SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS (fn. 1)

Theatres

The travelling players and other performers recorded in Hull as early as the 16th century were probably accommodated in private houses. (fn. 2) A theatre is said to have existed in Whitefriargate at the end of that century, but no contemporary references to it have been found (fn. 3) and the first definite record of a theatre is in the early 18th century. By 1743 the New Theatre in Lowgate was included in the circuit of the independent stage company of Thomas Keregan, but the date of its erection is unknown. (fn. 4) In 1768 Tate Wilkinson, then manager of the company, built a new theatre in Finkle Street, (fn. 5) and after the granting of a royal patent in 1769 this became the Theatre Royal. (fn. 6) The site of the Lowgate theatre was subsequently occupied by the George Yard Methodist chapel.

The Theatre Royal is said to have had a 'piazza' at the front and separate entrances for each section of the house. Inside, the walls were lined with boxes, fenced off from the pit, and linked by a gallery. (fn. 7) The seasons lasted from October to January and were the second longest of the circuit. (fn. 8) Wilkinson eschewed a summer season in Hull, finding that families which patronized the theatre left the town then and that 'seafaring persons, who are keen supporters are abroad'. (fn. 9) Pantomimes were a singular feature of the season. They were frequently enlivened by local allusions, as in 1782 when the stage represented Market Place and an actor vaulted over King William's statue. (fn. 10)

The company was drawn mainly from the locality and relied on local connexions for patronage. John Kemble and Dorothy Jordan began their careers in it. (fn. 11) Wilkinson was occasionally able to persuade 'stars' from London to play short seasons on the circuit. In 1786 Mrs. Siddons appeared in Hull for a week, but the cost of promoting her season was so great that from the gross receipts of £450 a profit of only £130 was realized. (fn. 12)

In 1803 John Wilkinson succeeded his father as manager and was soon in financial difficulty. (fn. 13) In 1808 he planned to alter the theatre extensively. His critics complained of the narrowness of the street in which it stood and the inadequacy of fire precautions. They considered the stage too shallow for the elaborate melodramas then in fashion and called the theatre 'dirty, ill-lighted, and incommodious'. Wilkinson was urged to build a new theatre on cheaper ground and attract better performers to it. (fn. 14) He was ultimately unable to alter the existing building and bought land in Humber Street from the corporation at a low price. (fn. 15)

The new theatre was completed by 1810 to the designs of Charles Mountain, the younger. It contained three tiers of boxes, two galleries, and a pit, with accommodation for 1,700. The stage was 54 feet deep. There was a domed ceiling over the pit and orchestra, connected to the sides of the building by a circle of groined arches, and an elliptical ceiling over the proscenium. The house was decorated in pink, yellow, white, and grey, and the boxes were lined with scarlet cloth. (fn. 16) The cost of building aggravated Wilkinson's financial difficulties, and summer seasons in 1810, 1812, and 1813 were expensive failures. (fn. 17) He retired from the management in 1814 but his successors fared no better. (fn. 18) When a fire destroyed the theatre in 1859 it was noted that 'latterly the managements have changed almost yearly' and that 'the prestige of the property has lamentably decreased'. (fn. 19)

A smaller theatre stood on a site at the junction of Humber Street and Queen Street, formerly occupied by a circus. (fn. 20) In a season from March to October 1826 it was called the Minor Theatre. Popular melodramas were produced there, and Madame Tussaud's waxworks were exhibited. (fn. 21) In 1827 it was redecorated and called the Humber Street Theatre, and in 1828 the Summer Theatre. The manager in that year also managed the Theatre Royal in Lancaster, and the two theatres had alter- nate seasons. (fn. 22) In 1830 and 1831 the theatre was called the Sans Pareil, (fn. 23) in 1832 the Clarence, or Royal Clarence, (fn. 24) and in 1833 the Royal Kingston Theatre. (fn. 25) It is said to have been demolished in 1836. (fn. 26)

The Adelphi, or Royal Adelphi, on the corner of Wellington Street and Queen Street, was converted from a circus and in use by 1831. It was in common management with the Clarence. A short season was played there in 1840. (fn. 27)

In 1847 the Royal Amphitheatre, Paragon Street, was renamed the Queen's Theatre. (fn. 28) The patentees of the Theatre Royal opposed the establishment of a second major theatre and succeeded in shortening its early seasons. (fn. 29) It ran at a loss until 1854 when business improved under a new and vigorous management. The theatre held 3,000. It was built in the Classical style, of brick with a stuccoed facade. The stage was 90 feet deep with an elliptical proscenium. Military spectacles were frequently mounted on it. The interior was extensively redecorated in 1849 and 1863, but the building was last used in 1869 and later partly demolished. (fn. 30)

The first music-hall was opened in the saloon of the Mechanics' Institute, George Street. Concerts and an exhibition of waxworks were presented there from 1862 onwards. (fn. 31) From 1867 until 1890 the saloon was used for musical and variety entertainments under various names: the Mechanics' Music Hall (1867), Ringham's Music Hall and Canterbury Hall (1868), the Alexandre Theatre (1869), the Star Music Hall (1878), and the New Mechanics' Theatre (1885). From 1890 it was called the Empire, although the title was often augmented with the surnames of the managers, and between 1909 and 1913, the Bijou. It was closed in 1913 on account of its derelict condition and the site was occupied by a boxing arena. (fn. 32)

In 1864 the Hull Theatre and Concert Co. was formed. It purchased the site of the ruined Theatre Royal from the Wilkinson family and on it erected a new Theatre Royal, which opened in 1865. The building, designed by R. G. Smith, was of brick in a Renaissance style, with an arched portico over the main entrance. It held 2,300. The stage, constructed with a movable section, was 43 feet deep. The theatre was again destroyed by fire, however, in 1869. A winter season was held that year on a site in Anlaby Road. (fn. 33)

The Alhambra Palace was opened in 1864 in response to the popular demand for more musichalls. A Methodist chapel in Porter Street was converted for the purpose, and a balcony and promenade were provided. In 1905 it was renamed the Hippodrome and in 1913 became a cinema. (fn. 34)

In 1871 the Theatre Royal was rebuilt on part of the site of the Queen's Theatre, and opened that year. It was a small stuccoed structure accommodating about 1,500, and of the same design as the Globe, London. It had a Corinthian facade and contained a pit, a dress circle, and six boxes on the first floor, and upper boxes and a gallery on the second. The stage was 40 feet deep and 60 feet wide, and the ceiling was domed. The theatre was closed in 1909. (fn. 35)

In 1893 the Grand Opera House and Theatre, George Street, was opened. The architect was F. Matcham and the building was of brick with a stone portico. The stage was 50 feet deep and 80 feet wide. In 1930 it became a cinema. (fn. 36)

In 1897 the New Palace Theatre of Varieties was opened. It stood next to Hengler's Circus in Anlaby Road, and was also designed by Matcham. In 1928 it was enlarged and the decoration modernized. It closed in 1939, but reopened in 1951. In 1958 it became a 'continental' music-hall and was renamed the Continental Palace. It was closed in 1965. (fn. 37)

The Alexandra Theatre, on the corner of George Street and Charlotte Street, was opened in 1902. It was designed by T. Guest and its principal feature was a brick corner-tower. It was extensively redecorated in 1930 and destroyed by bombing in 1941. (fn. 38)

In 1912 the Theatre Royal was reopened as the Tivoli Music-Hall. In 1929 it was substantially altered and improved. In 1943 it was damaged by fire but reopened in 1944. In 1954 it became a news theatre. (fn. 39)

About 1914 a small variety theatre was opened in the Lecture Hall, Kingston Square, and was called the City of Varieties and the Bijou Empire. It closed shortly after. (fn. 40)

In 1918 the Circus cinema was converted to the Lyric Theatre. It was used primarily for concert parties but also showed films. It became a dance hall in 1926. (fn. 41)

In 1924 a group of local enthusiasts founded a repertory company which became a private limited company, the Hull Repertory Theatre Co., in 1928. It used the Lecture Hall, Kingston Square, for dramatic productions, renaming it the Little Theatre. In 1928 a public limited company, the Little Theatre (Hull) Ltd., was formed to buy the hall, which it did in 1930. The two companies were amalgamated in 1933, and in 1939 acquired the Assembly Rooms: these were converted to the New Theatre under the designs of R. Cromie and W. B. Wheatley. The theatre was bought by a London organization in 1951 although the management was unaltered. In 1961 it was sold to the corporation, (fn. 42) and in 1965 was run by a board of management appointed by the corporation.

