The History of Hull
Hull is a city in the historic county of East Riding of Yorkshire England. It is located at the point where the little River Hull (which starts in the Yorkshire Wolds) joins the River Humber, twenty miles from the sea. Hull lies on a naturally advantageous position for portage, due to its position on the north side of the Humber Estuary. Hull was originally a little settlement called Wyke which belonged to the Cistercian abbey of Meaux near Beverley. In the 12th century, King Edward I bought the North Sea port to use as a supply base for his military campaigns in Scotland. The King founded the borough of Kingston-upon-Hull on the site, and this name is still the formal title of the city.
Hull being a major port in the later middle ages, its merchants traded widely to North Sea ports in Northern Germany, the Baltics and the Low Countries. It exported lead, grain and wool. Imports included cloth from the Netherlands, iron-ore from Sweden, oil seed from the Baltic and timber from Riga and Norway. Timber and oil seed continue to be major imports through the port of Hull to the present day. Some Hull merchants grew very rich. The De La Pole family became wealthy enough to join the ranks of the English aristocracy, and for one brief period in the 1400s, become heirs to the throne. Hull suffered a decline in trade during the 16th and 17th centuries, but its strategic importance meant that it received the military attentions of both sides in the British Civil Wars. King Charles I attempted to take control of the arsenal at Hull, but was turned away from the gates by the governor Sir John Hotham. Hull supported the Parliamentarian (Roundhead) side in the conflict, and was consequently besieged by the Royalists (Cavaliers) for five weeks.
The late 18th century saw the rise of the whaling trade in Hull. By 1800, 40% of the country’s whalers sailed from the North Sea port of Hull, and the trade brought increased prosperity to Hull until it began to decline through over-fishing in the mid 19th century. By then, the fishing industry itself was beginning to take off in Hull. In the 1840s, the "silver pits" – a very fish-rich part of the North Sea – led to fishermen from Devon and Kent migrating to the Humber, at first seasonally and then permanently. The introduction in the late 19th century of new fishing methods – the "trawl" – and of steam powered trawlers meant that Hull fishermen fished as far a field as Iceland and the White Sea.
During World War II, Hull suffered some of Britain’s heaviest wartime bombing and many new buildings were later constructed to replace those that had been bombed. The profile of trade in Hull changed after the war. Now, Hull has important links with the European continent and there are important North Sea ferry links to Zeebrugge in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. At the beginning of the 21st century, Hull is a unique city with a proud heritage and strong foundations on which to build a prosperous and exciting future.
Hull is a vibrate North Sea Port for more information http://www.northseaferrieshull.co.uk
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