Place:Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

The civil parish names can be read with a magnifying glass, if needs be. The lightly coloured areas were parts of parishes transferred from one district council to another during the period 1894-1974.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea, 50 miles (80 km) east of Leeds, 34 miles (55 km) south-east of York and 54 miles (87 km) north-east of Sheffield.^[1] With a population of, Hull is the fourth-largest city in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The town of Wyke on Hull was founded late in the 12th century by the monks of Meaux Abbey as a port from which to export their wool. Renamed Kings-town upon Hull in 1299, Hull had been a market town, military supply port, trading hub,^[2] fishing and whaling centre and industrial metropolis.^[3] Hull was an early theatre of battle in the English Civil Wars.^[2] Its 18th-century Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, took a prominent part in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.

After suffering heavy damage in the Second World War (the "Hull Blitz"), Hull weathered a period of post-industrial decline, doing poorly on measures of social deprivation, education and policing. More than 95% of the city was destroyed in the blitz and, coupled with the economic decline of the 20th century, the city had to be rebuilt in the post-Second World War fashion, rather than the previous Elizabethan and Victorian styles. In the early 21st century spending boom before the late 2000s recession the city saw large amounts of new retail, commercial, housing and public service construction spending.

Tourist attractions include the historic Old Town and Museum Quarter, marina and The Deep aquarium. Rugby league football teams include clubs Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers. The city's association football clubs are Hull City (EFL Championship) and non-league Hull United. Hull RUFC and Hull Ionians both play in the National league 2 North of rugby union.

Hull University was founded in 1927 and now enrols more than 16,000 students. In 2017, Hull was the UK City of Culture and hosted the Turner Prize at its Ferens Art Gallery.

Governance

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Following the Local Government Act 1888, Hull became a county borough, a local government district independent of the East Riding of Yorkshire. This district was dissolved under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 when it became a non-metropolitan district of the newly created shire county of Humberside. Humberside (and its county council) was abolished on 1 April 1996 and Hull was made a unitary authority area, geographically within the modern county named the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The single-tier local authority of the city is now Hull City Council (officially Kingston upon Hull City Council), with its headquarters in the Guildhall in the city centre.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Wyke and wool trade

Kingston upon Hull stands on the north bank of the Humber Estuary at the mouth of its tributary, the River Hull. The valley of the River Hull has been inhabited since the early Neolithic period but there is little evidence of a substantial settlement in the area of the present city. The area was attractive to people because it gave access to a prosperous hinterland and navigable rivers but the site was poor, being remote, low-lying and with no fresh water. It was originally an outlying part of the hamlet of Myton, named Wyke. The name is thought to originate either from a Scandinavian word Vik meaning inlet or from the Saxon Wic meaning dwelling place or refuge.

The River Hull was a good haven for shipping, whose trade included the export of wool from Meaux Abbey, which owned Myton. In 1293 the town of Wyke was acquired from the abbey by King Edward I, who on 1 April 1299 granted it a royal charter that renamed the settlement King's town upon Hull or Kingston upon Hull. The charter is preserved in the archives of the Guildhall.

In 1440, a further charter incorporated the town and instituted local government consisting of a mayor, a sheriff and twelve aldermen.^[2]

In his Guide to Hull (1817), J. C. Craggs provides a colourful background to Edward's acquisition and naming of the town. He writes that the King and a hunting party started a hare which "led them along the delightful banks of the River Hull to the hamlet of Wyke … [Edward], charmed with the scene before him, viewed with delight the advantageous situation of this hitherto neglected and obscure corner. He foresaw it might become subservient both to render the kingdom more secure against foreign invasion, and at the same time greatly to enforce its commerce". Pursuant to these thoughts, Craggs continues, Edward purchased the land from the Abbot of Meaux, had a manor hall built for himself, issued proclamations encouraging development within the town, and bestowed upon it the royal appellation, King's Town.