In 1949 an amateur company converted a derelict Congregational chapel in Hessle Road into the Janus Theatre. (fn. 43) It was closed in 1954. (fn. 44)

Circuses

Towards the end of the 18th century circuses modelled on Astley's in London visited Hull. The earliest recorded visit was in 1785 when Williamson's Amphitheatre and Riding House was established opposite the Dock Bridge. From the second decade of the 19th century onwards circus proprietors made use of the newly-reclaimed land at the South End. The eastern side of the block between Humber Street and Nelson Street, bisected by Wellington Street and bounded on the east by Queen Street, accommodated circuses and travelling exhibitions for 40 years. (fn. 45)

In May 1824 Cooke's equestrian troupe appeared at the Theatre Royal, but in September Cooke leased a site at the corner of Humber Street and Queen Street and erected a permanent circus. The Minor Theatre was erected on this site in 1826. (fn. 46)

In 1827 an arena was erected at the corner of Queen Street and Wellington Street. It incorporated an exhibition hall and lecture hall, the Apollo Saloon, and in 1829 was managed by Adams, the equestrian. It subsequently became the Adelphi Theatre. (fn. 47)

In 1833 Cooke was still performing in Queen Street, but by 1838 had moved to ground on the west side of the Dock Basin, and by 1841 to Dock Green. In 1846 the Royal Amphitheatre was built on the corner of Paragon Street and South Street and Cooke appeared there for a year. (fn. 48)

In 1864 Charles Hengler opened his Grand Cirque Varieté in Anlaby Road. It was a circular wooden building holding 2,500, with tiers of boxes, stalls, a pit, and a gallery. At first it opened annually from October to December but by the eighties it was open permanently. The entertainments were primarily equestrian and acrobatic, but minstrel shows, pantomimes, and scenic spectacles were staged with increasing frequency. It also housed popular religious meetings and large social functions. It came under new management in 1896, and was rebuilt in 1898 of brick and concrete with a 'moorish' interior. It became a cinema in 1910. (fn. 49)

Assembly Rooms

Assemblies were held in the Grammar School until 1734 when the corporation forbade the practice. The upper story of the school, however, may have been used for this purpose until 1753. (fn. 50) It was replaced by an assembly room or concert room in Dagger Lane, said to have been built in 1752. (fn. 51) Larger premises were needed by the 1820s and a house in North (now George) Street was acquired in 1823. A new suite of rooms, designed by John Earle, was built behind the house and fronting Paradise Row; it was opened in 1824. The room in Dagger Lane subsequently became a warehouse. (fn. 52)

The premises in North Street were used until the 1830s. (fn. 53) In 1827, however, it was resolved at a public meeting to build an extensive suite of public rooms for assemblies, concerts, and lectures. A prospectus regretted that 'the Mechanics' Institute can erect a building for their objects while the gentlemen of the town do not possess a place to meet in worthy of its rank and opulence'. Shares of £25 were issued, of which the Corporation of Hull bought twelve. (fn. 54) In 1830 the foundation stone of the new rooms was laid on a site at the corner of Jarratt Street and Kingston Square, and they were partially in use by the end of the following year. The premises in North Street also became warehouses.

In 1827 the committee for promoting the rooms obtained two schemes for the building and accepted that submitted by R. H. Sharp, of York. (fn. 55) In 1832 it was reported that 'Mr. Mountain was appointed superintending architect', (fn. 56) suggesting that Charles Mountain, the younger, carried out or adapted Sharp's scheme. The work was completed under the direction of Henry R. Abraham in 1834. (fn. 57) The building is in the Greek Revival style and has walls of stucco-faced brickwork rising to two stories above a plinth. The entrance front facing the square is five bays wide with a recessed tetrastyle Greek Ionic portico across the three central bays. It is surmounted by a plain entablature and parapet which break forward above the portico. The doorway is approached by three flights of stone steps. The elevation to Jarratt Street is eleven bays long; the slightly projecting end bays are framed by antae and there is a central feature consisting of four attached Ionic columns standing on a single plinth. The original pediments over both groups of columns have been removed.

The ground floor in 1831 contained a large room opening into the second story, 91 feet long by 41 feet wide and 40 feet high. This became known as the Music Room. On the same floor were a dining room and a drawing room. The second story contained the lecture room. In 1891 the interior of the building was destroyed by fire. In the course of rebuilding it, balconies were installed in the main hall. (fn. 58) In addition to balls and banquets the rooms were used for concerts and light entertainments. The 'Messiah' was sung there regularly from 1843 onwards. Dickens is said to have given readings in 1859 and 1860. Animated pictures were shown in 1895, and Albert Chevalier performed there in 1902. The rooms were licensed as a cinema in 1910. In 1939 they were closed and subsequently incorporated in the New Theatre: (fn. 59) the interior has been reconstructed for this purpose and all the windows have been blocked.

The Victoria Rooms were opened in 1837 on the site at the corner of Queen Street and Humber Street formerly occupied by the Minor Theatre. They are said to have been erected as a gesture of dissatisfaction with the high rent charged for the use of the Assembly Rooms. In 1838 subscription assemblies were held there. By 1840 sober entertainments were provided for those who would not attend the theatres. The ground floor of the building facing Humber Street contained shops, and by 1865 the entire premises were used for trade. (fn. 60)

Cinemas

At the end of the 19th century bioscopes were shown at Hull Fair, in the West Street and Waltham Street Methodist chapels, and the Assembly Rooms. In 1898 the Theatre Royal showed a 'Veriscope' film, and the Edison-Rogers 'Electrograph' was exhibited at the Empire in 1900. By 1905 the Hippodrome regularly included bioscopes in its programmes, and by 1907 'Globe Animated Pictures' were shown at the Circus. By 1909 the cinematograph was in regular use at the Palace. (fn. 61)

In 1910 the Palace, the Empire, and the Alexandra were licensed under the terms of the Cinematograph Act of 1909. The manager of the Hippodrome, whose application had been dismissed, claimed that this theatre was 'heavily handicapped by being the only house in Hull unable to show pictures'. Licences were also granted in that year to a converted hall in Naylor's Row, to several public halls, and to the Prince's Hall, the first building erected solely for the purpose of showing films. (fn. 62)

Between 1910 and 1915 the conversion of existing buildings and the erection of new cinemas were accelerated. Three buildings, one a converted hall, were licensed in 1910–11. In 1911–12 seven new licenses were granted, one to an open-air cinema, and 21 were granted between 1912 and 1915. (fn. 63) A total of 29 cinemas or public halls giving regular cinematograph entertainments existed by 1914. (fn. 64) The popularity of the cinema in Hull, to which this striking rate of growth attests, derived presumably from the variety of entertainment which frequent changes of programme could provide for the transient seafaring community.

