Public services

PUBLIC SERVICES (fn. 1)

Water Supply

On account of Hull's situation 'on the shore of the water of Humber on a salt soil' (fn. 2) it was necessary from early times for fresh water to be carried to the town from a distance. In 1293 Derningham Dike was mentioned together with 'the springs and the fresh water running to Kingston'. (fn. 3) In 1376 the king ordered an inquiry into Hull's petition for permission to make a ten-foot-wide fresh-water dike from Anlaby, beside the highway from that village to the town. (fn. 4) Nothing appears to have come of this scheme, and Hull was constantly opposed by villagers whose land lay on the route of the existing dike. (fn. 5) A new inquiry was ordered in 1401, after another petition from Hull, (fn. 6) and in 1402 the construction of a dike 12 feet wide and 5 deep was authorized. (fn. 7) It was to run from a spring called Julian Well in Anlaby, by a more northerly and direct route than that proposed in 1376, and it was to be called Julian Dike; ditches connecting it with the Humber were to be blocked to exclude salt water, and several ditches from other springs were to be allowed to run into it. The dike was apparently completed soon after, despite more opposition from the inhabitants of nearby villages: (fn. 8) their co-operation was eventually called for by the Roman curia in 1412. (fn. 9) The dike was subsequently known either as Julian or Derningham (more often Derringham) Dike. It led to Busdike near Beverley Gate, which itself connected with the town ditch. Until the mid19th century the cleansing of the dikes was to be a constant concern of the corporation. (fn. 10)

The idea of replacing the open dike by a covered conduit was already in the air in 1438, when Joan Gregg bequeathed £20 for the purpose provided the work was done within two years. (fn. 11) When the county of Hull was extended in 1447 both Derringham Well and Derringham Dike were taken into it, and at the same time the town was licensed to acquire springs and to convey water from them 'by subterranean leaden pipes and other necessary and suitable engines (ingenia)'. (fn. 12) In 1449 North Ferriby Priory gave permission for pipes to be laid on its land between Springhead and Hull, (fn. 13) and in the same year Robert Holme bequeathed £100 to complete the new lead conduit from Anlaby, if it should be done by the next 11 November after his death. (fn. 14) Before the end of the year the conduit was apparently ready, for a pipe of wine was ceremonially sent through it. (fn. 15) The conduit was kept in repair (fn. 16) until 1461, when the lead was ordered to be dug up and sold; in 1463 an obit for Holme was founded by the corporation in restitution for the sale of lead that he had given. (fn. 17) The conduit had run within the town walls, for the lead in Whitefriargate was ordered to be taken up in 1467. (fn. 18) With the return to the system of open dikes, special attention had to be given in 1462 to the condition of Busdike. (fn. 19)

Hull's rights in part of the area added to the county of the town in 1447 were disputed by Haltemprice Priory in the early 16th century. An agreement reached in 1517, however, safeguarded the town's water supply from 'East Wells' in Anlaby. (fn. 20) The supply was made more secure by the corporation's acquisition from Sir Thomas Barrington in 1571 of Derringham Well. (fn. 21) The need to keep land water out of Julian Dike led in 1578 to a lengthy dispute with local landowners, notably Christopher Legard, of Anlaby. (fn. 22) Alderman William Gee offered in 1595 to give £200 towards replacing the open dike with lead pipes, (fn. 23) but nothing appears to have been done.

After the removal of the conduit, water was again carried from the Busdike (later called the Bush Dike) into the town by 'bussemen', or 'bushmen'. (fn. 24) In 1613, however, steps were taken to pipe the water from the Bush Dike into the town. The corporation granted to Robert Sharpeigh, of London, John Cater, of Nether Langton (Lincs.), and William Maltby, of London, for 100 years, certain land together with a watercourse they had constructed there; they were to put up a lead cistern and lay pipes in the streets. (fn. 25) The arrangements made are illustrated by a 21-year agreement for supplying a High Street man, drawn up in 1615: water was to be carried into his house through a small pipe connected to the main pipe in the street; this was to cost him 13s. 4d. a year. (fn. 26) In 1617 many people were said to take water in this way, but the theft of water from the works was also widespread. (fn. 27) Not all parts of the town received a supply, however. In 1698 the inhabitants of the north end of High Street complained that they had never done so, and they blamed the poor quality horses used to raise water into the cistern and work it thence into the pipes. (fn. 28) There was also a scarcity at South End. (fn. 29)

In 1655 Sir John Barrington complained that the corporation had for long disputed the rent due to him for Derringham Well. In the following year Hull was obliged to pay eleven years' arrears, but Barrington in return granted the spring in fee simple at the old rent. (fn. 30) On at least two occasions in the late 17th century—in 1662 and 1679—Hull's action in placing a dam to keep land water from the dike near the spring caused disputes with neighbouring landowners, led by Robert Legard, of Anlaby. (fn. 31)

The three original proprietors of the waterworks had divided the property between them in 1613, and shares in it often changed hands thereafter. (fn. 32) The corporation itself took an interest in shares and by 1701 owned 11/32 of the works. (fn. 33) When the lease was renewed for a further 100 years in 1713 there were five proprietors—three men of Beverley and two of Hull, one of whom was trustee for the corporation's share. (fn. 34) In 1765 the corporation bought out the remaining shareholders. (fn. 35) Improvements in the supply of water to the town had been taking place throughout the century. The corporation erected numerous pumps on its property; (fn. 36) repairs to the waterworks were carried out in 1735; (fn. 37) and elm trees were ordered to be laid in various streets in 1736 and 1740. (fn. 38) The horse-operated waterworks were nevertheless unable to keep pace with the growing demand. Complaints of a lack of water were received in 1770 and the corporation decided in 1772 to let the works. In 1773 Mayson Wright took them for 21 years at a rent of £250 a year. (fn. 39) Wright is said to have installed a steam engine straight away, (fn. 40) and in 1777 it was decided to buy another engine—the 'best new patent engine' —and to lay another main pipe from the waterhouse to High Street. (fn. 41) Some water was still distributed by cart, however. (fn. 42)

As the suburbs of the town developed in the late 18th century Spring Ditch, as it was by this time called, was progressively walled-off and arched-over in its approaches to the waterworks. (fn. 43) The demand for water constantly increased. People in Sculcoates were allowed in 1790 to cut a channel from Spring Ditch and to take water one day a week. (fn. 44) Pipes were laid to Wright Street, Jarratt Street, and Savile Street, for example, at the inhabitants' expense and under the supervision first of the waterworks lessee and then, after 1794, of the clerk or manager of the waterworks. (fn. 45) The clerk was given an initial salary of £80, but this was raised to £120 in 1801 and £200 in 1824. (fn. 46) In 1792 the number of people paying water rates was said to be more than double that of fifteen years previously. (fn. 47) Improvements to the waterworks included the purchase of a new engine, which was being considered in 1794, and the laying of an additional elm-tree main to High Street in 1795. By 1819 at least some of the pipes to new suburban streets were of iron. (fn. 48) To provide more water, it was agreed in 1794 to pay £150 to buy Julian Springs, and in 1825 more springs at Anlaby were leased. (fn. 49)

In 1830 the waterworks were removed from the original site in Engine Street in order, it was said, both to improve the supply and to enable a street to be cut from Junction Dock Bridge to Carr Lane. (fn. 50) The new site was a mile to the west, at the junction of the present Spring Bank and Spring Bank West. The intervening stretch of Spring Ditch was filled in soon after. (fn. 51) With the building of the new works its management by the clerk came to an end. (fn. 52) The reservoir and tank now built gave an increased supply, and one result was no doubt a decrease in the watercart-men's trade: their rent to the corporation was reduced late in 1830. (fn. 53) Nevertheless, a request to supply the districts on the east side of the River Hull was refused in 1832, another spring had to be leased in 1834, an additional engine was ordered in 1835, and it was decided, in 1835, to lay pipes to the waterworks from Cottingham Drain. (fn. 54) The waterworks committee, appointed in 1838, sought the advice of Thomas Wicksteed, of London, in 1842 and he asserted that the springs were inadequate and recommended that water should instead be taken from the River Hull. (fn. 55) Only the Charterhouse, in 1733, is mentioned as having made previous use of river water. (fn. 56)

An Act was obtained in 1843 (fn. 57) and new waterworks were opened at Stoneferry in 1845, in the bend of the river north of Clough Road. The quality of the river water was questioned, however, especially after the cholera outbreak of 1849, but engineers who re-examined Springhead came to the same conclusion as Wicksteed. It was a local man, William Warden, who in 1858 challenged this view, and the corporation accepted his offer to provide an adequate supply from Springhead. The supply was inaugurated in 1862 and pumping engines began work in 1864. (fn. 58) Water was piped to the Stoneferry works—where the river water was shut out—and pumped to the town from there; the remainder of Spring Ditch was filled in.

