Hull
is situated where the River Hull flows into the Humber estuary. The
town was founded by Cistercian monks from Meaux Abbey in the 12th
century. In 1293 Edward I acquired the settlement from Meaux Abbey
and laid out the town with new docks. The parish church of Holy Trinity
is one of the largest in England and is notable for its early use
of bricks.
For hundreds of years Hull was used to export wool
to Europe. It also became Britain's busiest deep-sea fishing base.
William Wilberforce was born in Hull
and his family home has been turned, together with neighbouring houses,
into a historical museum with special emphasis on the slave
trade.
In the 19th century Hull was kept busy exporting textiles and importing
food from Australia and New Zealand.
(1)
Daniel Defoe, A Tour Through the Whole
Island of Great Britain (1724)
All the trade at Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax,
of which I have spoken, is transacted here by the merchants of Hull.
All the lead trade of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the butter of
the East and North Riding, brought down the Ouse to York: the cheese
brought down the Trent from Stafford, Warwick and Cheshire, and the
corn from all the counties adjacent, are brought down the Ouse to
York: the cheese brought down the Trent from Stafford, Warwick and
Cheshire, and the corn from all the counties adjacent, are brought
down and shipped off here.
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