Prospering port

The port served as a base for Edward I during the First War of Scottish Independence and later developed into the foremost port on the east coast of England. It prospered by exporting wool and woollen cloth, and importing wine and timber. Hull also established a flourishing commerce with the Baltic ports as part of the Hanseatic League.

From its medieval beginnings, Hull's main trading links were with Scotland and northern Europe. Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Low Countries were all key trading areas for Hull's merchants. In addition, there was trade with France, Spain and Portugal.

Sir William de la Pole was the town's first mayor. A prosperous merchant, de la Pole founded a family that became prominent in government.^[2] Another successful son of a Hull trading family was bishop John Alcock, who founded Jesus College, Cambridge and was a patron of the grammar school in Hull.^[2] The increase in trade after the discovery of the Americas and the town's maritime connections are thought to have played a part in the introduction of a virulent strain of syphilis through Hull and on into Europe from the New World.

The town prospered during the 16th and early 17th centuries,^[2] and Hull's affluence at this time is preserved in the form of several well-maintained buildings from the period, including Wilberforce House, now a museum documenting the life of William Wilberforce.^[2]

During the English Civil War, Hull became strategically important because of the large arsenal located there. Very early in the war, on 11 January 1642, the king named the Earl of Newcastle governor of Hull while Parliament nominated Sir John Hotham and asked his son, Captain John Hotham, to secure the town at once.^[2] Sir John Hotham and Hull corporation declared support for Parliament and denied Charles I entry into the town.^[2] Charles I responded to these events by besieging the town.^[2] This siege helped precipitate open conflict between the forces of Parliament and those of the Royalists.^[2]

After the Civil War, docks were built along the route of the town walls, which were demolished. The first dock (1778, renamed Queen's Dock in 1854) was built in the area occupied by Beverley and North gates, and the intermediate walls, which were demolished, a second dock (Humber Dock, 1809) was built on the land between Hessle and Myton gates, and a third dock between the two was opened 1829 as Junction Dock (later Prince's Dock).

Whaling played a major role in the town's fortunes until the mid-19th century.^[2] As sail power gave way to steam, Hull's trading links extended throughout the world. Docks were opened to serve the frozen meat trade of Australia, New Zealand and South America. Hull was also the centre of a thriving inland and coastal trading network, serving the whole of the United Kingdom.

City status

Throughout the second half of the 19th century and leading up to the First World War, the Port of Hull played a major role in the emigration of Northern European settlers to the New World, with thousands of emigrants sailing to Hull and stopping for administrative purposes before travelling on to Liverpool and then North America.

Parallel to this growth in passenger shipping was the emergence of the Wilson Line of Hull (which had been founded in 1825 by Thomas Wilson). By the early 20th century, the company had grown – largely through its monopolisation of North Sea passenger routes and later mergers and acquisitions – to be the largest privately owned shipping company in the world, with over 100 ships sailing to different parts of the globe. The Wilson Line was sold to the Ellerman Lines – which itself was owned by Hull-born magnate (and the richest man in Britain at the time) Sir John Ellerman.

Hull's prosperity peaked in the decades just before the First World War; it was during this time, in 1897, that city status was granted.^[3] Many of the suburban areas on the western side of Hull were built in the 1930s, particularly Willerby Road and Anlaby Park, as well as most of Willerby itself. This was part of the biggest British housing boom of the 20th century (possibly ever).

Bombed and battered

The city's port and industrial facilities, coupled with its proximity to mainland Europe and ease of location being on a major estuary, led to extremely widespread damage by bombing raids during the Second World War; much of the city centre was destroyed.^[2] Hull had 95% of its houses damaged or destroyed, making it the most severely bombed British city or town in terms of number of damaged or destroyed buildings, apart from London, during the Second World War. More than 1,200 people died in air raids on the city and some 3,000 others were injured.