In 1871 the corporation agreed to supply the St. John's Wood and Newland districts, in 1872 Dairycoates, and in 1874 Stoneferry. (fn. 59) An Act was obtained in 1872 for extensions to the works. (fn. 60) In 1875, however, the Newington Water Company, despite the opposition of the corporation, was authorized to supply St. John's Wood, Newland, and Newington. This undertaking had been started in 1874 by D. P. Garbutt, with waterworks in Albert Avenue. (fn. 61) In 1893, shortly after it had been authorized to build additional works at Dunswell, the company was taken over by the corporation at a cost of £100,000 and its works closed. (fn. 62) In the mean time the corporation had in 1883 extended its area of supply to Anlaby, Kirk Ella, Willerby, and Hessle. An Act of 1884 (fn. 63) gave authority for works to be built on Mill Dam stream, at Cottingham, and these were opened in 1890. In the following year the old Stoneferry works ceased to be used for pumping Springhead water to the town. (fn. 64) The area of supply was extended to Sutton in 1891. (fn. 65) Improvements at the Springhead works were periodically made in the late 19th century, and by 1905 water was supplied to an area of 25½ sq. mls., with a population of 254,000. (fn. 66)

The rural districts of Skirlaugh and Patrington were brought within Hull's supply area in 1911 and authority was then given for additional works to be built at Dunswell; these were not opened until 1931. (fn. 67) The supply area was extended to the parishes of Preston and Sutton Without in 1924, and to parts of Beverley and Sculcoates Rural Districts in 1926. (fn. 68) Powers were granted in 1930 for Hull to construct waterworks at Kelleythorpe, near Driffield, but the scheme was abandoned. Instead, Hull was empowered in 1933 to obtain water from Farndale (N.R. Yorks.), but the scheme was not proceeded with after the Second World War. In 1952 the corporation bought the Elloughton and Brough Water Company, and new works were completed on the River Hull, in Watton parish, in 1959. In 1963 Beverley, Hedon, Hornsea, Withernsea, and Cottingham were brought within the area of direct supply, having previously been supplied in bulk. By 1964 an area of 312 sq. mls., with a population of 412,000, was supplied by Hull. (fn. 69) Since 1963 the overall control of water resources in the area has been vested in the Yorkshire Ouse and Hull River Authority.

The Springhead waterworks is a good example of 19th-century engineering architecture, designed by Thomas Dale, the corporation's water engineer. (fn. 70) The original structure of 1862–4 is a rectangular block, five bays long and one wide, built to house the pumping engine. Internally it consists of a single hall, rising through two stories. The building is of red brick with dressings of white brick and stone and is mainly Romanesque in style with a sparing use of Classical detail. A vertical emphasis is given by the tall ground floor and by the pilaster strips which divide the bays and rise to a stone cornice supported on brackets of corbelled brickwork. Within each bay are two round-headed windows, each set in a recessed order of red brick, and linked vertically by a continuous outer order of white brick. The arched heads have elongated stone key-blocks. The east and west ends of the building are surmounted by open pedimented gables. A central projection on the south front has battered side walls and a crowning pediment. At first-floor level is a circular window and below it a panel bearing the city arms. From behind the pediment rises an octagonal lantern. A three-storied block to the west, built in 1876, repeats many of the features of the earlier building. The original tall chimney was taken down in 1956–7.

Gas Supply

Several shopkeepers were making and using gas for lighting their own premises before, in 1821, the Kingston upon Hull Gas Light Company was established. (fn. 71) The company was authorized to supply Hull, Myton, and Sculcoates, and its works were built in Broadley Street, in the Old Town. (fn. 72) It never in fact supplied gas to Sculcoates and Myton, which were lit by the British Gas Light Company after it built its works in Bank Side, north of the Old Town, in 1826. (fn. 73) The B.G.L.'s powers were extended in 1858 (fn. 74) and its works rebuilt about this time. (fn. 75)

In 1821 the corporation had bought ten shares in the K.H.G.L., but by 1824 all had been sold. The corporation nevertheless refused to allow the B.G.L. to lay pipes in the K.H.G.L.'s supply area in 1829, when consumers were showing a preference for the former's coal gas as against the latter's whale-oil product. The papers in the matter were, moreover, sent by the corporation to the K.H.G.L. for 'their most serious consideration'. (fn. 76) In 1830 the K.H.G.L. appointed John Malam as agent and manager with instructions to convert to coal gas, (fn. 77) and this was soon done. (fn. 78) Malam wanted to extend the supply to Drypool and though the company would not agree to do so he went ahead with the necessary works, which were completed by 1837. (fn. 79) Leave to lay pipes under the River Hull had been given by the corporation in 1831 and 1834, and in 1837 Malam contracted to light the east parts of the town. (fn. 80) John Malam, the younger, took over from his father, who was declared lunatic, in 1842. The pipes under the river remained his personal responsibility and in 1853 he conveyed them to the corporation. (fn. 81) It seems likely that the K.H.G.L. ceased about this time to supply the east side of the river.

In the mean time, a new company—the Sutton, Southcoates, and Drypool Gas Company—was established in 1847 to supply the east parts of the town, (fn. 82) taking over works in Sitwell Street which are said to have been started the previous year by John Malam. (fn. 83) The company was incorporated in 1867; (fn. 84) it had already supplied Sutton, Stoneferry, Southcoates, Drypool, and part of Garrison Side, (fn. 85) and it was then empowered to supply the rest of Garrison Side, and also Marfleet.

The corporation was given powers in 1897 (fn. 86) to buy the K.H.G.L., to demolish its works, and to have its area supplied by one or both of the other companies. Gas was duly bought in bulk from the B.G.L., under an agreement made with the corporation in 1898, (fn. 87) and the Broadley Street site was used in the building of the new Guildhall. This corporation gas undertaking was eventually sold to the B.G.L. in 1934. (fn. 88) The powers of the S.S.D.G. were extended in 1873, 1890, and 1906, and in 1907 it became the East Hull Gas Company. (fn. 89) By 1933 it supplied, besides east Hull and Sutton, ten parishes in the riding and the borough of Hedon. (fn. 90)

After nationalization in 1948 the E.H.G. immediately came under the control of the North Eastern Gas Board, and the B.G.L. was transferred to this board in 1951 after a period under the Eastern Gas Board. Both Hull works were retained and by 1960 they were supplying Beverley, Brough, Hessle, Howden, Market Weighton, and Pocklington. (fn. 91) The gas offices used after 1948 were those of the B.G.L. in Baker Street. (fn. 92)

Electricity Supply

The corporation was authorized in 1880 (fn. 93) to supply electric lighting in certain streets in the Old Town, and these were lit—by a private company —late in 1882. The lights proved unreliable, however, and they were discontinued in 1884. (fn. 94) In 1890 the corporation was itself empowered to make and supply electricity, (fn. 95) and in 1893 a generating station was opened in Dagger Lane to supply the Old Town; later that year the supply was extended to an area west of the Old Town. (fn. 96) The undertaking began with 33 consumers but by the end of 1894 there were 271. In 1898, when there were 960 consumers, a new generating station was built in Sculcoates Lane. (fn. 97) A temporary station in North Street had been used during the winter of 1897–8. The new works allowed power to be supplied to an extended area west of the Old Town and for the first time to the east side of the River Hull. (fn. 98)

The power station has been extended on some ten occasions in the 20th century (fn. 99) and the area of supply enlarged to include Sutton in 1914, Hessle in 1915, ten parishes in Sculcoates Rural District in 1922, and Beverley, Hedon, and Cottingham, together with parts of Beverley, Patrington, Sculcoates, and Skirlaugh Rural Districts in 1929. (fn. 100) In 1932 there were nearly 49,000 consumers and in 1946 95,000. (fn. 101) A direct supply was provided for an area of over 160 sq. mls. and bulk supplies were made available to the S.E. Yorkshire Light and Power Company, which supplied a large part of the East Riding. (fn. 102) The Central Electricity Board also took supplies from the Hull station: in 1939, for example, almost one quarter of the units generated was used in this way. (fn. 103) The whole of Hull's supply area came under the Yorkshire Electricity Board after nationalization in 1948. On several occasions since then the Sculcoates supply has been supplemented from the electricity grid. (fn. 104) In 1933 offices in Ferensway were built to replace those at the power station, (fn. 105) and they remained in use after nationalization.

