectural magazines, in the 'Yorkshire Post' and the 'Hull Daily Mail'. Mostly people agreed with the central idea - Something should indeed be Done. The two main questions were: what should be done and who should do it? Twenty years ago, I was still close enough to the aesthetic brainwashing of architectural education to believe that the Something was probably a Masterplan under the general heading of Comprehensive Development. Somebody in the Guildhall should be sent to the appropriate mountaintop in search of the Tablets. Thus would the land be redeemed and restored unto the tribes thereof. I don't believe this now and I'm not sure I believed it then - I only thought I did. Exploring the problem now, on foot - the only proper way - there is evidence of three big Masterplans and the obvious conclusion is that Official Visions don't work. The relevant visions are the South Orbital Road, the Glass Box around the back of Holy Trinity and the Non-Existent Skyscraper at the corner of Lowgate and Alfred Gelder Street. The lesson of the road is that six-lane freeways disembowel an area, physically, socially, visually and psychologically. Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities) explained it all years ago, and if planners don't read the lady, they should be in another trade. The lesson of the Glass Box and the Invisible Skyscraper is simple and Shavian: when the real estate men show up, hide your daughters, lock up the spoons and, above all, don't give them the ignition keys to the bulldozer. Demolition is irreversible and negative even though the contractors' board may proclaim that they are 'making space'. That is akin to the 'TV Times' noting that a film is 'Not in Colour' when they mean it is black and white. On the whole, we haven’t done too well with Masterplans and Big Visions. Most sensible people want to reform the world, but the method of starting from your back yard and working outwards seems a more attractive proposition than starting from the cosmos and working inwards. Small is beautiful and it is also, with patience and sweat, attainable. Le Corbusier said: "That which gives our dreams their daring is that they can be realised," to which it is reasonable to add the post-script that a small dream that turns out to be a mess is, at least, a small mess, compared with orbital roads and glass-fronted parking lots. Over the last decade or so, some lively dreams have been realised in the Old Town: the pedestrianisation of Whitefriargate and Parliament Street, the Town Docks Museum, Studio 10½, the Waterfront Club, the Posterngate Centre and the Pecan Pizzeria, to grab a few at random. We anticipate a revitalised Prince Street and there is the prospect of a Theatre in the Hull Truck scheme for 37 High Street. The latter, of course, has caused a little twitching because of its estimated cost of £750,000, but here too lies a small moral. The city of Hull and the county of North Humberside have had their culture on the cheap for too long. Humberside Theatre and the New were both, in their time, low-cost conversion jobs, and the fact that Jon Marshall and David Sandford perform annual miracles should not disguise the truth that the level of official support, compared with cities like Nottingham or Leicester, is dismal. The plain fact is that if you want a Crucible or a Royal Exchange or a Haymarket Theatre - or an Arnolfini Gallery, for that matter - you must be prepared to pay for it. If you do not consider these items important, so be it: reach for your gun when somebody mentions culture, but you'll be in dubious company. During 1979 I visited New York - essentially for a working lunch in the Seagram building, discussing a film script I'd written with a Famous and Beautiful Actress (and I thought you'd never ask). In the margins of time, there was an informal conducted tour of Greenwich Village, guided by an artist called Joe Glasco who paints enormous abstracts in a converted warehouse that could have been transplanted from High Street, Hull.

18 The remarkable discovery was the similarity between the Old Town and the Village: old, and therefore relatively cheap, property, converted in a lively, imaginative fashion by people wanting to sell books, pottery, plays, jazz, food, pictures, records, or any combination of those and other elements. Somebody wants to turn a restaurant into a theatre and they do it; if it doesn't work, somebody turns it into a disco the following week. In another part of Manhattan there is a street where not one, but four theatres have opened in a two-year period, with the assistance, let it be underlined, of public funds. I do not know what planning regulations - or maybe lack of planning regulations - enable this kind of process to take place, but it is clear that there are lessons to be absorbed, notably about speed and facility. In England, too many ideas die of boredom and frustration, somewhere between the bank manager's office and a Town Hall corridor. If the Old Town were in New York, the rehabilitation would be in full swing, a few people would make a few dollars and the municipality would still be bankrupt. If it were in Leningrad, the entire area would be recreated in its mediaeval form as a monument to the original craftsmen. If it were in Amsterdam, the job would be done on a basis of solid Dutch compromise, shrewdness and sensitivity. But in all three places, sure as Hell the job would be done by now! I hesitate to leap in with world-shattering conclusions, because of my inbuilt scepticism about tablets with messages written on; but the writing in the sky is surely clear enough. The Old Town is a place for dreamers, those lovely eccentrics who want to make plays and pots and sing songs, even in dead of night: it's a place to eat, drink and be merry: it's a place to stand, stare and warm hands on the memory of Chaucer and Marvell. This may sound fanciful, but we've tried feasibility studies and they tend to be long on words and short on joy, and mostly they're not even feasible. When the rest of the city is full of executive maisonettes and hypermarkets, the Old Town will remain as a dreamer's retreat. It is still the place where the heart beats strong and true. This article, written in March 1980, appeared in Hull Civic Society Newsletter of May 1980.

"A place to eat drink and be merry" - Humber Street during the Freedom Festival 2013.

19 “Developments in Hull”

The following article by Peter Bush, formerly Tutor in Urban Design 1972 – 87 at Hull School of Architecture appeared in Issue 88 of the magazine “Architecture East Midlands” in February 1981, bringing news of regeneration in Hull's Old Town to a wider audience .

A REFERENCE recently to the late Mahatma Ghandi, when asked what he thought of Western civilisation, quoted the great man as replying without need to reflect, "What a good idea!" Such might be the reaction by anyone asked for their ideas on development in Hull. But they would also be wrong, because here we are considering a city which is a different kettle of fish. Hull, the four letter word by which we usually call the city of Kingston upon Hull, has been an international trading port and centre for over 800 years and, as Ian Nairn remarked in his short article recently, still gives one the impression of being more a north European city than part of Britain itself. Now Hull is designated a Development Area, though its physical images relate largely to its historic buildings. Hull, like anywhere else, is not what it used to be, and probably never was. Being planted almost midway between London and Edinburgh, its strategic position is perhaps only now being fully utilised as its links with Europe, and particularly with other parts of Britain are developed. Specialising in high value unit load business, the port last year handled over £3,000 million of goods, and increased its overnight car and passenger traffic through Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. The city is fast becoming the "Gateway to Europe." In the same period, over half a million foreign visitors passed through the terminal. The Humber Bridge has already become to Hull what Eifel's Tower is to Paris and, with over half of its 124 road sections in position, is scheduled to be open by the end of 1980. For a brief period, this £71½ million landmark will be in the Guiness Book of Records as the world's longest single span suspension bridge. It is predicted that it will be carrying 24,000 vehicles each day in its opening year, and over twice this volume by the end of the century. The current estimate for cars is £1.50 each way and is at present the subject of a Public Enquiry. The Bridge, with the recently opened M62 to Liverpool, the M18 linking to the A1 and the M1, seems determined to drag Hull firmly into mainland Britain and end its long-standing sense of isolation. During 1978, £40 million of industrial development was begun on site in Hull, though being concentrated on the city's industrial estate at Sutton Fields, it is not apparent either to visitors to the city or as encouragement to local inhabitants. However, it is this development and its diverse character which will help Hull withstand the effects brought about by the Common Market agreements which have, for the time being at least, put an end to Hull as any kind of fishing port, let alone a major one. New large scale building work either built or in the pipeline must include the new Humberside County Hall Extensions being designed 'in house' by the County Architect at Beverley, and the Tidal Barrier, a £2½ million development which will prevent flooding in the city and which is now operational.

20 In their book "Preservation Pays," the joint authors Marcus Binney and Max Hanna of the English Tourist Board see Hull as the springboard for new developments to the existing tourist circuit, linking Lincoln, York and the west. They referred to the attraction of Hull's 'Old Town,' sharing the dreams and aspirations of the conservationists with a convincing case that Hull's assets had real commercial value, as well as being potential tourist attractions. One building type in which Hull abounds as a legacy from more prosperous days is the 'warehouse,' its often vast palaces which stored riches of its merchant trading, from cotton to tobacco and grain, as symbolic of Hull as the dark satanic mills are of the West Riding. It is ironic, that although many have been lost through lack of foresight, the Waterfront Club (now the largest of them on Railway Dock is at present awaiting the Minister's Sugar Mill) (Photo JD decision, following a public enquiry. So many are being redeveloped to Scotney) provide commercially viable structures. One such building, now the Waterfront Club on Prince's Dock Side, has been much publicised. A building dating from the 1820's, once owned by the family of William Wilberforce, the slave reformer, the whole project has been tremendously successful and has received many awards for its owner and developer, Francis Daly. A further development by the same hand is the adjacent warehouse, this time as a new hotel complex, opened this year. At nearby Driffield, yet another waterside warehouse, previously used for grain, had only a few years ago been redeveloped by the London architects McCormac Jamieson as a very successful housing development. Probably the more dramatically sited, the Pease warehouse building on the River Hull, built in 1745, is now being redeveloped, this time for luxury flats by F. Hooson of York.

Top left and right: Pease Warehouse before restoration by Ben Hooson. Below left & right: Pease Court flats today.

21 The Castle warehouse, in Chapel Lane Staith, High Street, is another similar development which provides for over 3,000 sq. ft. of craft workshop space within the Old Town. The developers, Wykeland Ltd., who renovated the warehouses at 47 Queen Street to form offices, now say that the units are fully let. In the High Street, Hull's oldest thoroughfare, the story is much the same. One large warehouse has become an antique dealer's showroom. Yet another warehouse is being refurbished as a theatre for the 'Hull Truck' company, and a night spot, Washington D.C., has opened in another redundant building during the year. The warehouse at the junction of Princes Dock and the South Orbital Road is being refurbished to provide an hotel, and the smaller of the two warehouses of Railway Dock Side is to provide facilities for the new Marina complex in Humber Dock and Railway Dock. Re-cycled buildings seem to be the pattern in the new Hull. With a new 5-star hotel planned west of the Bridge at Melton, Hull appears poised to provide its visitors with every need. As well as his venture with the Waterfront Club, Francis Daly's other 'development' is with the last of Hull's paddle steam ferries, the "Lincoln Castle," determined to keep the old ship for the city. The two sister ships, Tattersall Castle and Wingfield Castle are berthed on the Thames, one in St. Katherines and the other on the north bank opposite the Liberal Club. Formally constituted Residents' Associations have of recent years become more and more instrumental in conveying the feelings of ordinary people to the increasingly bureaucratic machine of local government and nowhere in Hull has this been more true than in the case of the Peel Street and Hutt Street Residents' Association. Its latest involvement in local affairs has been the working towards the declaration of Botanic Housing Action Area, Hull's first H.A.A. The North British Housing Association took premises in Hutt Street in June 1979 and became the first Housing Association to become involved in rehabilitation in the area. The officers of the council, whilst feeling that an H.A.A. declaration would be a good course of action, lacked the staff and experience to prepare such a programme. It was therefore agreed that if a report could be written by the Residents' Association and the Housing Association, the council would use it to make the declaration. The survey was carried out and a report written by February 1980, which has just gained the approval of the Housing Committee. The last hurdle is the approval of the D.O.E. The important factor in this series of events is the initial involvement of the Residents' Associ- ation, thereby causing recommendations to be made which, if accepted, ensure regular and close contact between officers of the council, members of the housing committee, the Housing Association, and lastly but by no means least the residents themselves. Perhaps we can at last forget the old saying "from Hell, Hull and Halifax, may the Lord preserve us" more like, "come and join us, it's a hell of a nice place." Peter Bush is an architect who teaches in the School of Architecture at Hull. Article reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Mytongate and Castle Street

Coach & Horses, Mytongate - 19th century front & 17th century rear.