New cinemas were erected at first by small local companies. The largest circuit owned locally belonged to William Morton who was not only proprietor of the Theatre Royal, the Grand Opera House, and the Alexandra, but built and owned the Prince's Hall, the Majestic, and the Holderness Hall. (fn. 65) The London and Provincial Cinema Co. owned the Hippodrome, however, and National Electric Picture Theatres Ltd., the Theatre de Luxe. As these and other large companies acquired more existing cinemas, the prospectuses of new independent cinemas earnestly encouraged local people to subscribe for shares. (fn. 66)

With the increasing number of cinemas managers sought to acquire 'exclusive' features, and to exhibit major films as soon as possible after their release. Technical improvements were eagerly pioneered. From 1911 onwards the Kinemacolour Palace showed colour films, and in 1915 the Majestic adopted the same process. In 1913 the Holderness Hall exhibited Kinetophone Talking Pictures, and the Prince's Hall showed experimental talking pictures in 1914. (fn. 101)

By 1938 36 cinemas and halls were licensed to exhibit films. Twelve new cinemas had been built since 1918 and several of the older buildings had been renovated and renamed. (fn. 102) The small proprietory companies had been amalgamated into large combinations. City and Suburban Cinemas (Hull) Ltd., for example, built the Regal, the Rex, the Regis, and the Royalty in rapid succession. Associated Hull Cinemas owned a circuit of eleven, and in 1931 acquired the Majestic and the Grand. (fn. 103)

Several cinemas were damaged or destroyed by bombing in 1941. By 1945 only 25 cinemas and halls remained. The number fell to 21 in 1959 and to 15 in 1960. Ten cinemas were open in 1964. (fn. 104)

Learned Societies, Museums, and Art Gallery

Of the numerous learned societies which sprang up in Hull in the 19th century, many were abortive. Of those which flourished, some were specialized, but among the most successful were those whose aims were wide. They promised their members a little science, a little art, a little literature, and some discussion, together with the use of a library and reading room. The Albion Street area became the home of most of the societies, one after another taking over premises there. This property was perhaps falling vacant as new fashionable suburbs were developing elsewhere. Certainly it was a convenient location, between the business area and the new residential suburbs. In the Second World War Albion Street was badly hit by enemy action and many buildings were destroyed, but the Public Library and Church Institute still stand.

In 1830 Charles Frost delivered to the Literary and Philosophical Society an address in which he justified the formation of that society and referred to earlier and less successful ventures. One of these was the society formed in 1792 by Dr. Moyes and others, to meet at Mr. Browne's, in Lowgate, 'for the purpose of literary information'. (fn. 105) There is no reference to it after 1797, but in 1801 evening meetings for 'literary conversation' were organized for members of the Subscription Library. These gentlemen, however, though no doubt united in a love of literary conversation, suffered from 'unfortunate differences, which took place among a few individuals' so that 'the harmony of its proceedings was interrupted', and they discontinued their meetings. Other societies followed. Between 1803 and 1809 a select literary society met weekly and in 1809 a literary club did likewise, while in 1804 and 1805 there were weekly meetings of the Scientific Society, at which experiments were sometimes performed. (fn. 106) All these societies confined their activities to the winter months.

In 1822 the Hull Literary and Philosophical Society was formed, on the lines of similar institutions in Manchester and Newcastle. The society originated in the efforts of a group of people to keep in Hull the collection of 'natural and artificial rarities' which W. W. Hyde was offering for sale. About 40 subscribers produced £5 each and, after a satisfactory preliminary meeting held under the chairmanship of John Broadley, they purchased the collection for £80. (fn. 107) This was the nucleus of the society's museum, which was subsequently greatly extended.

Meanwhile, encouraged by their success in the purchase of the Hyde Collection, the subscribers made plans for 'the promotion of Literature and Science' in Hull. In 1823 they rented premises above the news-room at the exchange and held meetings once a month, later once a fortnight. (fn. 108) In spite of its name most of the society's lectures were scientific rather than literary or philosophical. It clearly met the needs of many people, however, for membership increased until in 1885 it reached 457. (fn. 109) Before that date the society had three times changed its premises: in 1829 it moved to rooms in the Subscription Library; (fn. 110) in 1831 into part of the Assembly Rooms, Jarratt Street; (fn. 111) and in 1855 into new premises, the Royal Institution on the south side of Albion Street, the society having previously subscribed to the cost of the building.

When the erection of the Royal Institution was being considered, Charles Frost was president of both the Literary and Philosophical Society and the Subscription Library, and he encouraged the architect, Cuthbert Brodrick, to produce a building suitable for both institutions. Ultimately the Literary and Philosophical Society occupied the east end, the Subscription Library the west. The building was visited by the Prince Consort on 14 October 1854, and it was opened on 24 October. (fn. 112)

By 1826 the society's ordinary members were paying the considerable subscription of £1 5s., and this remained unchanged until 1872. For it members had lectures, excursions, the use of the museum and reading room, and the Annual Reports which were published from 1825 onwards. (fn. 113) Members of the society, led by Charles Frost, were influential in persuading the British Association for the Advancement of Science to hold its annual meeting in Hull in 1853. (fn. 114) By the end of the century the society found itself unable to meet the financial demands of the expanding museum, and in 1900 the collection was handed over to the city. (fn. 115) The society continues to flourish, with a membership of about 500 in 1965, but with no permanent home since the destruction of the Royal Institution by enemy action in 1943.

In the council room of the Literary and Philosophical Society in 1879, a group of men met to discuss an idea of William Andrews which produced a society which still flourishes. Andrews was a lover of literature and a writer, particularly on folklore and local history. His aims, and those of the Literary Club, were to encourage research into literary subjects, to protect the interests of authors in and around Hull, to form a library illustrating the history of Hull and its neighbourhood, including books by local authors, and where possible to publish such books. The promoters agreed upon an annual subscription of 5s. Though many of the club's lectures were of a general nature, the interests of the members seem to have been more specifically literary than those of the members of the Literary and Philosophical Society. Its members first rented a room in Savile Street but in 1881 moved to a house in Albion Street. From 1884 to 1923 they met at the Station Hotel. From the beginning the social life of the club appears to have been more vigorous than that of the other learned societies, and since 1880 regular Christmas gatherings have been held. From 1889 to 1895 copies of lectures were printed, and from 1896 the Hull Literary Club Magazine was published, replaced in 1922 by the magazine Humberside, containing lectures, poems, and miscellanea by members of the club. (fn. 116)

Many members of the literary societies also belonged to more specialized societies. One of these was the Hull Geological Society, founded in 1888 and offering to its members winter lectures and summer excursions, as well as the society's Transactions, first published in 1894. In that year it had 60 members, well below the 400 in the Literary and Philosophical Society but still an adequate membership for a specialized society. It met in the Royal Institution, in Albion Street. (fn. 117) The society still exists, but no longer publishes.

The Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club, another society which still flourishes, was founded in 1880 as an amalgamation of the Fieldwork Society and the Scientific Club; it called itself, until 1898, the Hull Field Naturalists' Society. The aims of its members were to study the flora, fauna, archaeology, and antiquities of the East Riding. It had lectures and excursions, and after 1898 published Transactions. (fn. 118)

Among other such societies was the Hull and District Philatelic Society, established in 1896 and still in existence. (fn. 119) There were also specialized societies which catered for Hull professional men, such as the Hull Medical Society, founded in 1888. Its first meeting was held at the Royal Infirmary, with R. M., later Sir Robert, Craven in the chair, when it was resolved that 'a medical society should be formed independent of the control of the British Medical Association'. The objects of the society were to advance the progress and spread of scientific medicine and surgery by meetings and papers, and to bring members of the profession into a closer union, particularly for the settlement of medico-ethical questions. Meetings were at first held at the Royal Infirmary or in hotels, from 1895 to 1931 at the Hull Church Institute, and after 1931 at Quern House, Park Street. The society possesses a valuable collection of medical books, many of them presented by members. The decision to form a library was made in 1891 but premises were not found until 1895 when 50 doctors promised donations amounting to £60 and a room in the Church Institute was rented. Members using the library paid an additional £1 1s. a year for the privilege. Between 1926, when the Church Institute terminated the tenancy, and 1931 the books were stored in the Public Library, and in 1931 were moved to Quern House. In 1965 the society had about 200 members and held monthly meetings. (fn. 120)

Another professional society, the Hull Law Society, was begun in 1818. A meeting of attorneys and solicitors of Hull and Sculcoates resolved to constitute a society 'to encourage liberal and fair practice among attorneys and solicitors, and to support the privileges and respectability of the profession'. The annual subscription was £1 1s. and meetings were held twice a year, with a discussion followed by a dinner. Meeting-places varied; committee meetings were often held in the Law Library, Parliament Street, and general meetings in the Station Hotel. The society's library was founded in 1835 and by 1897, when it contained 3,000 volumes, it was described as one of the best law collections in the provinces. In 1879 the society was incorporated. Its membership in 1965 was about 150, including East Riding members. (fn. 121)

In the spring of 1892 T. Tindall Wildridge advocated the creation of a society devoted to the archaeology of the East Riding. Previously archaeological investigations had been combined with the study of natural history and geology. Later the same year an inaugural meeting was held in the Guildhall, and in 1893 the East Riding Antiquarian Society was admitted into union with the Society of Antiquities of London and began to publish its transactions. (fn. 122) A minimum of four meetings was held during the winter, excursions were arranged, and excavations were undertaken. The last issue of the Transactions appeared in 1949, though excursions continued a little longer.

The Antiquarian Society's place has been taken by, the East Riding Archaeological Society, founded in 1960, (fn. 123) and by the East Yorkshire Local History Society, founded in 1950. (fn. 124)

A group of members of the Antiquarian Society formed a Georgian committee, which in 1937 acquired independence as the Georgian Society for East Yorkshire. It still pursues its objects, to preserve ancient buildings, especially Georgian, in the area and to arouse interest in them. (fn. 125)

Museums

The City Museum, as it became after its acquisition from the Literary and Philosophical Society, was thrown open to the public, still in its Albion Street quarters. The expansion of the museum in the early 20th century was in large measure due to the enthusiasm and energy of Thomas Sheppard (curator 1900–41), who was also concerned with many of the learned societies of his time. (fn. 126) Additional natural history galleries were added in 1910. (fn. 127) The geology, natural history, history, archaeology, and applied art collections were destroyed by enemy action in 1943 with the Royal Institution itself. Meanwhile other museum buildings had been opened to house the growing collections. In 1906 Wilberforce House, in High Street, which had been bought by the corporation in 1903, was opened as a museum of furniture and of material relevant to the life of Wilberforce. (fn. 128) In 1912 a Museum of Fisheries and Shppiing was established in Hessle Road, through the benevolence of Christopher Pickering. (fn. 129) In 1925 a Museum of Commerce and Transport was established in the former corn exchange in High Street. (fn. 130) In 1929 the Mortimer Collection of Prehistoric Antiquities was housed in the City Hall and after 1931 was known as the Mortimer Museum. (fn. 131) The collection was moved to the Museum of Commerce and Transport and reopened there in 1957. (fn. 132) A museum of rural antiquities was opened in a tithe barn at Easington in 1928, after the building had been restored by the East Riding Antiquarian Society. The corporation sent a number of exhibits; these were removed in 1941 (fn. 133) and the museum discontinued. A railway museum at Paragon Station was opened in 1933, but it was destroyed by bombing in 1941. (fn. 134)

Art Gallery

A municipal Art Gallery was opened in 1900 when accommodation was provided over the museum in the Royal Institution. (fn. 135) In 1905 T. R. Ferens gave £1,000 a year for five years for the purchase of pictures, and in 1910 he made a similar gift, shortly after the opening of a new art gallery in the recentlyerected City Hall. (fn. 136) In 1917 Ferens bought St. John's Church, nearby in Queen Victoria Square, and presented it, together with £35,000, for the building of an art gallery on the site. Five years later he gave a further £10,000. The construction of the Ferens Art Gallery began in 1924 and it was eventually completed and opened in 1927. (fn. 137) The gallery includes an important collection of marine paintings, in particular those of John Ward (1798– 1849), and five examples of the Dutch School, to which a portrait by Franz Hals was added in 1963. (fn. 138)

The facade of the gallery is of ashlar masonry, designed in a heavy but restrained Classical style by S. N. Cooke and E. C. Davies. (fn. 139) The design was chosen by competition. The central entrance block is single-storied, surmounted by an entablature and parapet. Its two side bays, framed by pilasters, are pierced by round-headed windows; between them is a recessed portico with two fluted Corinthian columns below the entablature and a balustraded parapet above it. The central bronze door is surmounted by a pediment and flanked by windows. On each side of the entrance block are lower wings, their blank ashlar walls having swags of drapery below the cornice. The internal arrangement consists of seven top-lit galleries radiating from a central two-storied court. (fn. 140)

Libraries (fn. 141)

A circulating library may have existed in Hull as early as 1740. (fn. 142) By the early 19th century there were several, (fn. 143) but throughout the century few survived for as long as twenty years. Two large circulating libraries have existed in the 20th century: those of Boots, the chemists (between 1904 and 1965) (fn. 144) and A. Brown and Sons, the booksellers (1906–60). (fn. 145)

In 1775 the Subscription Library was founded. It was at first housed in a rented room but moved in 1801 to larger premises built for it in Parliament Street, (fn. 146) and in 1855 to the Royal Institution. (fn. 147) When the Institution was destroyed in 1943 the library moved to King Edward Street (fn. 148) and it moved again in 1958 to the Church Institute. (fn. 149)

Almost from the beginning the library's stock comprised foreign and standard works as well as periodicals and popular fiction and non-fiction. In 1851 it received its largest gift, the 2,202 books of the Revd. James Coltman. (fn. 150) By 1875 the library had 36,200 books, more than all the other Hull libraries combined. A special general meeting of its members refused to allow the withdrawal of over 5,000 volumes, so preserving the library's position as a conserver of books, a fundamental difference between it and more popular libraries. (fn. 151) The library also subscribed to Mudie's circulating library and in this way provided popular new books while still obtaining more expensive standard ones. (fn. 152) The library's stock was much reduced when financial difficulties led to sales of books in 1912, 1914, and the 1920s. (fn. 153) By 1939 30,000 of its one-time 80,000 books had been discarded. (fn. 154) About 10,000 books were destroyed in the war and the stock was further reduced in 1958 to about 30,000. The library had by then changed in character and was restricted almost exclusively to the provision of current books, like the circulating libraries. (fn. 155)

The original admission fee was £1 1s. and the annual subscription 12s. Both were increased substantially in 1801 and 1817, (fn. 156) and the annual subscriptions have subsequently been raised on several occasions. (fn. 157) To bolster the library's finances new classes of members, subscribing at lower rates, were introduced in 1888–9, 1897, and 1916. (fn. 158) Since 1947 there have been four types of membership with subscriptions ranging from £1 11s. to £4. (fn. 159) The price of shares was raised in 1801, (fn. 160) and new shares were issued in 1853 and 1855 (fn. 161) to finance the rehousing of the library; control of the library was vested in its shareholders. In 1930 partial amalgamation between the library and the Literary and Philosophical Society was approved; the property of the library and the society was to be held in trust by Hull Royal Institution Ltd. The society granted £250 annually to the library for a few years. In 1932 shareholders ceased to exist and control of the library was extended to all members. (fn. 162) In 1939 there were 300 members, (fn. 163) but their number had increased to 550 in 1948 and has since remained at about that figure. (fn. 164)