Street Paving, Repair, and Lighting

The collection of tolls to meet the cost of street paving in Hull was first authorized in 1300; seven further pavage grants were made by the Crown, the last expiring in 1370. (fn. 106) For a period after 1370, however, money raised from tolls was still described by the chamberlains as pavage and murage, (fn. 107) and paving work continued as a regular item of town expenditure. The work carried out is first recorded in 1321–4 when £32 was spent; stone from Brough and Hessle was used, as well as 'small stones' and sand. (fn. 108) The small stones were presumably cobbles—the normal paving material at later periods—and they probably came from the East Riding coast. Leland believed that Hull was paved with cobbles which came from Iceland as ballast in ships bringing fish, (fn. 109) an explanation which could only apply to the period after c. 1410. (fn. 110) By 1477 the repair of paving was a duty of the bellman, performed in return for enjoying the house and profits of that office; materials were provided by the corporation and he was paid for his labour on the more substantial repairs. A similar agreement with the bellman was made in 1508. (fn. 111)

The cost of paving was in 1560 transferred from the corporation to the occupiers of adjoining houses and land, and aldermen were empowered to levy fines from defaulters; only the pavement in Market Place, Whitefriargate, and Lowgate remained at the town's charge. (fn. 112) The work was presumably still carried out at the corporation's direction. In 1621 a paver from London was set at work, and during the next two years the owners and occupiers in several streets were ordered to pay his wages. (fn. 113) On occasions, and perhaps always, the materials— cobbles, sand, and shingle—were provided by the corporation. (fn. 114) After the sieges of 1642–3 large-scale repairs were needed. Surveyors of highways and streets were appointed for each ward in 1644 and all the paved streets were ordered to be repaired, the town finding the materials and the inhabitants the labour. (fn. 115) Orders for paving particular streets and staiths were frequent during the second half of the century, (fn. 116) and efforts were made to prevent heavily-laden carts with iron-bound wheels from entering the town. (fn. 117)

Few orders for paving were made in the earlier 18th century, (fn. 118) but after 1750 they were again frequent. (fn. 119) An Act of 1755 (fn. 120) had confirmed the former practice of the corporation providing materials and occupiers paying the workmen's wages, and it set out the places which were to be paved at the sole expense of the corporation; the chief of these were Market Place, the fish shambles, the ground beneath the Guildhall, the common staiths, and the town gates. In 1784 the paving of streets was put under the direction of the town's husband. (fn. 121) The use of flagstones at the side of streets, for footpaths, is first mentioned in the 1760s, and subsequently these were often used where the occupiers agreed to pay the difference between the cost of the cobbles and flags. In 1806, however, the corporation decided in future to bear no part of the expenses of flagging. (fn. 122)

Until the early 19th century the repair of roads in the parish of Sculcoates and the lordship of Myton (which was part of Holy Trinity parish) was supervised by parish surveyors of highways. (fn. 123) In 1801 and 1810 respectively the newly-appointed commissioners for Sculcoates and Myton became responsible for the work of the surveyors. Owners and occupiers were chargeable for paving and flagging in front of their property, but when new streets were declared public highways they were repairable by the surveyors. (fn. 124) In 1851 (fn. 125) the corporation, as the local board, assumed responsibility throughout the borough.

The provision of street lighting in Hull is first mentioned in 1621, though it is likely that individual burgesses had been required to hang out lanterns in the 16th century. In that year aldermen and their deputies, and all former office-holders, were ordered to see that candle-lanterns were provided from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., 'not being moon shine night', from 22 November until 1 March. (fn. 126) The order was reaffirmed in 1622 and 1623, and revived in 1629. (fn. 127) The hanging out of lanterns is mentioned again in 1657 and 1672, but the failure of householders to do so led to a suggestion in 1682 that public lights should be provided: it was thought best, however, to wait and see what happened in London, where this was also under consideration. (fn. 128) In 1699, after having been long neglected, the old order was again reaffirmed. (fn. 129)

Lights for the streets—presumably oil-lamps— were in 1713 ordered to be obtained in London; (fn. 130) these were not corporation lamps, and in 1717 aldermen were enjoined to seek contributions in their wards to maintain them. (fn. 131) The Act of 1755 (fn. 132) declared that there were no public lights and sought only to prevent damage to those about to be provided by householders, but in the same year the corporation gave £60 towards a subscription for lighting the streets. (fn. 133) In 1762 the corporation was itself authorized to set up lights, (fn. 134) and in 1764 assessors were appointed in each ward to raise money for cleansing and lighting; lights were to be lit from sunset until twilight, from 1 October to 1 May and during assizes. (fn. 135) The lighting-up date was advanced to 1 September in 1783, (fn. 136) and in 1795 the corporation subscribed £20 towards lighting the lamps before the usual time to prevent riots. (fn. 137) The following year the lamps were said to be less efficient than ever before, and frequently out by 2 a.m.; (fn. 138) in 1798 those in some streets were said to be out by 11 p.m. (fn. 139)

In 1801 the newly-appointed Sculcoates commissioners assumed responsibility for providing and maintaining lights, and in 1810 the Hull and Myton commissioners did likewise. (fn. 140) In the Old Town, however, the assessors were to continue to raise the rates, and it seems that they in fact also continued to supervise the work. (fn. 141) They were again given full responsibility from 1840 (fn. 142) until the corporation, as the local board, took over throughout the borough in 1851. (fn. 143)

Gas began to replace oil for street lighting in the 1820s. (fn. 144) Some streets in the Old Town were gas-lit in 1822 and, after a dispute with the K.H.G.L. over charges had resulted in the sole use of oil lamps in 1823, there were 85 gas lamps lit in 1824. (fn. 145) In 1826 the B.G.L. contracted to light the streets of Myton and Sculcoates, (fn. 146) and the east side of the River Hull was lit by the K.H.G.L. from 1837 and by the S.S.D.G. after 1847. In 1852 there were 307 gas lamps in the Old Town, 5 in Trippett, 111 in Sutton, 46 in Southcoates, 37 in Drypool, and 20 on Garrison Side; in 1850 there were 231 in Sculcoates. (fn. 147)

Electric lighting was first used, in a few streets in the Old Town, in 1882–4, and after 1893 its use was slowly extended. (fn. 148) In 1908, however, the corporation still had 3,107 gas lamps from the B.G.L. and 1,012 from the E.H.G., and in 1919 only a third of the total mileage of the city's streets had electric mains. In 1929 electricity was in use principally on main roads and new housing estates; there were then still 6,659 gas lamps and only 486 electric ones. In 1952 a nine-year programme for the conversion of the remaining 4,500 gas lamps was begun, and only 200 remained in 1961. (fn. 149)

Street Cleansing and Refuse Disposal

By the 15th century it was the custom for householders to cleanse the streets in front of their property on Saturdays, (fn. 150) and to put out filth and rubbish to be collected in the common cart. A cart for this purpose was provided in 1456, and again in 1481 when it was to go round three days a week; from at least 1457 the rubbish was dumped in the Tilery, outside the walls. The carter's salary in 1481 was to be met from an assessment on householders. (fn. 151) In 1559 access to the Tilery across the town ditch was provided to prevent butchers and glovers from dumping their offal and rubbish at the South End, (fn. 152) and dumping in the River Hull was also frequently prohibited. (fn. 153) During a visitation of the plague in 1575, however, rubbish was deliberately thrown into the Humber. (fn. 154) The order for Saturday cleansing was still among the town's ordinances in 1566. (fn. 155) In 1602 a postern was opened to enable householders to carry their own filth and rubbish to the Tilery, and in 1590 the corporation arranged for it to be removed from there once a year. (fn. 156) Among the places cleansed at the expense of the corporation were Market Place and the common staiths. (fn. 157)

The order for Saturday cleansing was reaffirmed on several occasions in the 17th century. (fn. 158) In 1629 it was necessary to appoint a scavenger to remove from the streets on Mondays rubbish which householders had failed to remove on the Saturday; his fee was intended to be met from the fines on defaulters. Householders were expected to take their rubbish to three places—the 'foul' South End, the Tilery, and ground outside the walls near North Bridge. (fn. 159) Special measures were taken after an outbreak of the plague in 1638: filth and rubbish from infected houses were again thrown into the Humber, a scavenger was appointed for each ward, two 'vaults' were made to receive gutter water and filth, and special arrangements were made for a certain street to be cleansed because there were no householders left to do it. (fn. 160) In 1645 the dumping places were changed: South End was forbidden to be used, and the three were the Tilery, Butcroft (outside Hessle Gate), and 'Town Walls' (perhaps the ground near North Bridge). (fn. 161) When the Saturday cleansing order was reaffirmed in 1651, however, the rubbish was ordered to be taken once more to the 'foul' South End. (fn. 162) A reference in 1677 to the shipment of goods at the 'clean' South End (fn. 163) suggests that only one section of the foreshore here may have been set apart for dumping. (fn. 164)

A convenient place for dumping was being sought in 1659, and specified, but unnamed, yards outside Beverley and Myton Gates were ordered to be used in 1663. (fn. 165) Widow Herring was appointed common scavenger in 1662, and the scavenger's duties were revived, after apparent neglect, in 1696. (fn. 166) A scavenger appointed in 1698 was to receive £20 a year; he was to keep a cart and a sledge for the removal of rubbish from buildings which the corporation was erecting or repairing, to see that householders cleansed the streets (except Market Place) and carried away all their rubbish, and to cleanse the common staiths himself. (fn. 167) A new scavenger was appointed in 1705 at a salary of £12 and was forbidden to do any other carrying work. (fn. 168) The 'foul' South End was appointed as the dumping place in 1737 and 1748, and on the latter occasion new orders were drawn up for the scavenger: they included the cleansing of the common staiths, and the inspection of the streets so that, when they were dirty, notice could be given for householders to cleanse them; his salary was now only £4, but he was permitted to act as corporation carter at the 'customary rates'. (fn. 169) The responsibility of occupiers to cleanse in front of their houses was confirmed by the Act of 1755, (fn. 170) which also named the places to be cleansed by the corporation. (fn. 171) In 1762 the corporation was authorized to collect rates to pay scavengers who would cleanse the streets once a week. (fn. 172) When assessors were appointed in 1764 to raise the money, cleansing was ordered to be twiceweekly from 1 October to 1 May. (fn. 173) The assessors received, apart from the rates, £28 a year from the corporation and £12 from the market-keeper, the Acts having stipulated that the rates should not be used for streets customarily cleansed by the corporation; a place outside North Gate and the 'foul' South End were agreed upon for dumping grounds. (fn. 174)