22 Mytongate was part of the medieval street plan. Construction of the new highway across the Old Town destroyed all the buildings on the south side of Mytongate and the north side of Blanket Row. Some were much older than they looked. Castle Street provides a direct route for traffic from the eastern docks to the port’s hinterland to the west of the city, but it is also a barrier to north-south pedestrian movement. The present traffic-light controlled pedestrian crossings are regarded by the Highways Agency as a serious source of delay to road traffic.

Above left & right: Castle Street: the conflict between east-west and north-south movement. Below Left: Mytongate 1971 Right: Castle Street 2013 (built along the line of Mytongate). The building on the right of the Castle Street picture is the light-coloured one in the 1971 picture. A scheme to improve traffic flow by adding two more lanes for local traffic was published in 1992 and we objected to the increased severance in this scheme. In April 2008, The Highways Agency held a Stakeholder Workshop to discuss six options for improving traffic flow on Castle Street. We would have preferred a tunnel or cutting between the Ferensway junction and the eastern side of the River Hull, but the cost of tunnelling in ground with such a high water table meant that it was unrealistic to hope that a tunnel would be funded. The potential problems were highlighted in November 1999 when the Yorkshire Water tunnel alongside Castle Street collapsed, burying “Maureen”, the giant digger, and delaying for over 18 months the tunnelling to link the East and West Hull pumping stations to a new waste water treatment plant at Saltend. A cutting would, we were told, require demolition of nearly all the buildings along Castle Street as well as multiplying the cost. The "preferred scheme" after the 2008 consultation included replacing Mytongate roundabout with an underpass for the A63 and closure of the pedestrian crossings. Pedestrians would have to use a bridge at Porter Street, pedestrian footpaths at the Mytongate flyover, a bridge from Princes Dock Street to the Marina and the existing underpass beneath Myton Bridge approach. Further consultations on detailed proposals were held in 2013 and early 2017. The Civic Society's and City Council's consultations with the Highways Agency have secured a user-friendly bridge near the Marina, designed by architects McDowell and Benedetti, designers of Scale Lane Bridge. It was made public in 2015, but will not be built until 2018 at the earliest. In 2017 the Society's focus is the need for a footbridge from Market Place to Queen Street and for the underpass to be upgraded.

23 Chapter 6 - Pedestrianisation

In 1965, Whitefriargate and Parliament Street were the first streets in the city to be made traffic free, with restrictions on vehicles between 11.a.m. and 4 p.m. Re-paving as pedestrian streets came in 1972. This was relatively simple because they were not part of a major traffic route. Hull Civic Society campaigned for other shopping streets to be pedestrianised and found a high degree of agreement with the City Council’s Planning Department. To cope with increasing traffic, a one-way system had been introduced in the city centre in 1964. While this eased the flow of east- west traffic, it made city centre shopping a less pleasurable experience for shoppers faced with four or five lanes of traffic.

Before and after pedestrianisation: in Jameson Street, Queen Victoria Square & King Edward Street.

Relief came with pedestrianisation of Jameson Street, King Edward Street and Queen Victoria Square, inaugurated on 2nd October 1988. It was made possible by the completion of Freetown Way from Blundell’s Corner to North Bridge and the opening of Myton Bridge in 1980. With Ferensway and Great Union Street, this created an “Orbital Box” of roads to divert traffic around the edge of the city centre. In 2015 and 2016, re-paving and further pedestrianisation has been undertaken as part of the public realm improvement work in preparation for 2017. On 8th November 2015 the bus loop through Prospect Street, King Edward Street and Jameson Street was closed and buses re-routed onto Albion Street and Bond Street. Throughout 2016, the contractors, Eurovia, have been re- paving all the main shopping streets of the city centre, including King Edward Street, Jameson Street, Paragon Street, Carr Lane, Queen Victoria Square, Monument Bridge, Whitefriargate, Trinity House Lane and Trinity Square. The work includes remodelling the setting of the Beverley Gate remains and extending Trinity Square right up to the west door of Holy Trinity Church. Eurovia have also renewed the paving of Humber Street and Humber Dock Street, relaying the historic dockside railway lines.

24 Chapter 7 - Transport

Transport has a significant impact on quality of life in our city. In 1980, we submitted our views in response to Humberside County Council's Hull Transportation Study, which formed the basis of the county's transport policy for road and rail, public and private, passenger and freight transport. In 1992 we also submitted a response to the Greater Hull Transport Study and have taken an active interest in many other schemes. As we said in 1980, "All forms of transport serve a need and no one form should dominate policy to the detriment of others. Transport policy must not be made in isolation from other aspects of the quality of life such as local residents' convenience and safety, energy conservation and environmental conservation". This is still true!

Cycling Cycling is a healthy and environmentally-friendly form of transport. The city’s flat terrain encourages cycling and Hull Civic Society has campaigned to have more cycle lanes and off-road routes, some of them using old railway lines. The City Council have developed a network over a number of years, publicised by their excellent Cycle Routes Map. The provision of cycle stands all over the city is another welcome encouragement to cyclists.

Stepney – “Low Level” line in 1968 and as a cycle track & footpath in 2008 (Photos: JDS)

Cars Whilst we have always championed the use of cycles and public transport, we recognise that some journeys cannot easily be made by bus and sometimes a car is necessary to transport heavy loads or to visit a number of destinations in a short time. In the evening, when bus frequencies are reduced, many people prefer to use a car to go to concerts, cinemas and theatres. Adequate provision of long and short term parking is therefore very important to the city's economy.

Buses Buses are an important form of transport, offering an alternative to car travel, reducing congestion, providing mobility to non-drivers and often relieving car drivers of the task of driving other family members to their destination. Even car owners need buses when the car is not available. In 1964, Hull's principal bus operators were the council-owned Kingston upon Hull Corporation Transport (KHCT), which ran bus and trolleybus services within Hull. For many journeys the fares within Hull were no more than 6d (2½p). The other main operator, East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS) ran (and still runs) bus services from Hull into the surrounding villages and all over the East Riding. There was also one small independent bus company, Connor & Graham, who ran services through Hedon to south Holderness villages. It was taken over by EYMS. After a period of competition from several small independent bus operators in the 1980s

25 Left: KHCT “Coronation Class” Sunbeam MF2B trolleybus (Photo courtesy of Yorkshire Transport Photos, Batley). Right: EYMS bus in the indigo & primrose livery Below: Connor & Graham bus at the Baker Street terminus. . (Photos: JD Scotney)

and 1990s, Stagecoach and EYMS emerged as the providers of all of Hull’s regular bus services with a few smaller independent companies participating in provision of school bus services. Between 1961 and 1964, KHCT replaced its six trolleybus routes (70 Hessle Rd, 69 Anlaby Rd, 61 Chanterlands Ave, 62 Newland Ave, 64 Holderness Rd and 63 Beverley Rd) by motorbuses. The last trolleybus ran along Beverley Road on 31st October 1964. In 1964 EYMS was part of the British Electric Traction group. BET merged with the Tilling Group in 1968 and this was absorbed into the National Bus Company rd in 1969. On 3 February 1987, in a Left: KHCT “Coronation Class” Sunbeam MF2B trolleybus management buy-out, EYMS became an (Photo courtesy of Yorkshire Transport Photos, Batley). independent company again. .

Left: EYMS bus in the indigo & primrose livery, with specially profiled “Beverley Bar roof” . Right: Connor & Graham bus at the Baker Street terminus.

On 27th July 1986, KHCT became a limited company, wholely owned by the city council. It was sold in December 1993 to the employees of KHCT (49%) and Cleveland Transit of Stockton on Tees (51%). This company became part of the Stagecoach group in December 1994. Since 2013, the Hull operation has legally been part of Stagecoach Lincolnshire Road Car. KHCT and EYMS entered a Co-ordination Agreement in 1934, which provided for joint use of the bus station, revenue-sharing, co-ordinated timetables and some joint services on main roads. Unlike some cities, where "out of town buses" were not allowed to pick up passengers within the city boundary, Hull passengers could use buses of either operator. The sharing of receipts ceased in the 1980s, but passengers still enjoy many of the benefits of the old agreement. There have been radical changes in bus design. In 1964 all Hull’s double decker buses had drivers and conductors and passengers boarded most of them by open platforms at the rear. Although Hull had introduced its unique dual-entrance “Coronation” trolleybuses designed for one- man-operation as early as 1953 and the first Leyland Atlanteans with front entrance and rear engine appeared in 1960, driver-only operation was only allowed on single-decker buses until 1966, when the Ministry of Transport changed the regulations to include front entrance double-deckers. On 10th November 1972, KHCT became Britain’s first major urban operator to run all its buses without conductors. Until the 1970s, most EYMS double deckers had specially profiled “Beverley Bar roofs” to enable them to pass through the Gothic arch of Beverley Bar.

26 Left: a KHCT conductor and his bus in 1971. Right: EYMS Low floor, front entrance bus in Hull.

More recent innovations were low-floor buses, designed to carry wheelchairs, introduced by EYMS in 2001 (and now standard) and a complete smoking ban (celebrated with a Civic Society Good Mark!). Previously, smoking was allowed upstairs on double-deckers, producing nicotine- stained ceilings and a permanent smoky atmosphere. Since 1932, Hull has been more fortunate than most cities in having its bus station located next to the railway station, though crossing Collier Street - usually full of moving buses - to reach the stands was hazardous! The overall canopy kept passengers dry, but it was a very draughty place to wait for a bus. From time to time, there were proposals to build a new bus station elsewhere in the city centre, but Hull Civic Society has always stressed the benefit of its juxtaposition with Paragon railway station, as we did in our 1980 comments. We therefore wrote in support of the application for the present Paragon Interchange, which was proposed as part of the St Stephen's development and opened in 2007.

Top left: the "Coach Station" in 1971 (note the EYMS bus with Beverley Bar arched roof). Top right and bottom left and right: Paragon Interchange - giving easy transfer from bus to rail or coach services by bringing buses, coaches and trains under one roof.