The New Subscription Library was established in Market Place in 1807. (fn. 165) By 1826 it had changed its name to the Lyceum Library and had moved to Parliament Street. It moved to St. John's Street in 1835, and in 1888 to Story Street where it stayed until its closure in 1900. (fn. 166) The stock contained reference books and periodicals and could not be discarded without the consent of two-thirds of the members. (fn. 167) It comprised 4,400 books in 1836 and 15,000 in 1888. (fn. 168) Membership was limited to 250 at first but by 1836 had reached 300. The library aimed to attract young, middle-class, readers. The original admission fee was £1 1s. and the half-yearly subscription 5s. Both had been increased by 1836 to £2 2s. and 6s. 3d. respectively. (fn. 169)

Library facilities in Hull were extended in the 19th century by three educational institutions. They had libraries of differing characters with lower rates of admission than the subscription libraries, and their books were thus available to a wider public. The Mechanics' Institute divided its library into reference and circulation departments. No novels, romances, controversial divinity, or politics, however, were allowed. (fn. 170) It had 2,000 books in 1838 (fn. 171) and 5,000 in 1885. In addition patents were deposited there by Hull Corporation until 1895. (fn. 172) When the institute was closed in 1898 part of its library went to the public library. (fn. 173) The library of the Church Institute was of a general nature. It contained 8,000 books by 1885 and 15,000 by 1914. (fn. 174) It was reduced after the Second World War, however, and by 1965 had only a few hundred books. The library of the Young People's Christian and Literary Institute before 1914 included a large number of works on theology and religion. (fn. 175) It also had a reference section, (fn. 176) however, and in the 1930s and 1940s an arrangement with Harrod's circulating library ensured the speedy supply of new fiction and general literature. (fn. 177) Its stock comprised 10,000 books by 1885 and 17,000 by 1914, (fn. 178) but the number had fallen to 5,000 by 1964. (fn. 179) The reference section was closed in 1955. (fn. 180)

Some 40 years elapsed after the passing of the Acts of 1850 and 1855, which authorized a 1d. rate for library purposes, (fn. 181) before the Central Public Library was established. Proposals to found a public library were rejected on four occasions, in 1856–7, (fn. 182) 1872, (fn. 183) 1882, (fn. 184) and 1888, (fn. 185) principally from a fear of increased rates. Side-effects of the agitation, however, were the setting-up of voluntary libraries, such as that in Blundell Street started by T. H. Isaac and supported by Sir Seymour King, M.P.; (fn. 186) and the building of a public reading-room, supported by members' contributions, in Sutton, then outside the Hull boundary. (fn. 187)

In 1888 James Reckitt declared his opinion that a free library could be run on a 1d. rate. He was willing to subscribe, annually, a sum equal to such a rate in east Hull, about £500, and also £5,000 for building and books. The £5,000 was to be repaid in the same manner as for free libraries under the Acts. This would provide a library for east Hull and an example for the rest of the town. When Hull adopted the Public Libraries Acts his library was to be offered to the town free of charge. (fn. 188) The James Reckitt Library, in Holderness Road, was opened in 1889 with a stock of about 8,200 volumes. To this was added a reference department in 1890, the gift of Francis Reckitt. (fn. 189) By October 1890 book issues already totalled 81,600 and there were over 3,800 borrowers. (fn. 190)

The success of this library converted many previous opponents of a public library, and in 1892 the Public Libraries Acts were finally adopted, though by only a small majority. (fn. 191) The public libraries committee first met in 1893, and it took over the James Reckitt Library the same year. (fn. 192) Also in 1893 the Municipal Library was merged with the public library: it had been created for the use of members of the corporation in 1881, and had been kept in the Guildhall. (fn. 193) In 1894 J. Temple offered the bulk of his library, (fn. 194) and the Police Library, too, was accepted. The latter, founded in 1845, consisted mostly of novels, each member of the force having paid 1d. a week to support it. (fn. 195) The patents from the Mechanics' Institute were transferred to the public library in 1895. (fn. 196)

The Central Library was opened in temporary premises, in Albion Hall, Baker Street, in 1894. (fn. 197) In 1898 a permanent site in Albion Street was found and a new building opened in 1901. (fn. 198) A western branch library in Boulevard and a northern branch in Beverley Road were both opened in 1895. (fn. 199) In 1905 a branch was opened in Anlaby Road, built with money given by Andrew Carnegie, (fn. 200) and in 1913 the Hedon Road branch was opened. (fn. 201) The Garden Village branch was opened in 1922 and removed to larger premises in 1928. (fn. 202) The Central Library itself and the eastern branch (James Reckitt) were extended in 1931 and 1934 respectively, and two branches were opened on new estates, in Greenwood Avenue and Preston Road, in 1935. (fn. 203) During the Second World War the James Reckitt and Garden Village libraries were damaged by bombs. (fn. 204) In the 1950s seven part-time branches on school premises were established; (fn. 205) of these, three were replaced by new, full-time, branches, five of which have been opened since the war: Derringham Bank in 1948, Gipsyville in 1956, Longhill in 1962, Greatfield in 1963, and Anlaby Park in 1964. (fn. 206) In contrast, the Hedon Road branch was closed in 1958, owing to the decrease of population in the area. (fn. 207) A large extension to the Central Library was opened in 1962. (fn. 208)

The public library system had about 60,000 books at the end of the 19th century, (fn. 209) 150,000 by 1922–3, (fn. 210) over 260,000 in 1938–9, and almost 700,000 in the mid–1960s. (fn. 211) Libraries of two local societies were acquired, in 1904 and 1908. (fn. 212) Among the principal collections now held by the Central Library are those of H. Mackay (acquired in 1927) and A. B. Wilson-Barkworth (1929), (fn. 213) books on Wilberforce and slavery from Wilberforce House (1950), Winifred Holtby's books and manuscripts (1954), and J. Wilson-Smith's collection on the Napoleonic period (1958). (fn. 214)

An early feature of the public library was the bindery established in 1900. (fn. 215) Around 1914 the library began to lend books to firms which wished to set up libraries on their own premises. (fn. 216) This marked the beginning of what were later to be called the extension services, the supply of books to clubs, hospitals, and so forth. A school libraries service was begun in 1926, (fn. 217) and the following year the library assisted, by the loan of books, in the first moves towards the development of the East Riding Rural Libraries Scheme. (fn. 218) At the Central Library itself the city information service was opened in 1949 and the commercial and technical and the music libraries, including a gramophone record department, in 1951. (fn. 219)

Since 1953 the commercial and technical library has been the headquarters of a co-operative service to libraries in local firms, involving the mutual borrowing of books and other material, (fn. 220) and since 1954 a medical library, provided in co-operation with the Hull Hospital Management Committee and serving local doctors, has been based on the reference library. (fn. 221) In 1962 the old reference library was converted into a separate local history library and part of the old lending library into a lecture hall. (fn. 222)

The original Central Library building, designed by J. S. Gibson, of London, and built in 1900–1, is of red brick with stone bands and dressings. (fn. 223) The design was chosen by competition. Apart from an angle-tower, the principal front is of two stories and is mainly in the 'Queen Anne' style. A projecting and gabled central feature is of stone ashlar; it has a recessed entrance porch on the ground floor and, above it, a large round-headed window flanked by niches. On each side are two bays of windows, those on the ground floor being set in arched recesses with key-blocks. The octagonal angle-tower, which rises above the roof, has a top stage incorporating Ionic columns and semicircular pediments; it is crowned by an octagonal dome. (fn. 224) The extensions of 1959–62, designed in the city architect's department under the direction of Andrew Rankine, are in a contemporary mid-20th-century style.