In 1801 and 1810 respectively the newlyappointed commissioners for Sculcoates and for Hull and Myton assumed responsibility for cleansing. In Hull and Myton their scavengers were to cleanse the streets twice a week. (fn. 175) In Hull, however, the assessors were to continue raising the rates, and it seems that they in fact also continued to supervise the work. (fn. 176) Their appointment, for the Old Town, carried full responsibility once more after 1840. (fn. 177) The corporation then agreed to pay them £35 a year for the places usually cleansed at the town's expense, and they were to have all streets cleansed three times a week. In 1851 the corporation, as the local board, took over the responsibility for street cleansing throughout the borough. (fn. 178)

The collection of night-soil was in 1850 the livelihood of more than 400 people; privies and ashbins were emptied every second day, if not daily, and the soil taken to 'muck garths' for disposal to farmers. (fn. 179) In 1865 eighteen contractors collected about 100 tons a day. (fn. 180) In 1882 privies were emptied weekly and the soil was taken to two dumps, in Hedon Road and Sculcoates Lane, but these had been closed by 1884. (fn. 181) Much household refuse had until this time been used to fill in old brickfields, but this ended with the erection of a destructor in Chapman Street in 1882. (fn. 182)

Drainage and Sewage Disposal

The open sewers which ran through the town in the Middle Ages were no doubt designed largely to carry away surface water, rather than to accommodate household and other refuse. (fn. 183) The main outfall of the sewerage system seems to have been at the South End; the outlet was known as the Mamhole, (fn. 184) and it passed through the town walls at Mamhole Gate. (fn. 185) The Mamhole is first mentioned in 1353–4 (fn. 186) and thereafter it is constantly recorded as being cleansed and repaired at the town's charge. (fn. 187) Timber piles were maintained around the outside of the hole; in 1467, for example, the Mamhole was ordered to be newly piled and dressed 'to defend the water of Humber in support of the haven'. (fn. 188) This suggests that rubbish passing through the Mamhole, as well as that dumped at the 'foul' South End, (fn. 189) was not allowed to accumulate in the Humber close to the town; the existence of a jetty at the Mamhole (fn. 190) may further indicate that rubbish was carried off by boat to be dumped.

Although the sewers were cleansed largely at the town's expense, special measures might occasionally be taken to get the work done. In 1460, for example, all householders were ordered to provide a man to work at the Mamhole. (fn. 191) On other occasions propertyowners, besides the town council, may have contributed to the cost; this may have been the case in 1482 when sewers 188½ 'cords' in length were ordered to be cleansed by three men on behalf of the town, the Duke of Suffolk, and various other individuals. (fn. 192) By the 16th century, if not earlier, at least some occupiers had a responsibility to cleanse adjoining sewers: a lease of ground near and over a sewer at the South End in 1596, for example, carried a duty to cleanse the sewer and fence it off from the street. (fn. 193) In 1579 it was ordered that only clean water should be allowed into the streets, and in the following year householders with 'gulleys' to carry water from their houses were instructed to make 'grates' in the street. (fn. 194) In the 16th century gutters are mentioned alongside Market Place and Whitefriargate, (fn. 195) but they probably already existed in other streets as they certainly did in the early 17th century. (fn. 196) Some smaller streets were unpaved and gutterless until later in the century: these improvements were being considered for Bowlalley Lane, for example, in 1690. (fn. 197)

The sewers frequently attracted the corporation's attention in the second quarter of the 17th century, (fn. 198) and it was apparently at about this time that they began to be carried underground. Thus two 'vaults' were made—near the Manor and in Whitefriargate —in 1638, and another vault led to the haven along Grimsby Lane in 1642. (fn. 199) In 1661–2 at least two open sewers were being encroached upon by adjoining property-owners, (fn. 200) and in 1669 two more sewers were ordered to be vaulted. (fn. 201) One of the duties of the scavenger in 1748 was to keep open all 'trunks' and grates by which water passed to the haven and sewers. (fn. 202) Several of the sewers ran into the town ditch, rather than directly into the Hull or the Humber, and in the late 17th and 18th centuries the overgrown state of the ditch frequently caused concern. (fn. 203) An order of 1763 that the water from all streets should be carried into the river (fn. 204) was presumably designed to relieve the ditch. An inspection of the sewers in 1764 revealed that the ditch was so silted up that some of the sewers were no longer able to discharge into it; means were suggested of letting in either the tides or fresh water from the waterworks. (fn. 205)

The construction of the docks around the Old Town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries provided a source of water which was subsequently used to flush the town's sewers. A new sewer was built in 1816–17 from Queen's Dock along Market Place to the Ferry Boat Dock, and work was in progress in 1818 to enable it to be flushed from the dock. (fn. 206) Sewage was apparently not, however, discharged into the docks, and it was the diversion by the Dock Company of the old drain from Posterngate which held up water in that part of the town in 1825. (fn. 207) By 1850 it was possible to say that 'of late years' the main sewerage of the Old Town had been much improved, though many of the courts and alleys had only open channels; the 90 acres within the line of the docks were served by 10,000 yards of sewers, with a principal outfall into the Humber at Ferry Boat Dock and six smaller ones into the River Hull. (fn. 208) In Myton the commissioners appointed in 1810 (fn. 209) were empowered to raise rates for sewerage, and in the three or four years before 1850 they considerably improved the old sewers and drained all their streets; 870 acres were served by 30,000 yards of drains, with two outfalls into the Humber. (fn. 210) The commissioners appointed for Sculcoates in 1801 (fn. 211) had similar powers, but privatelybuilt sewers in many streets led to an inco-ordinated system here and the high-level agricultural 'drains' from the surrounding countryside were an added complication to the construction of local drains; 960 acres were served by 21,000 yards of sewers in 1855, and there were three outfalls into the River Hull and two into the Barmston Drain. On the east side of the river drainage was still largely by open ditches, some of them emptying into the Sutton Drain. (fn. 212)

New main drainage was provided in the East District in the 1850s, but in 1860 there were 5,300 yards of old covered sewers and 1,500 yards of old open ones still in use, as well as 6,000 yards of new sewers; over one-third of the houses still drained into the Sutton Drain. (fn. 213) New main drainage for part of the West District (i.e. Sculcoates and Myton) was provided in the 1860s, with a main outfall at Dairycoates. (fn. 214) A new outfall was built nearby for the Newington area in the 1870s and linking sewers for the West District were completed in 1877; sewage from Cottingham was also discharged into it. (fn. 215) One significant improvement to the drainage of the Old Town was the construction, authorized in 1880, of new sewers to divert the main outfall from the Ferry Boat Dock to a point near the east end of Humber Street. (fn. 216)

Until this time drainage throughout the town had been discharged into the Humber through gravity outfalls. The low-lying nature of most of the area involved the daily storage of sewage in the sewers while the outfalls were tide-locked. Towards the end of the century, however, engines were installed to enable discharge to take place during high tides. The district of the Newington Local Board was taken into the city in 1882, together with the Newland area of Cottingham, and the corporation was authorized to build a pumping station at the outfall. (fn. 217) The engines had been installed by 1884, (fn. 218) serving both the Dairycoates and Newington outfalls. In the East District some new main sewers were laid in the 1880s and 1890s, and a new outfall was built at the east end of Alexandra Dock. (fn. 219) There had previously been outfalls near Victoria Dock and opposite the gaol. (fn. 220) At Alexandra Dock a pumping station was completed at the new outfall in 1897. (fn. 221) A new gravity outfall was also built at about this time when the Sculcoates R.D.C. laid a main sewer in or soon after 1895 to serve Anlaby, Hessle, Kirk Ella, and Willerby. (fn. 222) It also served parts of west Hull, and a section of the sewer, including the outfall, later lay within the extended city boundary.