27 Railways In the 1960s the last steam trains were replaced by diesel loco-hauled trains and diesel multiple units. Then 1963 brought the Beeching Report. The lines to Hornsea and Withernsea were closed in 1964 and to York via Market Weighton in 1965. In 1968, closure of the line to Bridlington and Scarborough was proposed, but it was reprieved after a campaign of objections. The second part of Dr Beeching’s Report proposed development of the profitable Inter City services. However, by the 1980s, Hull had only one direct London train each way. Otherwise, passengers had to change at Doncaster. Despite representations from Hull City Council, Hull Civic Society and local businesses, this situation continued for many years. Between 1993 and 1998 railway services were gradually franchised out to private Train Operating Companies, but new operators could apply for “open access” on lines served by franchised operators. In 1999, Renaissance Rail applied to the Rail Regulator to run through trains each way between Hull and London Kings Cross. Hull Civic Society, the City Council and other local bodies wrote to the Rail Regulator in support and Hull Trains (now First Hull Trains) began through services (three each way) in September 2000. There are now seven trains each way on weekdays, with one to and from Beverley. First Hull Trains regularly earns praise for its reliability, punctuality and general customer satisfaction. Hull’s other train services have been franchised to Above: First Hull Trains at Paragon Station "Virgin Trains East Coast" since 1.3.15 (London, once 2014. Below: 1848 range on the south side daily), Northern Rail (Doncaster & Sheffield, York, of Paragon Station. Bridlington & Scarborough) and First Trans-Pennine (Leeds & Manchester). In 1964, the original station buildings (1848), designed by GT Andrews, were largely hidden from view behind a car showroom on Anlaby Road and William Bell's eastern portico of 1904 had been demolished to build the uninspiring Paragon House, which housed the Hull Divisional Manager's Offices. In 1986, three of the five wooden pavilions backing onto the platforms were replaced by a new travel centre (now the waiting room). In 2005- 2007 Paragon House was demolished as part of the construction of the Interchange and a new travel centre. Enlargement of the southern car park opened up the view of the 1848 buildings. In 2016, a scheme was approved to replace the 1986 travel centre with four retail units and convert the wooden Pumpkin Café into a waiting room with a glass-covered extension for seating.

Parcels and Newspapers Left: Paragon Station: 1986. Right: Unloading parcels at Paragon Station at 4.30 a.m. in 1985.

28 In 1964 most of British Rail's passenger trains carried parcels and some carried mail. There were also dedicated overnight parcels and mail trains for heavy traffic flows (especially newspapers) and road delivery from stations. However, in the mid-1980s British Rail's newspaper traffic was transferred by the largest newspaper group from passenger & parcels trains to private road haulage. The remaining parcels operation was re-branded as express station-to-station “Red Star” parcels service, but all carriage of parcels (and mail) by passenger train ceased within a decade. It was not helped by the division of British Rail into 25 separate Train Operating Companies, plus Railtrack (now Network Rail) owning the infrastructure.

Freight Trains Less visible to the general public were the changes to freight services. In 1964, little had changed since Edwardian times. Most railway freight was moved in short 4-wheel wagons which were conveyed to and from numerous goods depots located within horse & cart delivery distance of most industrial customers. Transit through marshalling yards, where wagons were sorted from local to long-haul trains and vice-versa meant that journey times were measured in days, rather than hours. Hull New Yard (British Rail Photo from The 1966 British Rail Directory of Stations and Depots Modern Railways, May 1976 by kind lists 11 goods or coal depots within Hull: Cannon St, permission of Ian Allen Ltd) Central, Chalk Lane, Drypool, Ella St, Marfleet, Neptune St, Sculcoates, Stepney, Temple St and Wilmington. Several depots had already closed by 1966. Stepney Goods is the only unaltered survivor and we supported its listing under its original North Eastern Railway name of Sculcoates Goods. It is now a rare example of a major urban goods depot, though no longer rail connected. It is currently used by a builders' merchant.

Sculcoates Goods Depot - Grade II listed as a rare surviving urban railway freight depot. In addition to the public goods depots, Hull’s rail system had numerous private sidings serving factories such as Ideal Standard, Needler’s, Earle’s Cement, BOCM and most extensive of all, the docks. Until withdrawn in 1965, the most important freight trains were the ones carrying fresh fish from St Andrew’s Dock direct to London. Another major traffic was timber, mainly from Victoria Dock. Even after withdrawal of the Hornsea and Withernsea passenger services in 1964, freight services continued until 1968 on the “low level line” that crossed most of Hull’s main roads by level crossing. The construction of a link at Sweet Dews in east Hull to the former Hull & Barnsley “High Level Line” reduced level crossing delays, allowing trains from the eastern docks and Saltend to cross the city’s main roads by bridge. Now the only level crossings within the city boundary are on St George’s Road, Hawthorn Avenue and Spring Bank West, though Cottingham still has two level crossings.

29

Left: the "low level" Hornsea & Withernsea line at Botanic Gardens, Spring Bank in 1968 Right: A modern coal train on the "high level" line at Newland Avenue in 2011. The most positive aspect of the Beeching Report's section on freight traffic was the introduction of Freightliner services to carry containers by train on the long haul, with local movement by lorry. This was forward thinking as the shipping companies also began conveying containers at that time. The other aspect was the recognition that rail is most competitive when used to carry bulk cargoes such as coal, steel, oil, chemicals, grain and other dry goods. Hull's Freightliner container terminal was near to the Hessle Road flyover, but its location was not ideal and it closed in 1987. While much less general freight moves by train than it did 50 years ago, hundreds of lorry movements a day are still eliminated from the city's streets by heavy bulk freight trains using the high level railway line to and from the eastern docks and Saltend. In the last few years, Network Rail has improved the line capacity by resignalling and reinstating double track. Closure of marshalling yards and other sidings has released many acres of land for industry (e.g. Priory Park) and housing (e.g. "The Sidings", Calvert Lane).

Chapter 8 - Crossing the Humber

Left: "Lincoln Castle" at Hull Corporation Pier, Right: The Humber Bridge

On 24th June 1981, the Humber Bridge was opened and centuries of crossing the River Humber by ferry came to an end. The following article is a reminder of a service we once took for granted. To some, it was a source of great frustration, to others a source of enjoyment.

30 “The chap who ushers the cars on used to be a sardine packer in Norway" Reproduced by kind permission of the Hull Daily Mail. This is a copy of an article printed in the Hull Daily Mail, dated Friday 18th October 1968, with an acknowledgement to the Vauxhall Motorist)

BRUCE COOPER found a 'Mississippi Belle' paddling the Humber between New Holland and Hull. (A "You'll find it quicker to take the road than the ferry", were the parting words of my host. So I took his advice until I got blocked by queuing at the entrance to a town for an hour because of some road works. "It would have to be a slow ferry" I thought "if it didn't make faster progress than the snail's pace of jammed vehicles." I pulled out of the queue and made for the coast road. It was marvellously traffic free. That should have made me suspicious, but, after being confined to centimetre progress for so long, I revelled in the acceleration. When I got to the ferry terminal there were two cars in front of me, the first occupied by a commercial traveller whose face of resignation betokened familiarity with the crossing. "You've missed it," he announced with mournful pleasure, "It'll be three quarters of an hour before it's back". "But what are those two doing down there?"' I asked, pointing to two funnels in the distance. "They're being repaired," he said. "You've got your ticket, haven't you?" he asked me. "No," I replied. As there had been no obvious signs of an office, I assumed it was obtainable on the boat. "You get it on the platform," he said. "At the ticket office." "Can I get a bite, too? I asked. My hour in the queue and my mid-day sandwich lunch had given me an appetite. "You're joking." he replied. With even greater pleasure he assured me that the local cafe was closed (he'd tried it), and he hoped I wasn't as short of petrol as he was, because the nearest petrol station was closed too. After I had staved off some of the pangs with a bar of chocolate from a spiteful vending machine which had trapped my fingers and grudgingly delivered its contents at the fifth attempt, I repaired to the ticket office "What type of vehicle is it?" the clerk asked. "It's a minibus type," I replied. "Seventeen and six, please," she said. "No, I haven't got any passengers with me," I said, surprised by her calculations. "Is it short wheelbase or long wheelbase?" she asked. "Short," I answered. 'That's correct then," she said. "15 shillings for the vehicle and 2s. 6d. for you". "Oh, it's pricey," said the commercial traveller when I returned to my car. "Did you get a receipt to give to your firm?" I hadn't, but I could see the point of his question. The boss might well think his reps were boozing on the river as well as crossing it. I gazed across the water and waited expectantly for the ferry to hove into view. A few weeks previously I had taken a car ferry to France. I remembered the drive-on, drive-off comfort, the ship's prow rising silently at the press of a button, the vehicles' entrance and exit controlled by crisply-uniformed officers with "man from uncle" pocket-type radios. But for 15s. for such a short crossing, I was expecting a hovercraft to burst into view. "It sometimes gets caught on the sandbanks, you know. It won't be the first time I've spent an hour and a half in the middle of the river till the tide takes us off," interrupted the commercial traveller. I reflected that hovercraft didn't even touch the surface of the water, let alone the sea bed. But my speculations were further interrupted by a cry of mingled pride and contempt. "There she is. She won't get stuck tonight though. You'll be all right. The tide's coming in."

31 It wasn't a hovercraft which met my gaze, but an old-fashioned paddle steamer. It was my turn to say "You're joking." But I could see by the expression on his face, and the absence of any other vessel in view that he wasn't joking. "You wait till you get on," he added, putting his account book away. The chap who ushers the cars on used to be a sardine packer in Norway." He raced ahead of me along the narrow pier, which made me feel that the next time I negotiated it I would not only do so with a short-wheelbase vehicle but one with a slim waistline as well. Our progress on the loading jetty was halted whilst a small diesel tractor hauled off some tall, wooden pit trucks loaded with clinker, while another trundled on with two or three more. These were loaded with enormous lumps of coal. After a few five-point turns I found myself wedged between the side of the ship and a huge bollard. There were more passengers than vehicles for this crossing, mainly contract labour who'd been doing a stint of overtime, so the turn-round time was relatively short. Two men grappled with chains to hoist the metal bridge joining the jetty to the boat. I felt a piped-music version of "Yo- heave-ho" might have made their labour lighter. There was a loud rattle as the deck gate was closed, a bell clanged, then a violent shudder as the engines came to life. The boat hit the quay with an enormous thump, and we were off, thrashing our way to the other side. "We're going in the wrong direction," I said to the commercial traveller, who had slithered wraith-like out of his vehicle. "No, he never goes direct," he assured me. "Would you like to have a look at the engine?" he asked me. I thought that perhaps as a frequent traveller he must be on nodding terms with the captain. It turned out he claimed no special privileges. The engine, in the centre of the ship, was there for all to see. "Full steam ahead," said the dial and along-side the gleaming pistons and rods were heaving and wheezing away. I'm not sure that our direction was exactly ahead, but the laboured effort of the machinery certainly suggested we were going full steam, and I began to have a slightly better idea as to why the two sister ships were laid up. "Want to have a look at the boilers, too?" my commercial friend volunteered. I looked down and was reminded of a film I had once seen with William Bendix in it. A stoker, stripped to the waist, was shovelling coal into the boiler; his mate was hauling up by bucket used clinker, which he tipped into the wooden hoppers. I looked out across the river. My destination seemed to be receding rather than advancing. Despite the commercial traveller's optimistic assurances I couldn't help wondering whether we might not be destined for an evening on the river bed. Certainly there was time to explore further. I descended into the second class saloon in the bowels of the ship. It was bare, gaunt, gloomy and smoke-filled. The contract labour were scattered in small groups, some on the floor, some playing cards, others talking. The fittings were of another era. I looked for the chains running from the men's ankles to the stark pillars, others groaning for water, and for the magnificent overseer, his chest gleaming with oil, with a cat-o-nine-tails grasped in his folded arms. I surfaced to see with relief that the boat was now pointed in the right direction, in fact the far shore was fairly close. There wasn't much time left. I passed intriguing cabins which said "mate" and "stewardess" on their doors. I wondered if the stewardess could be preparing vases of mimosa for the first class saloon for such a short crossing. As I crossed the threshold of it, I realised not. The distinctions preserved are now only historic ones. The first-class saloon was desperately faded, but also breathed memories of another world, - the panelling, the upholstery, the gracious pictures of country houses in sepia, with dead flies trapped between glass and mounting. It was populated now mainly by women, but once young beaux and muslined maidens, crinolined ladies and powdered gentlemen must have passed elegant conversation.

