History of the Old Town

The present day city of Kingston upon Hull developed from a small 12th century settlement known as Wyke upon Hull. The original location of the settlement is unknown but it was probably situated at the mouth of the 'Auld Hull' (thought to be somewhere between Commercial Road/Manor House Street and Railway Street). Around about the mid-13th century the River Hull changed its main course, probably through artificial channelling, from the 'Auld Hull' in the west, to Sayer Creek in the east (which broadly followed the course of the modern River Hull). Archaeological evidence also suggests that the settlement of Wyke changed its location at about this time to what is now the Old Town.

In 1293 King Edward I purchased Wyke and the grange of Myton from the Cistercian Abbey at nearby Meaux. Edward's newly purchased lands became the site of a new town - the King's Town or Kingston upon Hull. The new town became one of the three most important medieval towns in the whole of Yorkshire, and rose to become the second most important port on the East Coast of England by the end of the Middle Ages - second only to London.

The limits of the new town occupied a much larger area than that of its predecessor and, from 1321-4, it was protected by a defensive circuit consisting of a great ditch and bank, topped with a palisade, and four freestanding gates. The defences were ranged around three sides of the town and followed the line of North Walls, Guildhall Road, Prince's Dock Street, Humber Dock Street and Humber Street. The side facing onto the River Hull was left open.

Between 1330 and 1406 the timber palisade was removed and the ramparts were cut back. In their place was built a brick wall with around thirty interval towers, four main gates and four postern gates. The side facing the River Hull remained open until three blockhouses, linked by a curtain wall and outer moat, were built on the rivers east bank in the mid-16th century. Prior to this the mouth of the River Hull was only defended by a boom and chain stretched across at night and at times of danger. In 1627, the defence of the river mouth was further strengthened with the construction of the South End Fort or Battery.

A second circuit of defences followed in the 17th century when, just prior to the start of the English Civil War in 1642, five half-moon batteries, linked by a rampart and outer ditch, were constructed in front of the Hessle, Myton, Beverley, Low and North Gates.

The town's medieval and Carolean defences constricted the town's growth and development until their removal between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The removal of the defences, along with the reclamation of marshland beyond and the willingness of landowners to sell land for suburban development, facilitated the construction of new 'Town Docks' around the Old Town and the building of an adjoining Georgian New Town.

Hull in the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw 'intensive' urban growth, with high housing densities, congested industrial concentrations, and very little open space. By the mid-19th century the town contained many crowded slums. The most insanitary were in the courts and alleys of the Old Town. These were eventually condemned as unfit for human habitation and between 1899 and 1939 many were recorded photographically by the City's Health Department prior to their demolition. Although no examples of court housing now survive in the Old Town, several alleys do still survive, particularly in the area between Parliament Street, Lowgate, Alfred Gelder Street and Whitefriargate/Silver Street.

The clearance of insanitary dwellings was not the only change wrought upon the Old Town during the first half of the 20th century. Other changes included the creation of Queen Victoria Square; the laying out of Alfred Gelder Street; and the construction of several majestic buildings, such as The Guildhall (1904-16), The City Hall (1903-9), The Market Hall (1902-4) and the old General Post Office (1904-9).

After the Second World War (1939-45), neglect and shifts in economic focus led to the number of people living and working in the Old Town to fall dramatically. Many buildings in the area subsequently became redundant and derelict. The situation was further exacerbated by the blighting effect of post-war Development Plans which envisaged considerable redevelopment within the area.

Fortunately, the 1970s saw a change in official attitude towards the area reflecting a national trend towards a greater recognition of the value of historic areas. Following the Civic Amenities Act, 1967, and pressure from local and national amenity societies, the City Council designated the Old Town as a Conservation Area in 1973. Shortly afterwards it produced the Old Town Report which recognised the potential of the area to be attractive to tourists and the desirability of encouraging people to come back to live in the area. It also recognised the need for financial assistance if the decline in the condition of property was to be halted.

A number of enterprising individuals showed the way in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the imaginative reuse of redundant buildings, including most notably the conversion of an old dockside warehouse into the Waterfront Hotel and Club at Prince's Dock Street. At the same time the success of new housing developments and residential conversions by housing associations and private developers showed that people did want to live in the Old Town.

Progress was assisted by Hull City Council schemes to make available buildings and sites in its ownership, to assemble land, and the pursuit of grants. As a result, derelict and redundant buildings are now few in number, many historic buildings have either been converted to new uses or rehabilitated and the number of people living, working and visiting in the Old Town has risen.

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