The flat nature of the area set a limit to the extension of sewers away from the various outfalls, and subsidiary pumping stations inland were needed to drain the new housing estates built after the First World War. Improvements were delayed by the Second World War, but in 1950 work began on a joint drainage scheme for west Hull and Haltemprice Urban District, involving the provision of new trunk sewers, an outfall sewer, and a pumping station. The Humberside pumping station was opened in 1957, adjoining the old West District station and replacing both it and the Sculcoates R.D.C. outfall, (fn. 223) and the joint scheme was completed in 1961. The trunk sewers were also designed to intercept some of the agricultural drains near the city boundary so that these could be abandoned and filled in. Only the Beverley and Barmston Drain and parts of the Setting Dike and the Cottingham Drain are to remain open. In 1965 this work was still in progress. (fn. 224)

Extensive works were also begun in east Hull after the Second World War. New outfall and trunk sewers were built in 1945–9, and a new pumping station, close to the old one, was opened in 1950. (fn. 225) In 1964 work was started on a sewage disposal works near the River Hull to serve new housing areas in Sutton. (fn. 226) As in west Hull the agricultural drains were gradually being abandoned and filled in; only the Foredike Stream and the Holderness Drain will remain open. (fn. 227)

Police Service

Until 1800 the policing of the town was carried out by a handful of constables: in 1701, for example, two were appointed for each of the six wards, and one for Myton. (fn. 228) These men were later supplemented by watchmen appointed by the improvement commissioners, a procedure authorized in 1801 for Sculcoates and 1810 for Hull and Myton. (fn. 229) In 1833 there were 44 regular constables, and 72 watchmen in Hull and Myton alone. (fn. 230) The commissioners were to provide watch-houses, and in 1829 a lock-up for Hull and Myton was established in the former house of correction in Fetter Lane. (fn. 231) The keeper of the lock-up was dispensed with in 1836 when a unified police force was established. (fn. 232)

At its foundation the force consisted of a superintendent, 4 inspectors, 3 acting inspectors, 9 sergeants, and 77 constables. (fn. 233) In 1850 there were 130 constables, (fn. 234) and in 1866 152 officers and men. (fn. 235) The first police stations were in Blanket Row and Jarratt Street, but in 1852 the corporation acquired the former workhouse, Charity Hall, for a new station, with its entrance in Parliament Street; part of the building was used for quarters for about 60 policemen. A new central station, without such living quarters, was built near by in Alfred Gelder Street in 1904. (fn. 236) The strength of the force in 1936 was 485. (fn. 237) A new headquarters building was erected in Queen's Gardens and opened in 1959. By 1963 the force had a strength of 617. (fn. 238)

Fire Service

The provision of fire-fighting equipment by the corporation is mentioned as early as 1585, and in 1630 the bench laid down the number of buckets, spades, and shovels to be provided by different classes of inhabitants. In 1680 ladders were added, at the town's charge, and thereafter orders were periodically made for equipment to be bought by the corporation, by individual aldermen, or by the parishes. (fn. 239) The first 'engine for casting water' had been bought by the corporation in 1673. It was kept in Holy Trinity Church and was operated, in 1694, by the weigh-house porters and meters. (fn. 240) A new engine was bought in 1706 and the purchase of another from Amsterdam was under consideration in 1715. (fn. 241)

Rewards were paid to men who assisted at fires, and in 1736 a man was enfranchized for his help with the engines, to encourage others to do likewise. (fn. 242) In 1743 thirteen men were appointed to exercise the engines once every two months, each to receive 2s. 6d. a time, and to play them at fires (fn. 243) —the first indication of a fire 'brigade'. A 'little' engine is mentioned in 1744, and two 'great' engines in 1745—one kept at Holy Trinity Church and the other at the weigh-house. (fn. 244) Fire insurance is first mentioned in 1747, when charity properties were involved, and corporation houses were ordered to be insured in 1775. (fn. 245) Orders for men to be appointed to work the engines in 1777 and 1784 (fn. 246) suggest that the earlier brigade had ceased to exist. And labourers and soldiers continued to be rewarded for their help at fires. (fn. 247)

Responsibility for providing fire-engines was given to the Sculcoates commissioners in 1801 and to the Hull and Myton commissioners in 1810. (fn. 248) Engines were certainly provided in Sculcoates, (fn. 249) but the corporation's equipment may have served Myton. The corporation in 1810 considered threatening to withdraw its engines from service if the insurance offices would not agree to contribute towards the expenses. In 1811, however, it was fixing fire-plugs at various points, and a new engine was bought in 1826. (fn. 250) In 1831 there were twelve engines stationed at different places in the town. (fn. 251) By 1850 the corporation appears to have taken no part in providing engines: the Dock Company, the Yorkshire Fire Insurance Company, and the Guardian Insurance Company each then had an engine, and the district of Sculcoates had two. Some fires were fought without engines, with water being taken direct from the mains. There was then no brigade and all the engines were worked by volunteers. (fn. 252) By 1866 fire-fighting was one of the functions of the police force; there were then no engines, and hoses were supplied direct from the mains. (fn. 253)

A separate fire brigade, of nine men, was formed within the police force in 1886, and Sculcoates Hall, in Worship Street, was acquired for the station. A steam fire-engine had been bought two years earlier. In 1887 there were still, in addition, fire appliances in each of the town's four police stations. Also in 1887 a volunteer brigade was formed but it lasted only until 1891. The regular brigade's strength was increased to 34 in 1896, and in 1899 protection was extended to Sutton for a fee of £10 a year. A new central station was built, on the site of the old, in 1927. (fn. 254) The strength of the force in 1931 was 50. (fn. 255)

The recruitment of a professional brigade began in 1938, and it became part of the National Fire Service in 1941. The brigade was in 1948 returned to the corporation's control, and its strength was then 213. (fn. 256) The Auxiliary Fire Service, which had existed during the war, was revived in the same year. The Hull brigade assumed full responsibility for Haltemprice Urban District and Salt End and temporarily undertook to deal with fire calls and emergency special services in part of Holderness Rural District. (fn. 257)

Public Transport

The first attempt to control the provision of public transport facilities within the town was made in 1783. All wheeled carriages and sedan chairs were ordered to be licensed by the corporation, and the fares of hackney coachmen, chairmen, carmen, carters, and porters were to be fixed in Quarter Sessions. (fn. 258) A similar responsibility was given to the Sculcoates commissioners in 1801. (fn. 259) Sedan chairs were provided in Sculcoates in 1809 when a subscription was begun for the purpose, and in January 1810 there were 62 subscribers, entitled to use two chairs. (fn. 260) The licensing of hackney carriage-men and porters was again ordered in 1840. (fn. 261) The corporation hackney carriage committee and, after 1916, watch committee have continued to license privatelyoperated public transport vehicles.

Horse tramways were first built in the town in the years following 1872, when the Continental and General Tramway Company, of London, was empowered to lay double lines on certain routes. (fn. 262) Only a part of these lines, amounting to 1½ mile, had been laid by 1875; (fn. 263) the Hull Street Tramway Company was then incorporated and authorized to buy the old undertaking. Any other lines that it constructed were to be single. (fn. 264) The existing lines were taken over by the H.S.T. late in 1876, (fn. 265) and in 1877 the C.G.T. was given power to make additional lines and to transfer them subsequently to the H.S.T. (fn. 266) In all, 9 miles of horse tramway were built on six routes. The line on Beverley Road was opened early in 1875; that on Spring Bank late in 1876; that on Hessle Road early in 1877; and those on Holderness Road, on Anlaby Road, and through the Old Town to Victoria Pier by August 1877. (fn. 267)

Steam trams were introduced by the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramway Company, which was authorized in 1886 to build a single-track line along Hedon Road and two short stretches in Drypool. (fn. 268) In 1890 the D.M.S.T. was empowered to buy the Holderness Road line of the H.S.T., (fn. 269) but it does not seem to have done so; in 1892 it was in fact empowered to sell part of its own track to the corporation and abandon the rest, (fn. 270) though it was seven years before this take-over took place.

The H.S.T. employed 30 tramcars and 140 horses on its lines, and the D.M.S.T. had 8 engines and 8 cars. (fn. 271) The services of the H.S.T., however, were inefficiently run and the company was unable to raise the money needed for repairs to tracks and roadways. (fn. 272) Moreover, a waggonette company was established in the eighties and at one time there were said to be about 500 waggonettes competing with the trams. (fn. 273) Both types of vehicle were allegedly prone to accidents (fn. 274) and the municipalization of public transport was frequently suggested. Eventually, in 1895, the H.S.T. was bought by the corporation, (fn. 275) which was authorized to run the tramways itself if it wished. (fn. 276) For an interim period, however, they were run by lessees. (fn. 277) In 1899 the corporation also bought the D.M.S.T. (fn. 278)

In 1897 it was decided to electrify the horse tramways, (fn. 279) and between mid-1899 and the end of 1900 the corporation is said to have prepared 11 miles of double track, with 65 cars. (fn. 280) The Hessle Road, Anlaby Road, Holderness Road, Beverley Road, and Spring Bank lines were all opened by the end of 1900, and that in the Old Town by late 1903. The steam-tram route on Hedon Road was not replaced until the end of the latter year. (fn. 281) Between 1900 and 1915 the corporation was five times authorized to lay new lines. (fn. 282) Power was provided by a generating station in Osborne Street. (fn. 283) There were depots at Wheeler Street, Liverpool Street, Aberdeen Street, and near Alexandra Dock. (fn. 284)

The corporation first introduced motor buses in 1909, with a service from New Cleveland Street (near North Bridge) to Stoneferry Green. They lasted only until 1913. (fn. 285) A service was next provided in 1921, running from Jameson Street to Stoneferry Green, and additional routes were operated during the twenties. (fn. 286) A coach station and central garage were opened in Ferensway in 1935. (fn. 287) In the meantime extensions to the tramways had been authorized in 1924 and 1926, (fn. 288) and a new depot was built in Cottingham Road. By 1927 there were 180 cars on 21 miles of lines. (fn. 289) In 1934, however, some tram routes were shortened after an agreement had been made to co-ordinate corporation tram and bus services with those of the East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd. (fn. 290)

In addition to its motor bus and tram services, the corporation was authorized in 1936 to operate trolley buses on ten routes, (fn. 291) and the tram route along Chanterlands Avenue was converted in 1937. The last trams ran in 1945, when the Hessle Road route was converted. (fn. 292) The trolley buses were operated from the old Liverpool Street tram depot. (fn. 293) In 1957 there were 763 motor buses in operation as against 89 trolley buses. (fn. 294) The mobility of the trolley buses was limited by their overhead cables, and their replacement began in 1961; it was completed in 1964. (fn. 295)

Cemeteries

The churchyards of Holy Trinity and St. Mary's, Hull, and those of Drypool and Sculcoates were all closed in 1855, together with St. Mary's burial ground in Trippett. The burial ground of Holy Trinity in Castle Street was closed in 1861, but a new ground, in Hessle Road, was opened in 1862. The burial grounds of Drypool, in Hedon Road, and of Sculcoates, in Sculcoates Lane, remained in use, and Marfleet and Sutton retained their churchyards. (fn. 296) From the middle of the century, therefore, the town made increasing demands on non-parochial cemeteries.