32 No attempt had been made to obliterate the distinctions by way of nomenclature. There were first and second class toilets to match the living quarters I didn't have time to investigate whether the habits of a previous generation were still being instinctively upheld. We were now almost ready for off-loading. I revved the engine. I looked at my watch. Less than twenty five minutes had passed. It seemed like fifty years. I looked back at the river and along the banks for other signs of Mississippi life, bales of cotton and darkies crooning, but everything was solidly English. I didn't feel so outraged at the demand of the booking-office clerk. I don't suppose her superiors found it necessary to tell her the breakdown of my 17s. 6p. : 5 shillings for the vehicle, 2s. 6p. for each passenger, and 10 shillings for the sheer entertainment of visiting an ancient monument. I thought it was cheap at the price. ********* THE ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER CUTTING WAS FOUND IN THE INNER LINING OF AN OLD WALLET BY A MEMBER OF THE CIVIC SOCIETY WHO SPENT MANY HAPPY HOURS IN THE EARLY SIXTIES SELLING TICKETS AT THE HULL CORPORATION PIER BOOKING OFFICE, AND TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE VAGARIES OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM TO THE MOTORISTS. In memory of Thomas David Carr (1935-2014) Civic Society member

Chapter 9 - The Port of Hull - 50 Years of Progress and Change

"We don't have to tell you where Hull is, we'll just tell you where it's going" was the proud boast of the British Transport Docks Board (ABP's predecessor) in the 1960s. The "Natural Stepping Stone to Europe" had recently seen £31M of expenditure on modernisation and expansion and with a customs revenue of £800 million per annum it could proudly claim to be "Britain's Third Port". With inwards and outwards cargoes of 5.5 million and 2.09 million tons respectively, 12 miles of quays and over 200 acres of enclosed docks, it handled major commodities such as timber, Alexandra Dock 1968 cereals and oilseeds, providing raw materials for the considerable number of flour mills, oilseed crushers, sawmills and caravan manufacturers in Hull and its surroundings. In addition, huge imports of wool furnished the needs of the massive Yorkshire woollen industry, and iron ore etc served the South Yorkshire steel industry. Exports were varied, with huge numbers of motor vehicles, tractors and construction equipment sent to Europe and worldwide. There was also considerable coal traffic to both the southern power stations and mainland Europe. But the "Wind of Change" was beginning to blow even stronger than any East Coast gale! In 1965 a new form of cargo handling, the first "Roll-on-Roll-Off' ferry arrived in Hull's King George Dock. The first was North Sea Ferries, a consortium of British, German and Dutch ship-owners which began an overnight passenger and cargo service every night. Shortly after this, England Sweden Line, whose partners included Ellerman's Wilson Line (who had traded to Scandinavia for 130 years), began a thrice-weekly service to Gothenburg. These vessels, of course, did not need to be loaded by dock workers, as the vehicles could all be driven on, so jobs were immediately at risk. Allied to this was the growth in "containerisation", where freight cargoes could be loaded at depots away from the port area and driven on trailers to the docks, losing dockers a significant amount of work.

33 Of course, labour relations too had been precarious for many years and these threats to the time-honoured dock labour practices could not be ignored. Such methods of transport had first appeared during World War 2 as had the discharge of grain by pneumatic elevator, but after peace was granted, the old labour-intensive methods, such as unloading timber plank by plank, and 'scuttling' grain into sacks by hand were once more the order of the day. The threat to the dockers' livelihood led to weekly strikes, blacking of cargoes, and blockading of other ports, and on the daily ferries cargo often had to return to mainland Europe as Hull was "strikebound". This unbelievable state of affairs existed at all of the main British Ports, e.g. London, Liverpool, Southampton, Cardiff etc., with devastating effects on local economies. Soon the large ship-owners began to trans-ship their cargoes from places such as Rotterdam to the UK on smaller vessels which could use the small unregistered ports and harbours around our coast, where overheads were much lower and there was no militancy. Therefore places such as Selby, New Holland, Gainsborough, Whitby and Scarborough became ports handling cargoes that once came in via Hull. King George Dock: MV Norland loading freight vehicles in May The effect was catastrophic: first, 1978 (Photo: courtesy of Associated British Ports, Hull) Albert and William Wright Docks, extensively modernised in the late 50s, closed to traffic, followed by Alexandra Dock (Hull's second largest) in 1981. This dock had been constructed in 1885 for the Hull & Barnsley Railway Company and, until the 1960s, had handled between 2 and 5 million tons of coal per annum, for both export and to serve power stations. This trade had been transferred in 1968 to a new terminal at Immingham The only ray of hope was the opening by The Queen of the 28-acre Queen Elizabeth Dock in August 1969. Providing 8 berths for the largest vessels using the port together with a large storage area, it was the first new dock to be created since 1914. Disaster was also looming for Hull's fishing industry. In 1961 Hull had welcomed its first "super trawler", The Lord Nelson, which hauled its nets from the stern, had covered working areas and froze its catch while at sea. Annual landings in 1964 were 3,600000 cwt (£13.5 million in value) only slightly lower than in 1946 when trade resumed after hostilities. However it was still a far cry from the 5,400000 cwt handled in 1951. However, as early as 1958 the first 'Cod War' saw Iceland impose a 12 mile fishing limit around its coast, later increased to 50 miles. By 1975, a 200 mile limit had been imposed by Iceland and the Hull fleet, although numbering 124 vessels (120 wet fish trawlers Arctic Corsair, the last of Hull's many side-winder and 4 freezer trawlers), which compared with trawlers. 136 vessels in 1946, was totally dependent on distant water grounds such as Iceland and found its fishing opportunities severely curtailed. The loss of traditional fishing grounds and the allocation of quotas across EEC Member States, meant that Hull, without a near water fishing fleet, was hardest hit of the traditional fishing ports. Add to this the rising oil prices and falling catches due to over fishing, it was not surprising that Hull's fishing industry, despite moving to a new market and modern accommodation at Albert Dock in 1975, was on the verge of extinction - a sad end to an industry which in 1956 had provided work for 3,500 trawler men, together with land based work for many thousands more.

34 In the late 60's and early seventies, one good trend in the port was the rise in passengers, with 25,000 visitors by 1975 This, of course would rise to 1 million per year with the larger ferries such as the P&O mega ferries 'Pride of Hull' and 'Pride Of Rotterdam' some years later. A high spot was the commencement of daily roll- on-roll-off Service to Zeebrugge in 1974, but this was the only high spot in the 1970s which saw the old established 'Associated Humber Lines Ltd' (1864) close down followed by the departure in 1978 of the MV Destro, the last vessel of the Ellerman's Wilson Line, for so long the mainstay of the port. This company had operated 26 vessels from Hull in 1966, and King George Dock roll on / roll off ferry terminal 1970 had a history stretching back 147 years. (Photo: courtesy of Associated British Ports, Hull) Clearly Hull's docks were on a downward spiral, and many feared for their future. However, by the 1980s help was at hand from an unlikely source, the Conservative (Thatcher) Government elected in 1979. Swept into power with a clear mandate to curb the power of the Trade Unions, and militant bodies who sought to wreck the nation's economy by industrial action, and the use of anarchistic working practices, its first targets were the car workers, coal miners transport workers and of course the dockers. The latter, of course, had an ability to control the movement of food, coal for power stations, petroleum and exports essential for our island economy. Add to this the fact that the National Dock Labour Board had managed to make its members un-sackable, since upon any closure of a Port Labour Company the remaining companies had to take the threatened employees onto their payroll. Clearly, this was an outmoded and inefficient industry that needed to be brought into the 1980s. So in 1989 it came to pass that the National Dock Labour Scheme established as long ago as 1945 on cessation of hostilities to protect dockworkers was described as a "total anachronism"', and on 1st September 1990 Associated British Ports (the de-nationalised authority, formerly The British Transport Docks Board), ceased its stevedoring activities and put the work out to private contractors on the proviso that the dockers taken on were fully trained and had full-time employment! So the new, leaner, more efficient 'Port of Hull' moved forward to the new millennium. With improved labour relations, improved productivity, and new optimism for the economy of the UK, Alexandra Dock reopened in 1992, adding 46 acres to the operating dock area. Confidence rapidly returned to the port and other significant investment followed. A large river terminal on the Humber near to King George Dock capable of handling the port's largest ships opened in 1993. A covered berth for steel and other all-weather cargoes, such as fertiliser, was opened in 1997. A huge covered terminal for the large Finnish paper trade opened in 2000 and was extended in 2007. £14.3 million was spent in 2003 to provide a riverside terminal for P&O North Sea Ferries to accommodate their new "super ferries", Pride of Hull and Pride of Rotterdam, the world's largest passenger ferries at 59,925 tonnes each. On the Dock estate industries such as Aarhus Karlshamn, a Danish company, built and operated a huge edible oil processing and refining establishment, a welcome addition to one of Hull's oldest manufacturing industries and a type of industry seen in Hull as far back as River terminal outside King George Dock. 1740. A huge bulk terminal for the import of coal was built to the south east of the dock, and the port also regained its status as the UK's principal timber port.

35 Left: Aarhus Karlshamn - Edible oil refining in the 21st century. Right: a P & O "super-ferry" (Photos: Colin Cooper 2014)

Allied to this was the upgrading of the Docks Railway which encircles the city on an embankment. New bridges, signalling and tracks enabled 22 trains to be operated in a day, as opposed to 10. And finally a new commodity for a new age. In 2013 a sea/rail biomass terminal and silo was constructed in 2013. With a capacity of 1m tonnes per annum, it was constructed to supply this enviromentally friendly material to the massive Drax Power Station, near to Selby.