Newspapers

The earliest Hull newspaper may have been the Hull Courant, which existed by 1746. Three more papers were born in the 18th century, but only one, the Hull Advertiser, survived beyond 1800. In the 19th century a further 31 papers were founded. Many were ephemeral, but the Hull Advertiser itself continued until 1867, while the Eastern Counties Herald lasted for 46 years. Six papers continued into the 20th century. Four were then discontinued: Hull News, which had lasted for 77 years, the Eastern Morning News (65 years), the Daily News and Express (29 years), and the Evening News (45 years). The other two, the Hull and York Times and the Daily Mail, survived in 1965, being 108 and 80 years old respectively. Of the four new papers founded in the 20th century only the Hull Sentinel, a monthly, survived in 1965.

Hull papers intervened effectively in local affairs, particularly in the later 19th century during the editorships of E. F. Collins, of the Hull Advertiser, Henry Whiting, of the Hull Free Press, and William Hunt, of the Eastern Morning News. Among wellknown journalists who began their careers on Hull papers were J. L. Garvin and J. A. Spender. (fn. 225) William Etty, R.A. (1787–1849) was apprenticed as a printer to the Hull Packet. (fn. 226)

The Hull Courant. The earliest surviving copy dates from August 1746. The paper was printed by John Rawson at the 'Star' in Lowgate. It cost 2d., contained 4 pages and 12 columns, and appeared weekly on Tuesday, except for a period between 1747–8 and 1749 when it appeared on Friday. In 1749 the paper contained 6 smaller pages and 18 columns. By 1759, however, it had reverted to its original form, and cost 2½d. The latest surviving copy dates from that year. (fn. 227) Publication probably ceased soon after, as in 1750 the proprietors of the York Courant were offering their paper to the people of Hull as a substitute. (fn. 228)

The Hull Journal. The date at which publication began is unknown, but the Journal also was said by the proprietors of the York Courant to be defunct in 1750. No copies of it have survived.

The Hull Packet. The Hull Packet and Humber Gazette first appeared in May 1787, printed and published by George Prince in Scale Lane. In addition to commercial and political news it contained correspondence and soon became a medium for agitation against slavery. In 1788 its title was shortened to the Hull Packet. Prince was succeeded by Thomas Lee in 1793, and Lee by Robert Peck in 1800. In January 1819 the paper was printed and published by Richard Wells, still in Scale Lane, but in September he was succeeded by Thomasin Peck. By 1823 Richard Allanson was the printer and publisher. In 1827 he was succeeded by Thomas Topping of Lowgate, who renamed the paper the Hull Packet and Humber Mercury. (fn. 229) In 1831 William Goddard and Robert Brown acquired Topping's printing business and became proprietors of the paper. In 1838 their partnership was dissolved, but Brown continued to publish the paper until 1841 when Topping again became its printer and publisher from an office in Bowlalley Lane. In 1842 he was succeeded by Thomas Freebody, who continued to print in Bowlalley Lane but published and sold the paper in Lowgate. In the same year the Hull and East Riding Times was incorporated in the Packet and the paper renamed the Hull Packet and East Riding Times. (fn. 230)

Freebody appointed Thomas Ramsey as editor, but dismissed him in 1845 largely on account of his Tractarian sympathies. He was replaced for a short time by the sub-editor Dibdin Hubbarde, but in the same year Richard Wallis was appointed editor. He became manager and publisher of the paper in 1849, and co-proprietor with his brother Ebenezer in 1856. (fn. 231) In 1871 the paper was acquired by Henry Amphlett and James Holmes and in 1880 was renamed the Hull Packet. In 1880 also ownership was vested in the Hull, East Yorkshire, and North Lincolnshire Conservative Newspaper Co., and in 1886 the paper was incorporated in the Daily Mail. (fn. 232)

At first the paper appeared weekly on Tuesday. It contained 4 pages and 16 columns and cost 3d. In 1800 the pages were enlarged and the number of columns rose to 20. By 1823 the price had risen to 7d., but it fell to 4½d. in 1836, although in this year the pages were again enlarged and the number of columns increased to 32. From 1832 onwards the paper was issued on Friday. By 1871 it contained 8 pages and 64 columns and cost 1d. (fn. 233)

The Hull Advertiser and Exchange Gazette. The first number appeared in July 1794 and was printed and published by William Rawson in Lowgate. He aimed primarily to print commercial and agricultural information. Isaac Wilson and William Holden joined him as co-publishers from 1805 until 1821, when Wilson became the sole publisher. He committed the paper more vigorously to politics and supported the Tories throughout the Reform Bill crisis. In 1833, however, the paper was acquired by George Lawson, and in the same year it passed to William Kennedy. Under his proprietorship and editorship it became a Radical organ. In 1841 it incorporated the Hull, East Riding and North Lincolnshire Observer, and in the same year Kennedy gave up the editorship, although he remained a proprietor until 1842. (fn. 234)

Edward Collins, a disciple of the Scottish Radical politician Joseph Hume, was the new editor. In 1848 he became also the proprietor of the paper. In 1858, however, he was joined by several others, and a limited proprietory company was formed. His co-proprietors were anxious to redirect the Radical effort of the paper into local affairs, such as the proceedings of the Dock Company, and away from the religious controversies in which Collins had involved it. The paper subsequently embraced the causes of sanitary reforms in Hull, the rebuilding of the workhouse, and the establishment of the local board of health. Collins remained editor until 1866. In 1867 the paper was incorporated in the Eastern Morning News. (fn. 235)

At first the paper appeared weekly on Saturday, but from 1820 onwards it appeared on Friday instead. It contained 4 pages and 16 columns and cost 4d. In 1797 the price rose to 6d. and in 1815 to 7d. In 1833 the pages were enlarged and the number of columns rose to 28. The price fell to 4d. in 1836, and in 1839 the number of columns rose to 32. In January 1840 the paper contained 8 smaller pages and 40 columns, but in July the pages were enlarged, and the number of columns rose to 48. From 1842 onwards Collins sought to improve the appearance of his paper by compressing the advertisements and excluding most of the crude woodcuts. (fn. 236)

The Humber Mercury and Hull, Yorks. and Lincs. General Advertiser. The first number appeared in May 1805, printed and published by G. Daniel from an office in the exchange in Lowgate. It contained 4 pages and 16 columns and cost 6d. The latest surviving copy dates from March 1806, but the date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 237)

The Lincoln and Hull Chronicle. The first number, called the Hull and Lincoln Chronicle, appeared in May 1807. It was printed and published by A. Stark, from an office in the exchange, and appeared weekly on Wednesday. It contained 4 pages and 20 columns and cost 6d. In October 1807 Stark moved to Lincoln, the paper was renamed the Lincoln and Hull Chronicle, and appeared thenceforth on Friday instead. Publication ceased in December 1809. (fn. 238)

The Hull Rockingham and Yorks. and Lincs. Gazette. The first number, called the Rockingham and Hull Weekly Advertiser, appeared in January 1808. It was a Whig organ, said to have been founded by members of the Sykes family and John Cowham Parker, and it was printed and published by Joseph Simmons in Bowlalley Lane. In 1810 John Perkins became the publisher and Michael Carrall the printer, but in 1811 Perkins became the printer as well. He was succeeded in both capacities by William Ross in 1813, but in 1828 he returned as publisher with William Stephenson and John Rodford as printers. They renamed the paper the Hull Rockingham and Yorks. and Lincs. Gazette. In 1834 George Lee, a Unitarian minister, then the editor, succeeded Stephenson and Rodford as its printer and by 1842 had become its publisher. The paper was discontinued in 1844. (fn. 239)

