Hull has always been known as a tough town and deservedly so. It was built on fishing, and that’s a tough industry. It meant you’d have a fleet of trawlers that would go out and young men who would never return.
Lucy Beaumont, comedian
If you look at a map of England you will see that Hull, or Kingston upon Hull to give its proper name, is rather out on a limb. Lying on the Humber Estuary its location so close to the sea has resulted in a history shaped by sea-going trade and shipping. It was founded as a trading port by King Edward I in the late 13th century and thrived as such for several hundred years. Later, in the 18th century, it became a centre for whaling and in the 19th century for fishing in the fish-rich North Sea.
The city was at its most prosperous early in the 20th century, before the First World War. However 1920s and 1930s saw major industrial decline, exacerbated by overproduction in the fishing industry. In WWII it was devastated by air raids, making it the heaviest bombed city outside London. The Hull People’s Memorial in Paragon Street commemorates all those who died in the raids.
Hull today
Rebuilding the city took decades and wasn’t helped by the collapse of the fishing industry. And as I said in an earlier post about the city, Hull has had something of a poor reputation in England in recent years, although that seems to be changing. Despite that however, I’d never taken a particular interest in it nor planned to visit. However when a small Virtual Tourist meeting was proposed by a friend I was keen to sign up and discover more about a place once voted the ‘worst place to live in the UK’.
My opportunity came on my first morning in Hull when our host organised a walking tour with renowned local guide, Paul Schofield *. He gave us a thorough and entertaining introduction to the Old Town, which I’d like to share with you now for this week’s Monday Walk.
Victoria Square
It was rather a grey day, with a little drizzle, when we met our guide Paul by the statue of Queen Victoria in the square that bears her name.
Queen Victoria statue and Maritime Museum
The square is surrounded by some of the city’s grandest buildings. They include the Maritime Museum, which was closed for refurbishment at the time of our visit. The Grade Two listed building dates from 1871 and was formerly home to Hull’s Dock Offices.
On the south side of the square is the Ferens Art Gallery. It is named for T. R. Ferens, a local MP who in the early 1900s donated money to buy art and to build this gallery.
Today the collection ranges from late medieval painting to modern art, and there are also temporary exhibitions. We didn’t go inside the gallery during this walk, but I visited later in the week and found pieces I liked in several of the galleries. Here are just a couple of them.
In the Ferens Art Gallery (click for captions)
And on the west side of the square is Hull City Hall, a concert venue. The striking building is topped with a copper dome said to be based on that of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It is surrounded by four sculptures of female figures, each representing one of the arts.
Queen Victoria statue and City Hall
The old docks
Paul told us about all these buildings and more, before leading us in the direction of the old docks. These were closed to commercial use in the mid 20th century, although the much larger Queen Elizabeth Dock opened just east of the city in 1969 to handle container traffic and ferries. Since then two of the old docks, Railway and Humber Dock, have become marinas for use by smaller boats.
Meanwhile Princes Dock, nearest to Queen Victoria Square, has been partly filled in and a rather unattractive shopping centre built above it. However its quayside still has some attractive old warehouses (many now turned into bars and restaurants) and the elegant Hull Trinity House.
Beverley Gate
The photos of the docks area above were taken later that day when we went for dinner at one of the restaurants. But back to our tour. Having pointed out the docks and talked about their history, Paul stopped just by the northern end of Princes Dock. There he showed us the foundations of one of the city’s old gates, dating from its fortification in the 14th century. As the plaque explains, this is where in 1642, Sir John Hotham (the city’s governor) refused King Charles l entry to the city. Hull was a strategic port and site of an arsenal. Charles wanted access to the weapons stored with its walls as he was already preparing for armed conflict against Parliament. Sir John was determined to ensure he never got them. This act of defiance is widely regarded as the spark that started the English Civil War.
Beverley Gate remains and historical plaque
Although the hero of that incident, Hotham later changed sides to support the Royalist cause. This was to cost him his life. In December 1644 he was court-martialled and found guilty of treason, thus earning the dubious distinction of being declared a traitor by both King and Parliament. He was beheaded for his crimes on Tower Hill on 2nd January 1645.
The Guildhall
From here we headed into the streets of the Old Town. Alfred Gelder Street led us to the impressive Guildhall, a grade II listed building. It dates from the beginning of the 20th century and was built in the Baroque Revival style. Above the main entrance is a sculpture of a male figure with a large book on his knee, representing Justice. At either end are sculptures representing maritime prowess and strength: one a figure in a chariot flanked by lions, thought to be Britannia, and the other probably Aphrodite, rising from the waves on a chariot pulled by two horses with fish-like tales. These three sculptures, by Scottish sculptor Albert Hodge, are considered to be among some of the most impressive works of sculptural art in the country.