Left: Sea / rail biomass terminal (Photo: Colin Cooper 2014) Right:Green Port Hull (Artist’s impression by kind permission of Associated British Ports)

But our review has as many turns and twists as a Television Murder Mystery! In 2011 it was announced that Siemens had chosen the port as the site for its new offshore wind turbine manufacturing and export facility, investing £310 million along with ABP in the Alexandra Dock and its nearby river pier. Three of the largest offshore wind farms (Hornsea, Dogger Bank and East Anglia Array) could be reached easily from Hull docks and hundreds of turbines needed to be built to meet the UK Government's green energy targets. Work commenced in 2014 and it is fascinating to see that a dock built 130 years ago to supply energy, albeit coal, from the nation's coal mines is now a prime mover in supplying green energy, namely, wind turbines. The Siemens turbine blade factory opened on 1st December 2016. And who know what the next 50 years hold for Hull? It would be foolish to predict too much. But surely a port with the ability to reinvent itself as Hull has done stands more chance of success than one where change and innovation is feared and despised. Only time will tell. Colin Cooper

36 Chapter 10 - New Uses for Old Docks

The Town Docks In 1930, Queen’s Dock closed and was filled in to create Queen’s Gardens. By the 1960s, the 19th century Town Docks (Humber, Railway and Prince’s Docks) were too small to accommodate larger modern ships, so the Docks Board decided to close them. Hull Civic Society recognised the potential leisure use of the docks and we campaigned for them to be turned into a Marina. In early 1972, the Corporation agreed in principle to purchase the Town Docks. They applied successfully for a Land Reclamation Grant to bring the Town Princes Dock (1829) and No. 7 Warehouse, (Jesse Docks back into use as a marina. Hartley, 1846) in 1971 At the time, the Corporation was proposing to erect a new museum overlooking Queens Gardens. We campaigned to re-use No.7 Bonded Warehouse as the new museum, but to our disappointment this fine warehouse was demolished in 1971. Fortunately, a few of the dockside warehouses have survived. The Marina in Humber Dock opened in 1982 and later was extended into Railway Dock, but the choice of Mytongate as the route for the proposed new east-west road meant that the lockpit between Humber Dock and Princes Dock had to be filled in, making it impossible to extend the Marina into Princes Dock. On 23rd November 1984, the Hull Daily Mail reported that city councillors would meet on 28th November to consider four short-listed outline The Marina (Humber Dock) schemes to redevelop Princes Dock. These had been submitted by Henry Boot Projects Ltd, John Laing Developments Ltd, Marshall Linton Ltd and Teesland Development Co with Balfour Beatty. All four schemes included a Ferens art Gallery extension, a shopping complex and retention of water in the dock. The Teesland scheme was chosen after public consultation, in which the Civic Society was involved, and it opened as Princes Quay in 1990.

Princes Dock 1966 and 2013

37 The following article by Elisabeth Hall tells of our efforts to save No 12 Warehouse on Railway Dock. NO. 12 WAREHOUSE, RAILWAY DOCK, INQUIRY

Built by the local Dock Engineer Edward Welsh in 1857, this warehouse has formed a jagged back-cloth for our city centre waterscape for over a hundred years, but has been derelict for the last ten years or so. We objected to demolition and the subsequent extension of the bombsite car-parks that sadly cover so much of the Old Town Area. The inquiry held in January lasted three days and the Council put up a formidable collection of witnesses to be cross-examined by Help! and ourselves, who also Humber Dock and Railway Dock in 1971, showing number 13, 12 and 11 warehouses. represented the Victorian Society and Ancient Monuments Society respectively. We felt that demolition was premature, as the go-ahead has only just been given for the marina, and that housing in that situation would be very popular. Also we gave an aesthetic appraisal of the building in its dockland setting, putting it into context as an example of High Victorian architecture, which was at the same time innovatory in being the first building to use bucket elevators. There is no doubt that the real obstacle to continued life for No. 12 is its size. Five storeys seems to be the highest such a building should go to be conveniently restored; but we were able to show that the structural reasons given for demolition were not really valid. It is ironic to note that although the building has been allowed to leak for the ten years it has been listed, there is a 100% grant available for its demolition! Elisabeth Hall (May 1980).

Victoria Dock

Victoria Dock opened in 1850 on the site to the east of the old citadel, which was demolished in 1864-65. Spoil from excavation of the dock was used to extend the foreshore into the Humber. The land around the dock was mainly used for timber storage, but at the time the dock closed in 1970, there were also several other industrial uses: Albert Draper was dismantling ships at the slipway near the half tide basin and Wilson’s haulage company was also based on Victoria Dock. The dock and the Victoria Dock Basin 1970 timber pond were filled in during 1971 and most of the land, dissected by Garrison Road in 1979-80, lay derelict. The following article of September 1980 highlighted the dereliction.

38 CRYING OUT FOR REDEVELOPMENT - VICTORIA DOCK HULL

The final section of the South Orbital Road is now sweeping its way across the desolate waste land that once was Hull's Victoria Dock. Opened in 1850 and until a decade ago the home of Hull's thriving timber trade, today the dock area presents a very depressing sight. Drivers crossing the new Myton Bridge later this year will descend onto around 150 acres of total dereliction, an area larger than the Old Town, and about the size of Hull's city centre.

Only isolated buildings denote what was there Victoria Dock from the Tidal Barrier, 1983. before and the dock itself, now filled in and overgrown by vegetation is barely recognisable. A wealth of stone setts and several Victorian lamp standards define the roadways, at one time covered by wagons and timber bogies. The lockgates and bridge are virtually buried and may survive to form exciting archaeological discovery in years to come. To add to the gloom, all around lie winches, boilers etc. from Hull's once proud fishing fleet which is being cut up at one of the area's few hives of activity, the old dry dock. At another end of the dock, industrial waste is being tipped, forming a flood-defence wall. Ships move silently by the deserted wasteland, or anchor for a while near Sammy's Point, as if to pay silent respect to a dying port before moving away to discharge at other towns up-river. And what does the future hold for the Victoria Dock Guano Warehouse and bridge in 1983. area? In 1863 when the South Bridge was built, there were moves to open up the area for housing. Citadel Street and Tower Street were laid out but the housing never spread further than around the north entrance to the dock. In 1948 the Abercrombie Plan envisaged a Woodland area and a population of over 3000 in the Sammy's Point area, a feature which many people would welcome. A few buildings of interest remain and are all of a scale worthy of retention. These include the attractive former police station just behind the tidal surge barrier and the former Withernsea railway station (see our December 1979 Newsletter). Three of the dozen or so taverns built in the 1820s in anticipation of the dock and new Hedon Road survive surrounding the St Peter's churchyard at the dock’s northern entrance. These are among the last remains of the village of Drypool: the Victoria Dock Tavern, formerly Queen Victoria Hotel, and the Duke of Edinburgh, formerly the Gate Beer House with a beer only licence, (the Duke of Edinburgh was Queen Victoria's second son) in honour of the monarch who visited the dock in 1854. Little changed over a century and a half and they are worthy of listing for their architecture and for the quality of their beer! How long will it be before this area receives the kiss of life as has happened to the Old Town? Perhaps the opening up of the area to through traffic again later this year will be the catalyst.

Colin Cooper (Sept 1980)

39 Victoria Dock Village

Of course I’m biased – I live there - but in my view, Victoria Dock Village represents one of the finest examples of Central Government money being used locally to prime the pump of a commercial enterprise that provided affordable local housing on a site which was disused and virtually derelict. Victoria Dock had closed to commercial traffic in February 1970 and, with the exception of the half-tide basin, was completely filled in during 1971. The surrounding docklands became swampy and uneven, the roads potholed and the area occasionally flooded at exceptionally high tides, since the flood defences were then formed by rotting timbers, and the few remaining buildings left on the site slowly fell into decay.

Victoria Dock slipway in 1983 and 2014 The construction of an extension to the A63 in 1979 cut the site of the former dock almost in half. The northern half became the Citadel Trading Estate with access from the newly built Citadel Way. The other, southern half was left to continue its decay. Salvation arrived in 1986 when the Hull City Council announced that they were negotiating with Associated British Ports to purchase the remaining 150-acres of the southern portion with a view to developing the site through the creation of an urban riverside village, with 1,500 new homes to revitalise the inner city area. A survey carried out in 1977 had revealed that there were only 20 people resident in the Old Town and it was to help redress this situation, through attracting people to move back into the inner-city, that the Council drew up their scheme to build houses on the former dock. It was to be the largest housing development in Hull for over 20 years and it was envisaged that the scheme would provide skills training and employment for up to 7,500 people over the construction period. The Council applied to the Department for the Environment for a Derelict Land Grant to meet the site reclamation costs and in 1987, Government approval of the ambitious scheme was announced through the award of a record-breaking £17 million Urban Regeneration Grant, to create a new one-mile-long flood defence, incorporating a promenade, and to finance the ground reclamation works and other necessary ground work. There were two provisos in making the award. The first was that a private company was to carry out the building work and the second was that the houses had to be ‘affordable’ through the adoption of a policy of sales at market value. The Council selected Bellway Homes as their partner in the venture, since they had extensive experience in the reclamation and renewal of difficult sites. The new partners created a joint company for the development known as the Victoria Dock Company. The work was to be carried out in distinct phases which included the development of ‘green spaces’ for the benefit of the community. Phase one comprised 39 houses and building started in

40 May, 1988 and the street name chosen for this phase was, appropriately, The Haven, commemorating its earlier namesake that brought prosperity to the Port of Hull. Fast forward 25 years - and it's clear to see that some of the more ambitious plans in the Outline Brief were not realised – movements in the national and local economy saw to that. However, what was successfully realised was the ambition to create an urban riverside village, where there is a strong sense of community. Nowadays, the Promenade is used by many walkers and offers superb vistas of the Humber and many I meet claim that it is ‘Hull’s best kept secret’ The Village Hall is well-used by many groups, including the Victoria Dock Church; and is run by a group of energetic volunteers, who organise an Annual Summer Fun Day on Victoria Park, a 22- acre public space. There is an active Community group, who produce a free (subsidised) quarterly village Newsletter, named ‘The Citadel’ that keeps everyone informed of the latest matters of local interest.

Above left: Victoria Dock Promenade 2012. Above right: Victoria Dock half-tide basin in 2014. Below: watchtower and reconstructed citadel wall 2014.