The Rockingham was published weekly on Saturday. It contained 4 pages and 16 columns and cost 6d. In 1811 the number of columns rose to 20 and the price to 6½d., rising again to 7d. in 1815. In 1828 the paper contained 8 smaller pages with 32 columns, but in 1831 it changed to 4 larger pages and 24 columns. In 1837 the pages were enlarged and the number of columns rose to 28, while the price was reduced to 4½d. (fn. 240)

The Hull Portfolio. The Portfolio was dedicated by its editor, James Acland, to 'the downfall of corporate despots, the termination of magisterial misrule, and the just punishment of the poor man's oppressors'. It appeared between August 1831 and July 1833, generally with 8 pages, and cost 2d. At first it was printed and published by Joseph Noble in Market Place, and appeared weekly on Saturday. Later, however, Acland printed it himself and published it on Wednesday and Saturday each week. The paper was unstamped but a crude imitation stamp appears on each copy. The paper was managed from various addresses until Acland settled finally in Queen Street. After his imprisonment in 1832 he edited the paper from gaol, while his wife continued to publish it from Queen Street. (fn. 241)

The Hull, East Riding, and North Lincs. Observer. The first number was published and printed by the proprietors of the Advertiser in May 1834. It appeared weekly on Tuesday, contained 4 pages and 28 columns, and cost 7d. By 1837 the price had fallen to 4d. In 1841 the paper was incorporated in the Advertiser. (fn. 242)

The Libel. Similar in aims to the Hull Portfolio was the Libel, published by Acland between May and July 1834. It contained 4 pages and 12 columns and cost 2d. (fn. 243)

The Dauntless. The Libel's successor was the Dauntless, published by Acland from 'Anti-Corporative Castle' in Queen Street between November 1834 and January 1835. It contained 4 pages and cost 1½d. (fn. 244)

The Hull Saturday Journal. The proprietors of the Advertiser brought out their new Saturday paper in September 1836. It contained 4 pages and 24 columns, and cost 3d. It was discontinued in 1841. (fn. 245)

The Hull and Eastern Counties Herald. The first number appeared as the Eastern Counties Herald, Hull and General Advertiser in July 1838. The proprietors were William Stephenson and Richard Boyle, and it was published from an office in Lowgate. They intended the paper to be a free advertising circular for the commercial interest, but in 1839 it assumed 'somewhat of the cast of a family newspaper', dispensing summaries of political and foreign news and miscellaneous information. In 1854 the office was moved to Whitefriargate and in 1861 the paper was renamed the Hull and Eastern Counties Herald. On Stephenson's death in 1867 his executors printed and published the paper for a year and then sold it to James Cooke. In 1884 it was incorporated in the Hull Daily News. (fn. 246)

The paper was published weekly on Thursday and contained 4 pages and 20 columns. In 1839 the pages were enlarged, the number of columns rose to 24, and a price of 3d. was charged. In 1848 the pages were enlarged again, the number of columns rose to 32, and the price became 4½d. (fn. 247)

The Hull and East Riding Times. Henry Quin and the former proprietor of the Packet, William Goddard, brought out the Times as a Tory organ from their office in Silver Street in April 1838. Like most of its contemporaries the paper appeared weekly on Friday until 1841 when Tuesday became the day of publication. It contained 4 pages and 8 columns and cost 4½d. In 1842 it was incorporated in the Hull Packet. (fn. 248)

The Hull Advertising Circular and Temperance Visitor. The earliest surviving copy dates from November 1859. The paper was published monthly by Francis Oliver in Dock Street. It contained 4 pages and 24 columns and cost 1d. In 1862 it appeared in a new form, with 8 smaller pages and 32 columns. The latest surviving copy dates from August 1866. The date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 249)

Hull News. The paper appeared in January 1852 to meet the need for a low-priced weekly. It was then printed and published by William Stephenson but subsequently passed to James Cooke. In 1898 it was acquired by the proprietors of the Eastern Morning News and in 1929 it was discontinued. (fn. 250)

The paper appeared weekly on Saturday with 4 pages and 24 columns, but was enlarged soon after its first appearance to 8 pages and 40 columns. At first it cost 3d., but in 1856 the price fell to 2d. The number of columns rose to 56 in 1871 and 64 in 1878. In 1898, however, the paper appeared in a new form with 12 smaller pages and 108 columns. (fn. 251)

Hull News was supplemented at different times by three satellites. Hull News Extraordinary, an irregular publication, covered special events and meetings, and cost 1d. In 1870 an evening bulletin of war news costing ½d. was published. And in 1883 a permanent weekly supplement with 'feature articles' and stories was introduced, and it was included in the price of Hull News. Paper and supplement were sold separately for 1d. each from 1900 until 1906 but thereafter together again for 1d. (fn. 252)

The Hull Free Press and Eastern Counties Herald. The first issue of Henry Whiting's Free Press and Weekly Advertiser appeared in September 1853. Whiting intended it to be an advertising sheet which could be sold unstamped. The Board of Inland Revenue claimed that he had contravened the terms of the Stamp Act, however, and threatened to prosecute him. In a further attempt to evade the tax Whiting brought out a monthly paper, the Monthly Free Press and Tradesman's Advertiser, instead. This still did not satisfy the Board and he replaced the monthly with a weekly paper, the Hull Free Press and Weekly Advertiser, which he sold for 1d. (fn. 253)

More room was given in the new paper to comment on national and local politics. Whiting wrote vigorous editorials on local affairs, and the paper contained a series of acid 'portraits' of local dignitaries. Whiting pressed in particular for the abolition of the stamp tax; the Act was repealed in 1855 and he claimed that his paper was the first to be published thereafter. In June 1860 Abel Hinchcliffe became the proprietor, publisher, and printer of the paper. He was succeeded the following September by Edward Holiday, who renamed it the Hull Free Press and Eastern Counties News, but publication ceased in 1861. (fn. 254)

The paper was published at first from an office in Whitefriargate, but in 1856 a new office was set up in Bowlalley Lane. The size of the paper varied in the early editions but by November 1853 it contained 4 pages and 16 columns. The pages were enlarged in 1855 and 1860, and the number of columns increased gradually to 24. (fn. 255)

The Yorks. and Lincs. Advertiser. The earliest surviving copy dates from December 1853. The paper was printed and published by Thomas Hunt in Osborne Street, and it appeared weekly on Tuesday. It contained 4 pages and 24 columns and cost 2d. The latest surviving copy dates from December 1869, but the date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 256)

The Hull Mercury. The Illustrated Hull Mercury was established as 'a pictorial weekly newspaper' in June 1855, printed and published by Jonathan Pulleyn in Silver Street. It contained 12 pages and 36 columns, cost 1½d., and appeared on Saturday. In December 1855 it was renamed the Hull Mercury, and contained 4 larger pages and 20 columns, 'nearly the size of the London Times'. Publication ceased in 1856. (fn. 257)

The Hull Express. The paper appeared in July 1855, printed and published weekly on Saturday by Richard Wallis in Whitefriargate. It contained 4 pages and 20 columns and cost 1d. Publication appears to have ceased in 1855. (fn. 258)

The Hull Morning Telegraph. The paper was established in 1855 by Edward Holden to print news of the Crimean War and was the first daily paper in Hull. It was published from an office in High Street, consisted of a single sheet with 6 columns, and cost ½d. After the war it provided daily market reports and abstracts of political news. In 1871 John Hinrichson acquired it, and he was succeeded by John Wilson who sold it to the proprietors of the Eastern Morning News. In 1880 the paper was incorporated in the Hull Express. (fn. 259)

The Hull and Yorks. Times. The Hull and East Yorkshire Times appeared in February 1857, printed and published in Whitefriargate by Ebenezer Wallis. By 1886 he had been succeeded by George Eastwood, who printed and published it for the Hull, East Yorkshire, and North Lincolnshire Conservative Newspaper Co. In 1907 it was owned and managed by the Daily Mail and Hull Times Co., who renamed it the Hull and Yorkshire Times in 1924, and in 1930 it became one of a group of newspapers owned by Hull and Grimsby Newspapers Ltd. (fn. 260)

The paper appeared weekly on Saturday. It contained 4 pages and 28 columns and cost 1d. By 1886 it had doubled its size and in 1896 contained 12 pages and 72 columns. The pages were enlarged in 1898, but in 1919 their number was reduced to 8 with 64 columns, while the price rose to 2d. In 1926 the paper contained 16 pages and 112 columns, but it was reduced in 1931 to 14 pages and in 1946 to 8. By 1955 it had spread again to 10 pages with 80 columns. By 1965 the price had risen to 3d. (fn. 261) It appeared also in city, county, and Lincolnshire editions.