The worst of the bombing occurred in 1941. Little was known about this destruction by the rest of the country at the time, since most of the radio and newspaper reports did not reveal Hull by name but referred to it as "a North-East town" or "a northern coastal town". Most of the city centre was rebuilt in the years following the war. As recently as 2006 researchers found documents in the local archives that suggested a non-exploded wartime bomb might be buried beneath a major new redevelopment, the Boom, in Hull.

After the decline of the whaling industry post the Second World War, emphasis shifted to deep-sea trawling until the Anglo-Icelandic Cod War of 1975–1976. The conditions set at the end of this dispute started Hull's economic decline.^[2]

City of Culture

In 2017 Hull was awarded the title of 'City of Culture' by the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Within the city there was a series of festivals in public spaces to promote the city and its newly given title. At the start of the year there was a huge firework display attracting a crowd of 25,000. Furthermore, development to Hull's infrastructure started with new pavements being developed across the city-centre.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Kingston upon Hull.

Research Tips

• Original historical documents relating to the East Riding of Yorkshire and Kingston upon Hull are held at the

East Riding of Yorkshire Archives Service collects, preserves and makes available to the public the historic records of the East Riding. The Archives Service holds over 10,000 linear feet of documents dating from the 12th century to the present day. These records contain information about every community in the East Riding and cover a wide range of subjects.

Hull City Archives hold a wealth of information, covering the rich and varied fortunes of the city. The collections include non-conformist churches, local families, municipal cemeteries and records of the courts. In addition they hold unique photographs many of which are now accessible online via their historical photographs database.

The Yorkshire Archaeological Society promotes the study of Yorkshire's historical past - agriculture, archaeology, architecture, history, industry, religion and the people of the historic county. This is a county-wide resource based in the City of York.

Brynmor Jones Library Archives and Manuscripts (Hull University) includes Family and estate papers, and Solicitors' archives. A specific interlink was not found, just the one for the Hull University Library

• A History of the County of Yorkshire from British History Online (Victoria County Histories) does not have complete coverage for the East Riding (the northern part is missing). East Riding volumes in existence are:

• Volume 1, the City of Kingston Upon Hull published 1969
• Volume 3, Ouse and Derwent Wapentake, and Part of Harthill Wapentake published 1976
• Volume 6, the Borough and Liberties of Beverley published 1989
• Volume 7, Holderness Wapentake, Middle and North Divisions published 2002

This is by far the most complete history of the parishes of the county to be found online. The chapters are ordered by the divisions of the county called wapentakes, but each chapter is linked to the volume's content page.

• GENUKI has a page on all three ridings of Yorkshire and pages for each of the ecclesiastical parishes in the county. Under each parish there is a list of the settlements within it and brief description of each. These are based on a gazetteer dated 1835 and there may have been a number of alterations to the parish setup since then. However, it is worthwhile information for the pre civil registration era. GENUKI provides references to other organizations who hold genealogical information for the local area. However, here is no guarantee that the website has been kept up to date.
• The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages similar to those provided by GENUKI which may have been prepared at a later date. The wiki has a link to English Jurisdictions 1851 which gives the registration district and wapentake for each parish, together with statistics from the 1851 census for the area.
• A Vision of Britain through Time, Yorkshire East Riding, section "Units and Statistics" leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from about 1800 through 1974. There are pages available for all civil parishes, municipal boroughs and other administrative divisions. Descriptions provided are usually based on a gazetteer of 1870-72.

A Vision of Britain through Time also provides

• Map of the East Riding divisions in 1900 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Map of East Riding divisions in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time also provide two maps indicate the boundaries between parishes, etc.

For a more detailed view of a specific area try a map from this selection. The oldest series are very clear at the third magnification offered. Comparing the map details with the GENUKI details for the same area is well worthwhile.

• Yorkshire has a large number of family history and genealogical societies. A list of the societies will be found on the Yorkshire page.
• In March 2018 Ancestry announced that its file entitled "Yorkshire, England: Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1873" has been expanded to include another 94 parishes (across the three ridings) and expected it to be expanded further during the year. The entries are taken from previously printed parish registers.