In 1992 the Hull Civic Society awarded its prestigious ‘Good Mark’. The Secretary, Donald Campbell, said that in considering the award the Society was impressed by the overall composition of the buildings, “which act as an interesting focal point for the whole”. Bellway Homes were voted winner of the prestigious What House magazine Gold Award, in 1993, as the ‘Best Urban Renewal Development’ in the United Kingdom. The village was honoured by a visit from HRH Prince Charles, in May 1995. He is well-known for his forthright views on architecture and he spent time in visiting the houses, the Village Hall and meeting residents. His views echoed those of Donald Campbell, adding that “he detected a refreshing Dutch influence in the housing designs and the overall layout of the village”. Over the years the village primary School has gone from strength to strength and offers children an exceptional start to their education. It is another example of a first-class private/public partnership and in fact was the first primary school in the country to be built under a Private Finance Initiative. The school was opened by the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott M.P. in January 1999, as a 60-place school. It was planned from the beginning that the school would expand through four phases as demand increased. It later became a 120-place school. and as

41 demand continued to increase it was expanded again to a 240-place school and plans are currently in hand to expand it into a 420-place school. Victoria Dock Village also has its own Heritage Walking Trail that enables residents and visitors to appreciate its origins. The Village has now become a fully-fledged and virtually self-contained development, with all of the amenities you would expect. There is a mixed community living on the dock and that adds to the vibrancy of the place and whilst I’m not in the business of selling houses – for me it really is Hull’s Best Kept Secret. Colin McNicol

St Andrew’s Dock and St Andrew’s Dock Extension: unfinished business

St Andrew’s Dock opened in 1883 and St Andrew’s Dock Extension in 1897. In 1975, with the development of the larger freezer trawlers, the fishing industry was moved to Albert Dock. Some of the associated businesses moved to Albert Dock, but others, such as marine engineering, remained in the complex of buildings at the eastern end of St Andrew’s Dock near the lockpit, as the ship repairs were still being undertaken in the adjacent William Wright Dock, between St Andrew’s and Albert Docks.

Above: St Andrews Dock 1970 Below: St Andrew’s Dock in 2012

In the late 1980s, St Andrew’s Dock Extension and the western part St Andrew’s Dock were filled in and were initially redeveloped as a leisure park with an 8-screen UCI cinema (opened on 16th November 1990), bowling alley, bars and restaurants. With the decline of the fishing industry in Hull in the 1980s, most of the businesses near the lockpit closed. In 1990, the eastern end of St Andrew’s Dock was designated a Conservation Area, but sadly the regeneration stopped short of this unique piece of townscape. It could have added so much colour and interest as well as being a reminder of Hull’s fishing and fish processing industry, which employed so many people. Without new uses, these buildings have been left to decay beyond the point of repair, despite a number of unfulfilled schemes.

42 The redevelopment at St Andrews Dock has been partial and unsatisfactory. Even the original leisure park had a limited life. The UCI Cinema closed on 1st July 2004, and it and the neighbouring bars and restaurants were mostly swept away in favour of a retail park composed of “tin shed” retail units and very little mixture of uses, except for a large Chinese restaurant (Mr Chu’s), a MacDonald’s and the Sailmaker’s restaurant. This is the only building from the days of the Fish Dock to have been re-used. So much potential for interesting development has been missed. Permission was granted in June 2012 for six 5 & 6 storey buildings (1231 bedrooms) with gym, shop and cafe, restoration of the dock and landscaping. At the time of writing, there is no sign of work commencing and the surviving original buildings are increasingly derelict, despite campaigns by various groups.

Chapter 11 - Markets, Shops and Shopping Centres

Shopping in the 1960s In 1964, the open market was still flourishing and the city centre was the place for department stores and specialist shops of all kinds. Radial main roads and many secondary roads were lined with local shops and corner shops were to be found in every street in the parts of Hull built before 1914. Corner shops were fewer in the residential developments of the 1920s & 1930s and after the 2nd World War, with planning policy tending to reduce competition to provide only one of each kind of basic shop in each "parade". These were usually sited at major road junctions or in one central location in each housing estate.

Top left: the open market. Top right: Hammond’s (now House of Fraser) department store. Bottom left: shops lining Holderness Road (1963). Bottom right: a corner shop, Selkirk Street / Perth Street).

43 The Resale Prices Act, 1964, outlawed Resale Price Maintenance – pricing agreements between the supplier or manufacturer and the retailer. Pricing freedom gave supermarkets, which could buy in bulk more cheaply and sell at a discount, an advantage over smaller local shops. Eventually the large supermarket chains dominated the market for food, household products and even petrol. When they were given permission to build edge-of-town superstores, this had the effect of drawing trade away from the city centre as well as from local shops.

Supermarkets: Savemore, George Street (1971), Tesco, Hall Road (2015)

Prospect Centre Large covered shopping malls were one way that city centre retailers could compete with out of town supermarkets. When a shopping centre was proposed for the site of the old Hull Royal Infirmary in Prospect Street (closed in 1967), we were in favour, but campaigned for the handsome facade of the old infirmary to be incorporated into the design. In the end, it was not thought feasible, however, as the facade stood too far back from the street line. The Prospect Centre opened in 1973. When W H Smith and Boots the Chemists, two very popular stores moved here from King Edward Street, this attracted other firms to the surrounding shops in the mall. Initially, the Prospect Centre only extended as far as the north side of Mill Street. The southern extension to West Street was built in the 1990s and attracted two more major stores, Wilko and Curry’s Digital and numerous smaller shops. Sadly, in 2016, Curry’s Digital moved to the less accessible Clough Road.

Prospect Street: left, Royal Infirmary in 1971, right: Prospect Centre in 2007

Princes Quay Princes Dock was chosen as the setting for Hull’s second large shopping centre. Two developers, Teesland and Marshall Lynton, were shortlisted and several members of the committee attended the seminar presentations by the rival developers. The merits of the two schemes were debated at length by the Civic Society committee and our proposed submission was presented to the 1985 AGM before being submitted to the City Council. We were not happy with either of the

44 schemes. Firstly, one of the aims of the Society was to “retain the aspect and character of the town docks”. In addition, we were worried about the large scale of the proposed shopping centres, the possible effect on existing shopping streets, and the loss of part of Prince’s Dock’s water area. Our preference as a Society was for the Marshall Lynton scheme, but eventually the Teesland scheme was approved and it opened in 1990 as Princes Quay.

Princes Dock 1966 and 2013

Albion Street There were several schemes for another major shopping centre on the site bounded by Albion Street, Story Street, King Edward Street, Jameson Street and Bond Street. The threat to the surviving Edwardian and 1920s buildings on the eastern side of King Edward Street was averted by a successful campaign by Hull Civic Society and other groups, to have them listed in 1990.

Above left: Jameson Street, right: King Edward Street and Waltham Street. Below: Edwin Davis store, Bond Street. The developer for the later schemes, from 1998 onwards, was a company called McAuley. While not opposed to the shopping centre in principle, we objected to successive versions, mainly on the grounds of inferior design and the blank facades turned towards Bond Street and Albion Street, treating them as mere access roads. One version of the scheme involved demolition of the BHS & former Co-op building, but this was purchased by a rival developer. The third and last scheme (2002) was eventually allowed to lapse. In 2016 a new development brief was issued by Hull City Council for “Albion Square”, bounded by Albion St, Bond St, Waltham St and Jameson St. 2016 brought

the closure of BHS stores throughout the country.

45 St Stephens The land between Ferensway and Park Street was largely derelict by the end of the 20th century. In the early 2000s, a planning brief was prepared for mixed retail, housing and entertainment development. The scheme adopted was that put forward by London & Amsterdam (later called ING), which had the “planning gain” of a new bus-rail interchange to replace the old bus station. The task of assembling land by purchase was made more complicated by the privatisation of British Rail and its division into numerous companies, but the new interchange and St Stephen’s shopping mall opened in September 2007. The new Albemarle Music St. Stephen’s Centre opened as a base for the city’s music service and beyond it came the new Hull Truck Theatre, replacing the old one on Spring Street. The residential part of the scheme has yet to be built

Chapter 12 - Schools 1964 - 2017

In 1964, the school system dated back to the 1944 Education Act. Children started school on their 5th birthday at an Infant School, moved up to Junior School (usually in the same building) in the September after they were 7 and sat the Eleven-Plus exam aged 11. If they passed they went to one of several grammar schools or Hymers College (a Direct Grant School), where they could stay on into the 6th form. Those who did not pass went to a Secondary Modern School and left at 15. In 1969 Hull City Council introduced a new system. At the age of 9, Children moved from Primary School to Junior High School and moved again at 13 to Senior High School, where they could stay into the 6th form or leave at 16. In 1988 the system was re-organised again, to bring it in line with the rest of Humberside. Children moved from Primary School to Senior School aged 11. A few senior schools retained their 6th Form, but most post-16 pupils transferred to Wyke or Wilberforce 6th Form Colleges or to Hull College of Further Education. Nikolaus Pevsner, in his Buildings of England series, describes the schools built between 1870 and Stepney Primary School, Beverley Road. 1902 by the Hull School Board as "Architecturally ... some of the best Victorian buildings in Hull." Sadly, some of the 37 that remained in 1995 have gone and others are under threat. Some of the new schools of the 1960s and '70s have now been replaced under the "Building Schools for the Future" programme. Some are on new sites, but all are strikingly modern. A number of primary schools are also being rebuilt. Endeavour High (2002), on Beverley Road was built to house the combined William Gee and Amy Johnson schools onto one site. However, this closed as a senior school in July 2015 to become an adult education centre. Other new schools include Kingswood High (Bransholme), Archbishop Sentamu (Preston Rd), Andrew Marvell (Barham Rd), Boulevard (Airlie St) Sirius (Anlaby Park Rd South), Thomas Ferens, now renamed Sirius North (Hall Rd), Winifred Holtby (Midmere Ave), Kelvin Hall (Bricknell Ave), St Mary's (Cranbrook Ave) and Trinity House (George St).

46

Kelvin Hall: 1950s building and 2014 replacement.

Chapter 13 – Housing

Left: prefabs in Bourne Street & Mason Street. right: slum clearance in Great Thornton Street (now re-named Ice House Road), below: flats and houses in Great Thornton Street. In the 1940s, “prefabs” were the novel method of re-housing people whose homes had been bombed. They were still part of Hull’s housing stock in 1964 and for many years afterwards. In the 1960s there were many sub- standard houses still to be demolished in the council’s slum clearance programme. Families were re-housed in multi-storey flats, or in houses on council estates The Abercrombie Plan had proposed a “satellite town” located out at Burton Constable for the expansion of Hull’s population. That was never built, but Bransholme (begun in 1967) was the first new housing development conceived as a “satellite town”, rather than another housing estate like North Hull Estate, Preston Road and Gypsyville (1920s & 30s), Bilton Grange, Greatfield, Longhill and Boothferry Estates (1950s) or Orchard Park (begun 1963). 1988 saw new private housing development at Victoria Dock Village (see chapter 9). The 21st century has seen many smaller housing schemes, for example on the site of Boothferry Park and Riley College, but the largest has been the Newington & St Andrews Area Action Plan. Under this, older houses have been refurbished and new houses built between Anlaby Road and Hessle Road, notably in Boulevard, Coltman Street, Hawthorn Avenue and Woodcock Street.

47

Left: Coltman St - historic houses refurbished. Right: Woodcock Street – new houses, 2011.

From the earliest years, Hull Civic Society has campaigned for more housing and flats in the Old Town and city centre, which had a very small resident population in 1964. In 1981, Ben Hooson’s conversion of the Pease Warehouse into flats (see page 19) was an innovative idea that has secured the future of numerous redundant buildings around the city. Today there are many more people living in the Old Town and other central parts of the city in modern purpose-built flats or in dwellings converted from offices, warehouses or commercial buildings.