The Guildhall
The Land of Green Ginger
We doubled back to walk along the bizarrely named narrow street, The Land of Green Ginger. There has been a lot of speculation about this name, as you can imagine, but no conclusive reason given. It could relate to the sale of ginger here in the Middle Ages, or be derived from someone’s name.
The street is famous not only for its name but also for what claims to be the country’s (possibly the world’s) smallest window. This is a slit which was used by the gatekeeper of the George Hotel to look out for stagecoaches and customers. It may look like simply a loose joint between two stones. But peering through we could all see the gatekeeper’s small room beyond.
The Land of Green Ginger and England’s smallest window – can you spot it?!
And if you’d like to see our guide Paul discussing this quirky street, he’s on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUuLYiKGmA4&t=4s
At the far end of the Land of Green Ginger we crossed Silver Street to enter the elegant Hepworth’s Arcade. This opened in 1897 and is Grade II listed. It has an arched glass roof and ornate ironwork. There is quite an unusual selection of quirky shops inside including a joke shop, vintage clothing stores and an appealing bookshop.
Hepworth Arcade and bookshop
Hull Minster
We passed Hull’s imposing Minster. I only took one photo as we did so but returned for more later when skies were brighter.
The Minster
Unfortunately the Minster was closed throughout my time in Hull, as it was being used for filming. So I only ever got to see the outside. It is the city’s parish church and was called Holy Trinity Church until it was renamed nine years ago. Being designated a minster reflects its historical and religious importance. It was built between the early 14th and early 16th centuries. It is the largest parish church in England by floor area and is a Grade I listed building.
We were zigzagging around the old town and Paul led us next to picturesque Prince Street.
Prince Street
High Street
Prince Street marked the furthest point of our walk in that direction, and we doubled back to reach High Street. As I mentioned in my virtual postcard from the city, this was being dressed for film about Jack the Ripper. Modern features were being hidden and replaced by Victorian ones. There were market stalls being created, props such as crates and dummy food being added, and the cobbled street dirtied with grit and straw. Fortunately, unlike the Minster, the street wasn’t closed to pedestrians at least and we could stroll along taking photos.
The High Street dressed for filming
The Museums Quarter
Our tour with Paul ended in the Museums Quarter. He pointed out the huge toad sculpture in the gardens here. This is a leftover from a city trail dedicated to one of Hull’s most famous former residents, Philip Larkin.
Why a toad, you ask?
Why should I let the toad work
Squat on my life?
Can’t I use my wit as a pitchfork
And drive the brute off?
Six days of the week it soils
With its sickening poison –
Just for paying a few bills!
That’s out of proportion.
Toads, by Philip Larkin
We didn’t have time to visit any of the museums with Paul but he did take us just inside two of them (all are free to enter, by the way). The Streetlife Museum displays all forms of transport and has a replica of a 1940s street that I would have liked to have explored further. The Archaeology Museum does exactly what it says and has Roman mosaics, Viking treasures and much more besides.
Wilberforce House Museum
Our tour with Paul ended near the museums and we broke into small groups to seek lunch in local cafés. Afterwards I decided to explore a bit further on my own and returned to the Museums Quarter to visit the third of them, the Wilberforce House Museum. With time for only one I chose this as it seemed the most unique to Hull.
Wilberforce House was the birthplace of William Wilberforce, Hull’s famous anti-slavery campaigner. Today it is a museum telling the story of his life but also focusing on the realities of the transatlantic slave trade and its legacies. In addition it has a small but excellent collection of artefacts from the west African countries from which the slaves were captured, showing their rich cultural heritage. It touches briefly too on the history of slavery more widely, from ancient times to the present day.
Wilberforce House Museum
(please click on the images of the paintings in particular to see captions)
A few more sights
On my way back to the hotel I detoured to visit St Mary’s Lowgate, which I had seen in the distance during our walk, but found it closed (despite a sign saying it was always open and welcoming!) Unusually its tower was pierced to accommodate a pedestrian footpath in the 1800s. The 14th century church is one of the oldest in the city but was extensively restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century.
St Mary’s Church Lowgate
I visited Hull in May 2026
* While I can definitely recommend Paul as a guide I should mention that I’m getting no payment or reward for doing so
One Comment
Anne Sandler
Sarah, thanks for another amazing tour!