Kingston- upon-Hull is a city founded in the late 12th century. Hull has played some important part in some of the biggest stories in history. Hull sits by river Hull, Humber estuary, east riding of Yorkshire. King Edward 1 bought the port back in 1923 for use as a supply base for his military campaigns in Scotland. The town was then granted the status of a borough thus renamed Kingston-upon-Hull, a fancy name that is rarely used.
Hull at War
The geographical position of the city made it to emerge as one of the most important ports in the United Kingdom opening up routes from England to northern Europe. This was considered as good business back in the middle ages making it a major export port dealing with wool, grain and lead. In the 17th century, King Charles 1 attempted to take control of the arsenal at Hull. This did not turn out well as he was turned away at the gates.
The governor by then, Sir John Hotham made his stand at the Beverley Gate and this act of defiance has been speculated to have sparked the English civil war. Beverley Gate to date is still an important feature in the city centre of Hull. The people of Hull were in good terms with the Roundheads and offered support during the civil war, and as a result of this the royalist Cavaliers besieged them in 1642 and 1643.
In the 18th century things were smooth for Hull as the first dock opened up in the year 1778, bringing forth development of new industries such as corn milling and shipbuilding.
Hullensian William Wilberforce, a well lead Christian politician was elected as the new MP. He worked very hard having a huge impact in the lives of many people, where he fought to completely eradicate slavery in the Britain and its colonies. The Bill was passed in 1883 in the British empire just three days before William the MP died.
Hull The Whaling Port
Hull became the biggest whaling port in the country and even developed as a major fishing centre back in the early 19th century. In the North sea, Hull’s fishermen were just but familiar faces and later on in the waters around Iceland bringing forth prosperity to their town. Hull was granted full city status in 1897 after shipbuilding and shop owning was blossoming in the area.
The University of Hull
The University of Hull, founded in 1927 and is now one of the leading research universities in the United Kingdom where Philip Larkin, one of the best poets of the 20th century worked as a librarian from the year 1955 until his death 1985. Hull being considered one of the most important port cities, suffered some serious bombing during the second world war. It was most heavily bombed UK city after London, causing serious damages a moja or development fallback.
Queen Elizabeth II in 1981 formally opened the Number bridge extending the existing port and helped the city handle container ships. Now some of the largest and best ferries in the world operate from Hull.
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