Top: Conversions: left, Albion Street offices (originally houses) to apartments; top right: Pilot Office, Queen Street, (6 apartments) flanked by purpose-built flats, Bottom left: Prince Street - refurbished houses; bottom right: Hull Ships Stores warehouse - now flats.

48 Chapter 14– Victorian & Early 20th Century Buildings

Top: Maritime Museum (Dock Offices, 1871) and Guildhall (1905-16). Middle: City Hall (1903-09). Bottom: Punch Hotel (1896) and Ferens Art Gallery (1927)

In the 1950s, a number of Georgian and Victorian buildings that survived wartime bombing were demolished whereas today they would have been conserved. These included some fine offices, city centre shops and many handsome, but over-large nonconformist chapels. Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian craftsmanship began to be more appreciated in the 1960s, partly due to the influence of the Conservation Movement, particularly the Georgian Society and Civic Society. Many grand buildings of earlier years have, nevertheless, survived, sometimes by being given new uses, such as the transformation of the Dock Offices into Hull’s Maritime Museum, and are now greatly valued. The future of industrial buildings is always less secure and Hull has some rare examples, including Hull Hydraulic Power Station and Annison’s livery stables.

49

Top: Hepworth’s Arcade (1894), Central Library (1901) and former Church Institute (1846). 2nd row: George Gilbert Scott houses, Salisbury St (1877-9), 56 Pearson Park (1876). 3rd Row:Beverley Rd Baths (1905), Hymers College (1893). 4th row: Hull Hydraulic Co. power station, Machell St (1875), Annison's (1900)

50 Chapter 15- Modern Buildings 1964 – 2017

NEW BUILDINGS OF HULL – A Brief Review Introduction There are a surprising number of new buildings in Hull, but few may be regarded as great architecture. Some, however, are of significant merit; they enhance our city and are worthy of your consideration. Contemporary architecture is like art, in that many people seem to “know what they like” without really knowing why. By studying new buildings with an open mind, the nuances of form, proportion and modern materials result in design solutions which expand our experience and provide a basis for an informed response to radical architectural styles. Where do we start and how far do we go back? Certain buildings as obvious as the Hull Royal Infirmary (1967), The Deep (2002) and to some extent the KC Stadium (2002) have become icons and now representative of our city, although at their inception they seemed such a stark contrast with what had gone before. Remember the Classical façade of HRI on Prospect Street and the woeful lack of facilities at Boothferry Park. These new replacements are now wholly accepted and the enormous progress they represent is now barely appreciated! Is it significant that the HRI block still dominates our city skyline after almost 50 years? The City Council did particularly well to secure the genius of Terry Farrell to design The Deep. He has created a sensational building. (Is it a ship or is it a shark)? It provides a home for a universally renowned submarium and is the city’s major tourist attraction – educational in every respect.

Left; Hull Royal Infirmary (1967). Right: The Deep (2007).

So, NEW buildings can seriously affect our quality of life. There are certain categories of buildings which best illustrate the impact of the new in our city but none more radical than the Scale Lane Bridge. (By McDowell and Benedetti, completed finally in 2013). This extraordinary swing bridge recently received the Civic Society’ Steve Shearsmith Award (given to the best Good Mark of the year in the field of design). This bridge is unique in both appearance and function. It is a pedestrian bridge joining the Old Town to the East bank. It pivots like a pinball flipper to allow shipping to pass. It was first commissioned by Hull Forward, (the distributors of government regional aid funds) to link with THE BOOM, a mixed retail and residential area designed to occupy the Tower Street waterfront. It now leads to the only BOOM building so far constructed, the Chetwood Associates’ Premier Inn tower, 2009). This sculptural building has borne much criticism but has great views of the Hull and Humber from the restaurant floor terrace. Its first seven floors are all car parking. Above that the rest is budget

51 accommodation. Take the lift and change your mind about the building. At sunset it looks like the hulking keep of a medieval garrison – funny that! Nearby the Tidal Surge Barrier (1980) is an elegant arched defender of both the city and the River Hull basin by resolutely lowering an effective steel barrier to carry out its eponymous task. The city centre is undergoing fundamental change as retail outlets on the edge of the city (all new buildings here, smart and pristine but seeming strangely temporary) challenge the former dominance of “shopping in the town”.

Scale Lane Bridge (2013) and the Tidal Surge Barrier (1980). In 1990 Hugh Martin & Partners landed an alien craft on the waters of the Princes Dock and Princes Quay became the city’s premier shopping destination. It is a remarkable construction with exposed posts and cables making reference to the sailing ships which once graced this dock. It does look well, particularly when lit up at night and the interior atrium is a really superb space. I petitioned against this structure in 1989, as it destroyed the integrity of the original Prince’s Dock over which it is built, appearing to float above the remaining visible water on pilotti. How times change – the Centre is now suffering since the opening of St Stephens and the Interchange on Ferensway. The new buildings in Ferensway have perhaps made the biggest impact on the city centre in recent times. A stranger visiting Hull for the first time and arriving at the Interchange will be impressed by the quality of the surroundings and the modernity of the St Stephens development. Thus, new buildings have the power to re- establish a sense of pride and improve morale if we are able to appreciate fully the characteristic properties that others admire in our town. The main focus of attention is the structure and scale of St Stephen’s shopping centre (built 2007 by Holder Matthias, architects). It is essentially a curving covered street with an undulating glazed Prince’s Quay (1990) roof. This serpentine roof, designed by Norman Foster & Partners, is four storeys above the shoppers and the space is busily articulated by escalators, lifts and 40 foot long glass bridges crossing through space. A ship-like structure houses a café and seems to hover in mid-air. It is breath-taking and certainly lifts the spirits as you would expect within a cathedral. This one is dedicated to the God of Retail.

52

Left: St Stephen’s (2007). Right: Albemarle Music Centre & Hull Truck (2009). The development site included the refurbishment of the bus and rail stations to create the Interchange (Wilkinson Eyre). Also part of the scheme is the remarkable form of the Albemarle Music Centre with its intensely Lavender Cone containing a suitable auditorium. This building is exciting both inside and out and it seems a mistake for it to be squashed away between the Holiday Inn and the New Hull Truck Theatre (2009). Hull Truck replaced the former Spring Street Theatre and it was specifically designed to retain some of the characteristics of the previous much smaller auditorium. The interior is comfortable and the architects (Wright & Wright) have employed eco-build principles to create the “greenest” theatre in Britain for which they received a Civic Trust Award. Further new buildings exist within the city centre, situated to the east towards the River Hull. Of educational or archival function they bring the benefits of inspirational design and sustainable environment to the community. The most distinctive in design and purpose is the Hull History Centre (Pringle Richards and Sharratt, 2009). The Civic Society was consulted by the City Council and these eminent architects as to what was required of this local history resource and archive centre. The outcome is splendid in meeting the needs of both researchers and curatorial staff. Its major feature is a translucent arcade of transparent polymer cushions supported by plywood beams. This curved organic form seems so impossible but makes this building a great asset to our anthology of striking Hull History Centre (2009). architectural forms. If you haven’t visited yet, it’s next to the Old English Gentleman on Worship Street. It’s yours to enjoy! Close by is the newly refurbished former Nautical School building stylishly converted to provide a new home for Trinity House School. Hull College has invested in new buildings on George Street. The Horncastle Media and Performance Arts Centre is designed as a showpiece serving a state- of-the art local drama school. It has an enormous four-storey curved glass wall as a bravura display on entrance. The Chesters Learning Resource Centre building next door has a giant brise-soleil fixed to the exterior for decorative effect and the functional requirements of this glass structure, (both buildings by DLA Architects, 2004).

53

Left: Hull College Horncastle Building (2004). Right: ARC, Queen Street, 2007.

This review has covered mainly the city centre and it is fairly comprehensive. My chief regret is to report the demolition of the Arc building on Blanket Row. The Arc building was perhaps the most original and distinctive building ever erected in the city centre. It was designed by Niall McLaughlin, architects (2006) to be relocatable and eco-sustainable, winning an ARIBA Award for innovation of structure and green energy attributes. . Apart from its external appearance and triangular shaped roof, it housed a most successful Centre for Excellence in architecture and environmental design. It seems a sad loss in light of the demands of the upcoming 2017 City of Culture. Architecture is an important aspect of our culture. There are many other worthy new buildings in our city. The Building Schools for the Future initiative has given us outstanding new models for school design. Sirius Academy in the West and Archbishop Sentamu in East Hull are thriving and enjoying improved results. The University of Hull continues to grow and the quality of campus design makes it attractive to students. The Brynmor Jones library (1969) is a masterpiece and at last has a new improved main entrance by the extension of its Southern façade of a quality worthy of its status.

University of Hull: left: Rebuilt Brynmor Jones Library; right: The Business School

The Business School has successfully found an architect able to marry together the old Training College buildings on the West Campus and as a “Tour de Force” create an impressive two storey glazed main entrance which is radically modern and a further success for Farrell & Clark 2007. Outside, the two large sculptured heads by Joe Hillier are easily the best recent public sculpture in the city and their positioning here is inspired.

54

Top left: Allam Medical Building at the University Top right: Queens Court (apartments and BBC studios), overlooking Queen's Gardens. Below left:Orchard Park Medical Centre. Below right: Wilberforce Medical Centre, Story Street.

Health care provision across the city has been transformed by the building of many new Health Centres to a very high specification. Those new centres built at Orchard Park, Newington and the “flagship” Wilberforce Centre in Storey Street are worthy of attention and, in common with similar centres in the local authority area, provide 5-star facilities for treatment.

Conclusion Civic Society members and the populace in general know much about the heritage of Hull and the relevance of many of its old buildings. However, fewer people are sufficiently aware of the extent of new building in the city and the profound effect these developments are having on our lives. Increasingly, the chances are that you may already be living or working in a new building in Hull. Across the city there are hundreds of new buildings in all categories, ranging from the large scale proposals for an Olympic Pool and Ice Arena on the Edwin Davis site (announced 04/03/15) to small one-off residences to be found in the suburbs (see St Ninian’s Walk off Chanterlands Avenue). Stylish and alluring car showrooms together with vast warehouses (e.g. ARCO) are sited in Priory Park. There are gleaming office developments along the river at Humber Quays and smart apartment blocks to be found at Queens Court (BBC) and Freedom Quays. All these and many others are raising our aspirations and promising a better future by design - creating a positive impression of Hull as a dynamic and thrusting modern city.

Malcolm Sharman

55 Chapter 16 - Sport

In 1964 Hull City played 3rd Division football at Boothferry Park, Rugby League fans watched Hull FC at the Boulevard stadium on Airlie Street and rival Hull Kingston Rovers played at the old Holderness Road Craven Park, which also had a greyhound track around the pitch. Hull City Council’s profits from sale of shares in Kingston Communications (the city's telephone service) were used to build the KC Stadium. Opened in 2002 it provides a home for Hull FC and Hull City. Hull KR has played at a new stadium in Greatfield since 1989 and that has a new North Stand designed by our late Secretary, Ken Baker.