The Hull General Cemetery Company was established in 1846 (fn. 297) and opened its cemetery in Spring Bank in the following year. (fn. 298) The company was incorporated in 1854 and given powers to extend the cemetery. (fn. 299) In accordance with an agreement reached in 1859, the company set off 5 a. at the west end of the cemetery for the use of the local board of health, and in 1862 the board bought this land. (fn. 300) In 1866 the whole cemetery covered about 20 a. (fn. 301) The company was still in existence in 1965.

The local board ground, Western Cemetery, was extended by the acquisition in 1886, and opening in 1889, of 27 a. lying to the west of the original plot. (fn. 302) A second cemetery, in Hedon Road, was acquired by the board in 1873 and covered 15 a. (fn. 303) An additional 8 a., lying to the north-east, were acquired in 1894, (fn. 304) and on part of this extension a crematorium was built and opened in 1901. (fn. 305) In 1907 the corporation acquired 70 a. for the Northern Cemetery in Chanterlands Avenue, and about 12 a. were opened for burials in 1915. (fn. 306) In 1929 59 a. were acquired for the Eastern Cemetery in Preston Road, and part of this ground was opened in 1931. (fn. 307) In 1961 a new crematorium, in Chanterlands Avenue, was opened to replace that at Hedon Road. (fn. 308)

Baths

At least three baths were in use in Hull in the early 19th century: in Bond Street, (fn. 309) in Dock Street, (fn. 310) and on the bank of the Humber. The last of these stood at a point later called Bath Place and now covered by railway yards. The Humber baths were built shortly before 1805, when there were separate cold, warm, and swimming baths. In 1831 there were two bathing establishments there, with hot, cold, tepid, and vapourized water. (fn. 311) In 1844 the Hull Public Bath Company was formed and it constructed baths in the same locality, (fn. 312) perhaps replacing the old ones. The company's baths had been closed for some years before the ground was bought by the corporation in 1866. (fn. 313)

The corporation first decided to provide baths in 1799. (fn. 314) They were to be at the waterworks, but it is not known whether the plan was in fact carried out. When, however, the new waterworks were built at Stoneferry in 1845, baths were certainly included. Although extensively used, the baths were distant from the town and in 1850 the corporation built new ones in Trippett Street, designed by David Thorp. These included individual baths for men and women, vapour baths, a women's plunge bath, a men's swimming bath, and a laundry. (fn. 315) They were closed in 1903 (fn. 316) and the building was later used as a telephone exchange. The building, which still stands, is nine bays long and incorporates red and cream brick as well as stone. (fn. 317) The centre and two end bays break forward and contain the entrances. There is a Doric order to the ground floor and an Ionic to the first floor, all linked by round-headed arcading in which the doors and windows are placed. On each of the end bays the shaped parapet has spiked ball finials. The most striking feature of the building is its tall 'campanile', designed to contain the chimney and air-extract flues; it terminates in a stonebracketed and modillion cornice and an arcaded parapet.

Baths were next opened in 1885, in Madeley Street, (fn. 318) and 1898, in Holderness Road (the East Hull baths). (fn. 319) The Beverley Road baths followed in 1905, with separate baths for men, women, and boys, (fn. 320) and in 1908 the Newington baths were opened in Albert Avenue, on the site of the former Newington Water Company's works. (fn. 321) All four included slipper baths; and all but those in Albert Avenue were covered baths. Electro-medical and vapour baths were added at Beverley Road in 1927, and covered baths were built at Albert Avenue in 1933. (fn. 322) The East Park Lido was opened in 1964. A pond in the park had been used for open-air swimming before the First World War, and a second, for girls, was added in the 1920s; both these fell out of use in 1949. (fn. 323) There are also two public wash-houses: in St. Paul's Street, together with slipper baths, opened in 1928, and in Hessle Road, opened in 1935. (fn. 324)

Parks and Gardens

The Botanic Gardens were opened in 1812, on a site of about 6 a. in Linnaeus Street; among those who took part in their establishment were P. W. Watson, the botanist (1761–1830), and A. H. Haworth, the entomologist and botanist (1767–1833), both born in Hull. (fn. 325) About 1880 the gardens were removed to a 49-acre site near Spring Bank, (fn. 326) where they remained until about 1890; Hymers College was built there in 1893. (fn. 327)

The Zoological Gardens, comprising about 7 a. in Spring Bank, were opened in 1840. For a period weekly galas were held there during the summer. The zoological collection was small. The gardens were closed about 1862 and built upon. (fn. 328)

The first corporation park was opened in Beverley Road in 1860. The then mayor, Z. C. Pearson, bought and presented to the local board 27 a. to be used as a public park, (fn. 329) and it has subsequently borne his name.

The 31-acre West Park, in Anlaby Road, was opened in 1885, and East Park, comprising 42 a. in Holderness Road, was opened in 1887. (fn. 330) In 1912 T. R. Ferens gave a site adjoining East Park for a boating lake, and this was opened in 1913. (fn. 331) The 50-acre Pickering Park, in Hessle Road, was presented to the corporation by Christopher Pickering and opened in 1911. (fn. 332)

The principal gardens in the city are those occupying the site of Queen's Dock, which was filled in during the 1930s. Queen's Gardens were laid out there and opened in 1935; they were remodelled in 1959–61 as part of the civic centre scheme. (fn. 333)

Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone Services

A postal service from London to Hull was established by 1635, and in the following year Thomas Witherings, His Majesty's Postmaster, was exhorting Hull Corporation to stop using the unofficial posts. (fn. 334) The first post office of which there is any record was that in Bishop Lane, replaced in 1831 by a house in Land of Green Ginger. A new office was built by Trinity House in Whitefriargate in 1843. (fn. 335) In 1877 the office was moved to Market Place, into a building designed by J. Williams, (fn. 336) and these were the first premises in Hull actually owned and maintained by the Post Office. (fn. 337) The present head office, on the corner of Lowgate and Alfred Gelder Street, was built in 1904–9, and major extensions were made in 1930 and 1952. (fn. 338)

The General Post Office is a three-storied building of ashlar masonry designed in a monumental Renaissance style, the front to Lowgate being reminiscent of the Opera House in Paris. (fn. 339) This elevation has a rusticated ground floor with roundheaded openings in deep cavetto reveals, with massive key-blocks boldly carved with human heads. Above it are two end pavilions flanking an Ionic colonnade of seven bays. First-floor windows are framed by Ionic pilasters and alternating triangular and segmental pediments. The pavilions are framed by paired Ionic columns and surmounted by segmental pediments. The cornice and partially balustraded parapet are continuous round the building. The elevation to Alfred Gelder Street is similar, but the end pavilions are of plainer design and there are only five bays to the central colonnade. The architect was W. Potts, of H.M. Office of Works. (fn. 340) A further five bays to the west and an arched opening are later work.

A telegraph service in Hull was first operated by a private company, and an office was situated in the corn exchange. This office was taken over by the Post Office in 1870. (fn. 341)

The first telephone exchange in Hull was converted by the Post Office from one of its existing telegraph offices about 1880. (fn. 342) The National Telephone Company opened a rival exchange in 1890, at first using premises in Bowlalley Lane and later buildings extending from Mytongate to Fish Street, including the Fish Street Congregational chapel, which it had acquired in 1898. (fn. 343) In 1895 the P.O. had only 52 subscribers, the N.T.C. 742. (fn. 344)

The corporation was licensed in 1902 to provide a telephone service, and in 1904 it opened an exchange in the former bath premises in Trippett Street. In 1911 the P.O. took over the N.T.C.'s system, but the corporation was permitted to retain its own service, provided that it bought the N.T.C.'s plant in the Hull area for the price that the P.O. had just paid. This in 1914 the corporation decided to do and since then, under licence and on payment of a royalty, it has provided the only municipal telephone service in the country. (fn. 345) The corporation offices were transferred to Mytongate in 1914 but both the Trippett Street and Mytongate exchanges continued in use. The Mytongate premises were damaged by bombing in 1941. The two central exchanges were in 1964 replaced by Telephone House, newly-built in Carr Lane. There were then 74,000 working telephones, and the area served covered 120 sq. mls., including Beverley, Brough, and Hedon. (fn. 346) Trunk and oversea calls are operated by the Post Office.