Left: KC Stadium, West Park. Right: KCom Lightstream Stadium (Craven Park), Greatfield.

Chapter 17 -– Hull in 2067 - "A southerner revisits Hull". I am 100 years old and it is the year 2067. I have just driven up the East Coast motorway from Cambridge. It was an easy journey through Lincolnshire in my hands-free hired hybrid car. I have come to revisit Hull after fifty years to see if it has changed as much as it did in the time between 1964 and 2014 when I lived there. I leave the car near the Park and Ride car park at Hessle. This is still functioning and has now become something of a historic feature with its period modernist waiting room. As we approach the city centre in the electric bus, I catch sight of the old Lord Line building which has been taken over by the National Trust in recognition of the part the fishing industry played in Hull when I was young (and in recognition that the National Trust had only one other property in East Yorkshire). On leaving the bus it is good to see that the Princes Quay buildings have been removed and that one can look across the water of Princes Dock at the attractive development of eco-houses and cafés on the western side, and the Ferens extension on the northern side. It is a lovely sunny day, and I slip into Zebedee’sYard to sit outside one of the cafés and order a coffee. Surrounded by the restored backs of 18th century buildings, in such a beautifully sheltered spot in the sunshine, this is a real treat. After my coffee I head down Whitefriargate, past the glass sculpture representing Beverley Gate. The buildings in Whitefriargate are much more individually defined as I remember them when it was a continuous row of shop fronts, reminding me what a wonderful variety of architectural styles there is in this street. There are now only a few shops left. The other buildings are houses, flats, offices, language schools (probably in view of our recent re-entry into the EU’s successor, the EAS) art galleries, wellness centres, and so on. Trinity Square is an absolute gem after its makeover back in 2015-16. It has once again become a popular meeting place surrounded by the church, apartments, pubs and cafés.

56 The centre of Hull looks to be thriving. With the national conversion to sustainable sources of energy Hull has re-established itself as centre of technological education and training, and it is now the city hub for the south bank of the Humber as much as for the north. With its charming Old Town, the nationally famous Deep, and the recently established outpost of the London Science Museum, it has become a popular destination for visitors from the U.K. and abroad. As it is early afternoon I wander across to the New Theatre which is now larger than I remember it, since it now incorporates the former Fire Station building next door. The foyer is much larger and the seats are more steeply raked to give a much better view of the stage. I watch a matinée performance of “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” which is visiting Hull for a record fiftieth time. Afterwards I just have to see how the Fruit Market has developed as a centre for cultural activities since the first beginnings in 2012. On walking there, imagine my absolute delight when I find that the infamous Castle Street has at last gone underground and in its place is a tree-lined boulevard. The Fruit Market is a unique treat with its theatre, numerous art galleries, antique shops, and, yes, Thieving Harry’s is still there!! There is a most attractive blend of new and old buildings, even if some the “old” buildings had to be reconstructed. I buy myself a sandwich and wander across the road to the C4DI building put up in 2015. I join the staff from the offices sunning themselves on the terrace in front of the building on the site of the former dry dock. This is a unique and magical place, typical of the variety of corners which make Hull such a fascinating place I decide to return south by train, and on approaching Paragon Station, I am very pleased to see that the very ordinary canopy designed by Wilkinson Eyre around 2000, has been replaced by a canopy which much better echoes the fine Edwardian building. I get onto my super-quiet electric train and head back south. Paul Priestley Leach

P.S. The Co-op and Edwin Davis buildings still stand derelict!!

Chapter 18 - Challenges and Opportunities

Hull is a historic city with more than 450 listed buildings, but also living city which has changed and will continue to change over the years. We must value the buildings that link us to our past and display the skills of earlier generations of architects and craftsmen and, if necessary, find new uses for them. We also need to encourage high standards of architecture for the new buildings of today. One important lesson from the last 50 years is that the unfashionable styles of the recent past are often undervalued. Some good Georgian and Victorian buildings that survived the Second World War (for example many of High Street’s Georgian buildings, the Royal Insurance building in Lowgate, some fine nonconformist chapels and many of the dockside warehouses) were destroyed between the late 1940s and the 1970s because they were “old fashioned”. Those that survived are now celebrated as part of Hull’s heritage, but Hull Civic Society, the Georgian Society and Help! Conservation Action were often expressing a minority opinion in recognising their potential and campaigning for their retention. While conservation is much more widely accepted than in 1964, not only by the City Council, but also by the general public, it is still the Civic Society’s task to be vigilant in defence of buildings which will be recognised as a valuable part of Hull’s built heritage by future generations. If they are lost, they are lost forever. There are still forces at work that threaten Hull’s heritage. One of them is increasing pressure on the City Council’s finances. Another is the movement of businesses out of prominent buildings, such as our fine Victorian banks, caused by downsizing or other economic forces. Some development schemes are, inevitably, delayed for genuine financial reasons, but too many are examples of the destructive practice of “land banking”. Unscrupulous landowners, often based elsewhere, acquire and hold onto sites (legally) only to add value to a property portfolio. In many

57 cases the owners obtain and repeatedly renew planning permission for new buildings or sympathetic refurbishment, which they do not carry out, leaving the city with prominent derelict buildings, some of them listed. Many cities suffer from this and Hull’s examples include the old Edwin Davis store in Bond Street, the old Co-operative store in Jameson Street and the former School of Architecture, Strand Close. The most recent victim of long-term neglect is Lambert Street Methodist Church, empty for 20 years, and destroyed by fire on 16th April 2015. Compulsory Purchase can sometimes be the solution, but only when the city council is in a position to recoup the cost by selling the building on to a new developer in a “back to back deal”.

Left: Lambert Street Methodist Church before the fire. Right: former Edwin Davis store, Bond Street.

Despite these problems, there are some very encouraging developments in the city. We were delighted when Hull won the title of City of Culture 2017, giving recognition to the city’s unique characteristics and rich cultural life. Hull Civic Society has been drawing attention to the city’s history and architecture for many years and we believe the events will consolidate that message on an even wider scale. 2017 has provided a focus for many physical improvement schemes and many new artistic and cultural initiatives that should benefit the city’s economy and local citizens long after the visitors have gone home. Like many other cities, Hull has become home to a wide diversity of people from different countries. Our city has a centuries-long history of settlement, especially from northern Europe, celebrated today as part of our heritage. There are many Hull people and institutions, including churches, schools and colleges, working to help our new neighbours feel part of Hull society and their contribution to Hull’s culture and diversity is another cause for celebration.

Spring Bank: multi-cultural shops, 2016

The southern part of the Old Town, often referred to as the Fruit Market, is an exciting example of regeneration on a relatively small scale, bringing diverse and complementary activities. There is new and established residential development. The evening and weekend leisure economy includes entertainment and Sunday markets at Fruit, a dinosaur museum, pubs, restaurants and cafés, and the attractions of the Marina. Daytime commercial C4DI and the former Central Dry Dock, 2017. activity includes craft workshops in the Oresome

58 Gallery, various professional offices and, most important, the exciting Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) which was initially established in part of the Wykeland building on Queen Street, but has now moved into purpose-built modern premises at the south-east corner of Humber Street and Queen Street, incorporating the listed Central Dry Dock as a performance venue. On a much larger scale, the Siemens wind-turbine factory on part of Alexandra Dock, which opened on 1st December 2016, has brought new employment and helped to develop a new skills- base and new industries in the growing realm of green energy, something close to the Civic Society’s heart as an environmentally conscious society. We are also encouraged by the faith shown in our city by Hull’s existing employers, many more than I have room to mention. We are especially grateful to those who have opened their doors to visitors during Heritage Open Days weekend, supported HODs and other Civic Society projects or become Corporate Members of our Society. Industry is as much part of Hull’s character and heritage as its historic buildings and the Ron Dearing University Technical College, currently under construction next to the New Theatre will provide training for a new generation who will be involved in industry.

Chapter 19 - "The enemy is ignorance and indifference".

In September 1979 Hull was the venue for a two-day conference of the Council of Europe's Committee for Culture and Education. According to reports in the Hull Daily Mail, they were very impressed by what they saw of Hull - particularly the museums. One of the members present was Lord Duncan Sandys, who wrote the following in the Council of Europe's magazine, "Forum": "Over the centuries, Europe has built up a remarkable wealth of fine architecture. The style may be Greek, Gothic, Baroque, or Neo-Classical. It may be a church, a palace, a castle, a market square or a simple workman's dwelling; all are essential elements of our history and culture. Too often it is only when they have been allowed to disappear, through neglect or demolition, that the value of our architectural treasures is recognised and their loss is lamented. But then it is too late. Some people seem to think that our interest in architectural conservation is motivated by a senseless love of old stones and a nostalgic attachment to the past. How wrong they are. The conservation of our architectural heritage serves a much wider purpose. It contributes, in a special way, to the quality of life. It gives variety, colour and added interest to our surroundings. It lifts our thoughts above the daily routine and broadens our spiritual horizon. In an age of oppressive uniformity, it preserves for our towns and villages their individuality, and inspires a sense of pride and fellowship among their citizens. Nor is it right to imagine that we are looking backwards. On the contrary, we are looking ahead. We seek to conserve the treasures of the past, not just for our own enjoyment, but for the benefit of future generations. The fate of our irreplaceable architectural heritage depends ultimately upon the decisions of governments, parliaments and local authorities. But they are greatly influenced by the attitude of their electors. If the public show themselves indifferent, the authorities will become indifferent also. On the other hand, if the public show that they really care about these things, the authorities will be encouraged to act with vigour and determination. Effective laws will be passed; firm administrative decisions will be taken; and the money required will be provided. Since the enemy is ignorance and indifference, the only way we can combat them is by the spread of information and inspiring ideas. Above all, we must tell the people of each town what other towns are doing, and thus, by the power of example, stimulate them to do more". I think readers will agree that this article sums up the reasons for Hull Civic Society's existence! Here's to the next 50 years!

John Scotney, Chairman

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59 Hull's future is taking shape......

Kingston Square, December 2016, showing steelwork for the Ron Dearing University Technical College (left) and the New Theatre extension (right).

...... and Hull Civic Society is helping to influence Hull’s future!

Membership of Hull Civic Society

If you are interested, but not yet a member of Hull Civic Society, come and meet us first! There are many opportunities for non-members, as well as members, to join in with our activities. In addition to our public meetings at the Mercure Royal Hotel, (7.30 on the second Monday of each month from October to April), we usually have summer walks and visits within and around Hull. Members also receive a Newsletter three times a year.

Left: Colin Cooper leading an Industrial Heritage Walk

Right: A public meeting at the Mercure Royal Hotel

Annual membership subscription is, currently, £15.00 for an individual, £24.00 for two people living at the same address. Annual corporate membership is £100.00

For more information about Hull Civic Society, please contact:

Honorary Secretary, Mrs Cynthia Fowler, 998 Holderness Road, Hull, HU9 4AG, Telephone 01482 377434, email: [email protected]

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