Telephone House, built in 1961–3, consists of three blocks, of three, four, and five stories. (fn. 347) The ground floor of the four-story Carr Lane block contains a series of shop units, as well as the public entrances to the building. The reinforced framework is exposed, and there are panels of green slate below the window sills, as well as buff-brickwork panels extending through the upper floors. The building was designed by the city architect, Andrew Rankine. (fn. 348)

Hospital Services and Homes

With the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948 the various hospitals serving the city came under the control of the Hull 'A' and 'B' Hospital Management Committees. The 'A' Group included the Hull Royal Infirmary (with the John Symons Home for Incurables), the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children, the Hull Hospital for Women (with the Townend Maternity Home), the Hull Maternity Hospital, and two former city institutions, renamed the Western General and Kingston General Hospitals. The 'B' Group included the De la Pole (mental) Hospital, the Castle Hill (infectious diseases) Hospital, the Castle Hill Sanatorium, and two institutions for the mentally defective, Tilworth Grange and Winestead Hall Hospitals. The following account also includes several hospitals which ceased to exist before 1948, or which were not taken into the Health Service.

Hull Royal Infirmary. The corporation agreed to make a gift towards an infirmary in 1777, but it was not until 1781 that a subscription was begun. (fn. 349) Late in 1782 the hospital was opened in a house in George Street, with 20 beds, and in 1784 it moved to a new building, erected on the Beverley road (now Prospect Street). This eventually accommodated 60–70 beds, though it was about 30 years before the whole building was complete; the cost was nearly £4,700. The Hull General Infirmary, as it was then called, was governed by a weekly board comprising the trustees, i.e. all subscribers of at least £2 2s. a year. The medical staff gave their services. Prominent among the early members was John Alderson, honorary physician from 1792 to 1829. His son, later Sir James Alderson, held the post from 1829 to 1844. (fn. 350) In 1811 two wards were used for patients transferred from the female penitentiary. Clinical lectures by the staff were said in 1821 to have been lately established, and in 1831 the Hull and East Riding School of Anatomy and Medicine was opened. (fn. 351)

The design for the building of 1784 was chosen by competition and was by George Pycock, of Hull. (fn. 352) His design differed little from that of the Manchester Infirmary, built thirty years earlier. The building was of brick with stone dressings, and was three stories high above a semi-basement. It was fifteen bays long with the three end and three central bays broken forward. The elevation terminated with a modillion cornice and central pediment. The central entrance was a tripartite composition, as were the windows to the first and second floors above it. The principal Georgian interiors still surviving are the entrance hall and the grand staircase. The front elevation was 'classicised', to designs prepared by H. F. Lockwood in 1840, to give it a more imposing appearance. The work was finished by 1842. The brickwork was rendered with Roman cement and a tetrastyle Greek Corinthian portico, with crowning pediment, was added. The ground floor was rusticated to form a base to an applied order of stone which rose through two stories to support a stone entablature. The arcaded base of the portico has segmental heads to the openings. Two attached columns were added to the recessed bays, and four antae to the end projecting bays. First-floor windows were given architraves and cornices, and second-floor windows were framed with architraves. The firstfloor tripartite window remains. Finally, Lockwood added new, recessed, north and south wings, without an applied order. Two backward projecting wings were added in the 1850s and 1860s. (fn. 353) By 1865 the hospital had 150 beds. (fn. 354)

The government of the infirmary was reorganized in 1861 when the unwieldy weekly board was replaced by a new board of eighteen laymen and the six honorary medical staff. The same year the Working Men's Committee was formed to contribute to hospital funds. (fn. 355)

The next extensions to the hospital took place in 1873. Fever cases had hitherto been accommodated in the main building, but in that year a separate fever block was built behind the infirmary and named after a benefactor, William Watt, of Bishop Burton. (fn. 356) With the help of a centenary fund, extensive alterations and additions to the main building were completed in 1885, according to designs by H. S. Snell & Son. The existing building was divided into three, linked by bridges, by the removal of the two end bays of the central block; the latter is the most important part of the earlier building to survive. To the north-west block was added a new wing, named after the brothers David, Charles, and Arthur Wilson. A similar extension to the south-east block was planned for a later date. Behind the main buildings, in Brook Street, an out-patients' department was built and named after William Bailey, of Winestead. In 1884 the hospital had been granted the title of the Hull Royal Infirmary. (fn. 357) The conversion of the fever block into a nurses' home was completed in 1888, (fn. 358) after a separate fever hospital had been built (see City Hospital).

Convalescent wards were provided in the hospital in 1868, (fn. 359) and in 1893 the Hull and East Riding Convalescent Home was opened at Withernsea in a former hotel given to the infirmary by Francis and Sir James Reckitt. (fn. 360) Between 1903 and 1906 further additions, designed by Thomas Worthington & Son, were made to the infirmary buildings. The projected south-east wing, now called the Victoria Wing, was opened in 1903, together with a smaller wing behind this block. A circular wing to the same block was opened in 1906, in the year of the hospital's royal charter; Sir James Reckitt gave £6,000 to build the wing and to obtain the charter. (fn. 361)

The charter of 1906 confirmed the hospital's constitution, and subsequently the only significant change in its financial arrangements was the introduction of a contributory scheme in 1930, in conjunction with the other Hull hospitals. (fn. 362) In 1909 the hospital received a bequest from John Symons for a home for the incurable sick poor, and this was opened, with ten beds, in two houses in Park Row in 1912. The home is considered to have been hampered by an inadequate endowment, which in 1953 comprised £25,417 stock. (fn. 363) At Withernsea an annexe to the convalescent home was opened in 1923 for the exclusive use of the infirmary, providing 30 beds. (fn. 364)

Although various alterations and additions had taken place since 1906, the constricted Prospect Street site hampered the hospital's development. In 1928 work began on a new branch hospital at Sutton, where Sir Philip Reckitt had given his house and 49 a. of grounds. The hospital, with 100 beds, was opened in 1931. (fn. 365) The old buildings provided 267 beds in 1939. (fn. 366) They were badly damaged during the air raids of 1941 but subsequently restored, and in 1948 there were 252 beds. (fn. 367) In 1963 there were 149 beds there and 208 at Sutton. (fn. 368)

The Chaplain's Trust Fund was established in 1867 for meeting the expenses of Church of England clergy visiting the sick poor. Its income in 1948 was £55 from £2,750 stock; £130 was paid to the Vicar of Holy Trinity and £35 to the Vicar of Sutton. (fn. 369)

Hull and Sculcoates Dispensary. A dispensary for the poor was established in High Street in 1814. (fn. 370) It moved to a new building in St. John Street in 1832, (fn. 371) and in that year the corporation began to make an annual contribution to its funds. (fn. 372) Until 1865 medical staff gave their services; then they were paid and the town was divided, for visiting purposes, between three surgeons. (fn. 373) In 1887 the dispensary moved to a new building in Baker Street, and it was still there in 1947. (fn. 374) It continued independently of the National Health Service until 1957 when its assets were converted into the Hull and Sculcoates Dispensary Aid Trust, to provide help for the sick poor. Those assets amounted to £77,471; they included, in addition to the Baker Street property, the former branch dispensary in Boulevard and the proceeds of the sale of the branch in Holderness Road. In 1964 the income was about £2,900. (fn. 375) Under the National Health Service the Baker Street building accommodates a mass radiography unit.

Eye and Ear Dispensary. A dispensary for diseases of the eye and the ear was opened by Dr. T. Buchanan at his Mytongate surgery in 1822. It seems to have ceased to function soon after 1840. (fn. 376)

Hull Homoeopathic Dispensary. In 1855 a homoeopathic dispensary was opened in Whitefriargate. In 1892 it moved to Story Street, and in 1907 to Percy Street. (fn. 377) It existed until at least 1939. (fn. 378)

Victoria Hospital for Sick Children. In 1873 a hospital for sick poor children, with 30 beds, was opened in a house in Story Street. An out-patients' department was opened at the hospital and another in Boulevard in 1876, and working men's collections are first mentioned in the same year, though the Working Men's Committee was not established until 1890. A convalescent home was begun in a house at Hornsea in 1885. In 1891 a new hospital building, designed by S. Musgrave, was opened in Park Street, accommodating 54 patients.

A new convalescent home at Hornsea, to take 24 children, was built and opened in 1908. A new outpatients' department was built in Park Street in 1925, and a nurses' home in 1933. The number of beds has constantly increased and in 1947 there were 150, as well as 41 at Hornsea. (fn. 379) In 1963 there were 110 beds. (fn. 380)

Hull Hospital for Women. The Hull, East Riding, and North Lincolnshire Orthopaedic Hospital was opened in Wright Street in 1887. In 1891 it was decided to treat also the 'diseases of women' and this became the Hull Hospital for Women and Orthopaedics. In 1928 'orthopaedics' was dropped from the title. A new hospital, with 26 beds, was built in Cottingham Road and opened in 1933. (fn. 381) The adjoining Townend Maternity Home was built and opened in 1938, by the benevolence of Ethel M. Townend; (fn. 382) in 1963 it had 17 beds. (fn. 383)

Kingston General Hospital. The Beverley Road Institution (formerly the Sculcoates workhouse) was, after 1948, renamed the Kingston General Hospital. There had been accommodation for over 900 old people in 1939; (fn. 384) in 1948 the hospital had 310 beds. (fn. 385) Able-bodied old people were no longer accommodated after 1955, as a result of the provision by the corporation of the Kingston Homes in various parts of the city. (fn. 386) Extensive reconstruction of the hospital buildings has since taken place. In 1963 there were 464 beds. (fn. 387)

Western General Hospital. The Anlaby Road Institution (formerly the Hull workhouse) was, after 1948, renamed the Western General Hospital. There had been accommodation for over 900 old people in 1939; (fn. 388) in 1948 the hospital had 360 beds, (fn. 389) and in 1963 298. (fn. 390) In 1963 work was begun on a new hospital to replace most of the old buildings on the site. (fn. 391) It was subsequently decided that this should assume the title of the Hull Royal Infirmary and should replace the infirmary buildings in Prospect Street. It was also to absorb the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children.

The new buildings, which were completed in 1966, are dominated by a 14-story ward and administrative block. (fn. 392) The other buildings consist of a treatment wing, nurses' home, training block, and boiler-house complex; the architects are Yorke, Rosenberg, and Mardall. The ward block has an exposed reinforced concrete framework on its long elevations, with projecting vertical members rising through the full height of the building; the end walls are plain. This block and the attached treatment wing are covered with grey Spanish mosaic, other buildings with concrete facing-blocks; the boilerhouse complex is in undressed concrete. (fn. 393)

Hull Maternity Hospital. After the City Hospital moved to Cottingham, its buildings on Hedon Road were in 1929 converted for use as a maternity hospital. In 1948 there were 120 beds. (fn. 394) The hospital was later modernized but still had about the same accommodation in 1963. (fn. 395)

Before the establishment of the maternity hospital, the corporation's health work had already included a midwifery service. In 1926 this service took over the responsibilities of an old-established institution, the Lying-in Charity. (fn. 396) This had been founded in 1802 to provide food, clothing, and attention during the confinement of poor married women, and it was supported by voluntary subscription. (fn. 397)

Hull Lunatic Asylum (later the De la Pole Hospital). A private asylum was established in Boteler Street (now Gibson Street) in 1814 by Dr. John Alderson and a surgeon, Mr. Ellis. In 1823 it accommodated 80 to 90 patients. (fn. 398) About 1825 the proprietors took over, for female patients, an asylum at Summergangs Hall, in Holderness Road; this had been a private retreat since 1798, and in 1823 had come under the management of Dr. J. Ayre. (fn. 399) Both these establishments were replaced c. 1838, when new premises were built in Asylum Lane (later Argyle Street). The new building remained a private asylum until 1849, when it was taken over by the corporation as the borough asylum for paupers. (fn. 400) In 1876 it held 151 patients. (fn. 401) The 74-acre De la Pole Farm, near Cottingham, was acquired in 1880 and a new asylum, designed by Smith and Brodrick, was opened there in 1883. The old building was demolished between 1892 and 1898. (fn. 402) In 1884 there were 213 patients and the number steadily increased; in 1915 there were 734. (fn. 403) A nurses' home was built in 1934 and an admission block in 1937. By 1948 there were 1,115 beds. (fn. 404)

City Hospital (later the Castle Hill Hospital). A hospital for infectious diseases was built in Hedon Road in 1885. (fn. 405) It moved to Cottingham, into newlyerected buildings, in 1928. There were 263 beds in 1948 (fn. 406) and 160 in 1963. (fn. 407)

Evan Fraser Hospital. A smallpox hospital was built at Sutton in 1899 to replace the Garrison Hospital. (fn. 408) There were 150 beds in 1930. (fn. 409) Its work was eventually taken over by the new City Hospital. (fn. 410)

Garrison Hospital. A smallpox hospital in South Bridge Road, on the Citadel foreshore, (fn. 411) was built in 1866; it then had 21 beds but in 1881 it was enlarged to contain 46 beds. (fn. 412) It was replaced by the Evan Fraser Hospital in 1899. Cases of infectious diseases occurring on board ship were at this period confined in a converted hulk moored in the Humber. (fn. 413)

Hull Sanatorium (later the Castle Hill Sanatorium). A sanatorium at Cottingham was built in 1916. There were 158 beds in 1948 (fn. 414) and 212 in 1963. (fn. 415)

Hull Tuberculosis After-Care Colony. A sanatorium at Walkington was established in 1919. It did not become part of the National Health Service in 1948, when there were 24 beds, and it was closed in 1953. Most of the institution's income was subsequently given to the Hull T.B. After-Care Committee, founded in 1915. (fn. 416)

Tilworth Grange Hospital. An institution for female mentally defective persons was opened in Salts House Road, Sutton, in 1921. (fn. 417) There were 150 beds in 1948. (fn. 418)

Winestead Hall Hospital (the 'Colony'). An institution for male mentally defective persons was built at Winestead in 1939. There were 130 beds in 1948 and 175 in 1963. (fn. 419)

The following are some of the homes and institutions which have existed in the city:

Hope House. The Hull, East Riding, and North Lincolnshire Female Penitentiary was established in Anlaby Road in 1811. It closed for lack of funds in 1825, (fn. 420) but was revived in 1837. There was accommodation for 36 women in 1866. (fn. 421) The institution was subsequently renamed Hope House Rescue Home for Girls. It was closed in 1937 and the proceeds from the sale of its building and endowments were divided between the Hull Royal Infirmary and the Hull and Sculcoates Dispensary. (fn. 422)

Institute for the Blind. A Hull blind institution, with a workshop, was founded in 1864, and in 1870 it moved into the former medical school in Kingston Square. A home for blind women was opened there in 1889. Additional workshops and a new women's home, the latter in Charles Street, were provided in 1893 and 1899 respectively. (fn. 423) After 'East Riding' had been added to the institution's name, the home was in 1920 transferred to a house in Beverley Road, and new workshops were built there. A second home was later opened in Beverley. (fn. 424)

Institute for the Deaf. A deaf and dumb institution existed in High Street from 1853 to 1866. (fn. 425) The Hull, East Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was founded, in Spring Bank, in 1870; there were 18 boarders in 1889. (fn. 426) A new building was erected in Spring Bank and opened in 1926. 'Lincolnshire' was dropped from the name some time after 1930 and 'Dumb' in 1957. The Ernest Wray Hostel for the Deaf, in Beverley Road, was founded in 1946. (fn. 427)

Kingston Homes. The corporation Welfare Services Committee (established in 1948) has provided old people's homes in various parts of the city, under the general title of 'The Kingston Homes'. The first of these was Dunbar House, Salts House Road (1951); 14 others had been opened by 1959, and 8 more were built in the 1960s. (fn. 428)

Newington Home for Girls. The Hull Temporary Home for Fallen Women was opened in Nile Street in 1861, and enlarged in 1864 to accommodate about 50 women. (fn. 429) In 1900 Alfred Mayfield gave a house in Evans Square for the home and it remained there until 1939, when it was closed for lack of funds. The proceeds from its sale were divided between the Hull Royal Infirmary and the Hull and Sculcoates Dispensary. (fn. 430)

Newland Orphan Homes. The Port of Hull Society for the Religious Instruction of Seamen, founded in 1821, established an orphan institution in 1838. Its first orphan home was opened in Castle Row in 1863, accommodating 26 children in 1866. Another house, in Spencer Street, was later given to the society. In 1867 a home was opened in Park Street, and it was extended in 1868–9. The architect was William Botterill and the sculpture in the central pediment was by W. D. Keyworth. The first two houses to be built on the society's Newland estate in Cottingham Road were opened in 1895. (fn. 431) By 1930 there was accommodation for about 250 children, (fn. 432) and 108 were living there in 1960. (fn. 433) In 1950 the Port of Hull Society's Sailors' Orphan Homes was renamed the Sailors' Children's Society. (fn. 434)

Pickering Home for Girls. A home for orphans and deserted girls was built in Hessle Road by the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society in 1914; the cost was met by Christopher Pickering. (fn. 435) There was accommodation for 40 girls in 1930. (fn. 436)

Seamen's and General Orphanage. The Mariners' Church Society, established shortly before 1828, (fn. 437) founded its Sailors' Orphan Society about 1855. The Hull Seamen's and General Orphan Asylum was built in Spring Bank in 1865–6, largely at the cost of John Torr, of Liverpool. It was a 4-story building, designed by T. H. Wyatt, of London, and accommodating 100 children. (fn. 438) It was extended in 1876 and 1881, doubling the accommodation, and again in 1885. (fn. 439) The home was moved to Hesslewood, a mansion near Hessle, in 1921; there were 61 children there in 1961. (fn. 440)

Sheltering Home for Girls. The Hull and East Riding Sheltering Home was established by 1888, in Mason Street. By 1904 it was in Peel Street and by 1926 in Beverley Road. (fn. 441) It served those needing temporary protection, shelter, and advice. The home was sold in 1959 but a house in Fountain Street was bought for the purpose in 1964. (fn. 442)