The Hull Daily Express and Merchant's and Tradesman's Gazette. One copy only of this evening paper is known to have survived. It dates from April 1861 and was printed and published by Abel Hinchcliffe in Bowlalley Lane. It consists of a single sheet with 6 columns, and was sold for 3d. Three editions were published daily. The paper is said to have been founded by J. M. Hall in 1859, who sold it to Hinchcliffe. It passed from Hinchcliffe to Joseph Temple in 1863, and from Temple to W. Hill, and he in turn sold it to the proprietors of the Eastern Morning News. (fn. 262)

The Eastern Morning News. The paper was founded by William Saunders, and the first number appeared in January 1864, printed, published, and edited by William Hunt. The office of the paper in Scale Lane was that from which the Hull Packet had been published. The paper subsequently absorbed the Daily Express, the Hull Advertiser, and the Morning Telegraph. In 1872 a limited proprietory company was established, and in 1875 new offices were found in Whitefriargate. In 1929 the paper was incorporated in the Hull Evening News.

The paper contained 4 pages and 24 columns and cost 1d. The number of columns rose to 28 in 1870 and 36 in 1894. In 1895, however, the paper appeared with 8 smaller pages and 56 columns. In 1920 the number of pages fell to 6 and the number of columns to 42. (fn. 263)

The Eastern Evening News. This was an evening edition of the Eastern Morning News and appeared at 3 p.m. Publication ceased in April 1867. (fn. 264)

The Eastern Weekly News. The paper was established in June 1864 by the proprietor of the Eastern Morning News as the Saturday counterpart of the daily paper. It contained 8 pages and 48 columns and cost 1d. Publication ceased in 1866. (fn. 265)

The Hull Morning Paper. One copy only is known to have survived. It dates from January 1867 and was printed and published by the brothers Richard and Ebenezer Wallis. It consists of 4 pages and 16 columns and cost ½d. (fn. 266)

The Hull Morning Times. This was the first daily paper printed and published by the Wallis brothers. Two copies only of it are known to have survived. They date from May and June 1867, contain 4 pages and 16 columns, and cost ½d. The Saturday edition of the paper apparently contained 8 pages and cost 1d. (fn. 267)

The Hull Express. In 1870 the proprietor of the Eastern Morning News revived the Hull Express as the Evening News. The earliest surviving copy dates from October of that year, contains 4 pages and 24 columns, and cost ½d. (fn. 268) It was succeeded in 1876 by the Hull Express in which it was incorporated. The new paper was similar in size and price. In 1880 it incorporated the Hull Morning Telegraph. In 1891 the Hull Express was discontinued and was incorporated in the Hull Daily News. (fn. 269)

The Daily News and Express. The Saturday edition of the Hull Express was called the Hull Weekly Express and was established in 1883. It contained larger pages and 36 columns, but cost the same. In 1898 it became a daily paper, the Hull Express, and in its new form contained 6 pages and 42 columns, although the price still remained ½d. In 1901 it was renamed the Daily News and Express, and in 1912 it was discontinued. (fn. 270)

The Hull Evening News. In 1884 James Cooke brought out the first number of the Hull Daily News, incorporating the Hull and Eastern Counties Herald. It contained 4 pages and 24 columns and cost ½d. In 1891 the Hull Express was incorporated in it. The proprietors of the Eastern Morning News acquired it in 1898 and brought it out in 6 smaller pages with 48 columns. In 1919 the number of pages was increased to 8. In 1923 it was renamed the Hull Evening News, the number of columns rose to 56, and the price became 1d. In 1929 it incorporated the Eastern Morning News but the following year was itself amalgamated with the Daily Mail. (fn. 271)

The Hull Daily Telegram. The first number appeared in February 1884 and is the only copy known to have survived. It consists of a single sheet printed on both sides. The paper was printed by Thomas Dixon in Charlotte Street and was published by subscription. It was designed primarily as a sporting paper and commercial directory. (fn. 272)

The Daily Mail. Some notable conservatives in Hull founded the paper in 1885 and the first number appeared in September. It was published and edited by George Eastwood, and was owned by the Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Conservative Newspaper Co. Eastwood was succeeded as editor by F. B. Grotrian, who became sole proprietor in 1890. In 1907 proprietorship was vested in the Daily Mail and Hull Times Co. In 1930 the Daily Mail incorporated the Hull Evening News and was acquired by Hull and Grimsby Newspapers Ltd. The paper was published from Whitefriargate until 1926, when new offices were built in Jameson Street. These were damaged by bombing in 1941 but publication was maintained throughout the war. (fn. 273)

The paper at first contained 4 pages and 20 columns, and cost ½d. By 1886 the number of columns rose to 28 and in 1894 the pages were enlarged. In 1896 the number of pages increased to 6 and the number of columns to 36. In 1905 the number of pages increased again to 8 with 56 columns. In 1914 it fell to 6 with 42 columns and thereafter the size of the paper fluctuated considerably. In 1919 the price rose to 1d., in 1951 to 2d., in 1962 to 3d., and in 1965 to 4d. (fn. 274)

The Hull Globe. The first number appeared in November 1888. It was printed and published by M. Waller and J. Corlyon in Lowgate, and it contained 8 pages and 48 columns. It cost 1d. and appeared weekly on Friday. The latest surviving copy dates from May 1890, but the date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 275)

The Hull Examiner and Weekly Commentator. The earliest surviving copy dates from December 1889. The paper was printed and published on Saturday by Clarence Norman in Whitefriargate, contained 12 pages and 48 columns, and cost 1d. The latest surviving copy dates from May 1891, but the date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 276)

The Hull Workman's Times. The paper appeared in June 1890 but was discontinued the following September. It was sold weekly on Friday, having been published in Huddersfield and printed in Ashton-under-Lyne. It contained 8 pages with 48 columns and cost 1d. (fn. 277)

The Hull Morning Examiner and Grimsby Reporter. Clarence Norman brought out this Liberal Unionist paper in April 1891. It contained 4 pages and 20 columns and cost ½d. The latest surviving copy dates from September 1891, but the date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 278)

The Hull Express and Holderness Advertiser. Originally named the East Hull Free Press, the paper was established in November 1905 and appeared weekly on Saturday. It was printed and published by F. W. Island in Holborn Street, contained 4 pages and 24 columns, and cost ½d. The title was altered in 1909 and publication ceased in 1913. (fn. 279)

The Hull Weekly Post. Intended primarily as an advertising circular, the Post appeared in July 1909. It was printed by the Hull City and County Printing Co. in Mytongate, contained 4 pages and 16 columns, and cost ½d. It was discontinued in 1910. (fn. 280)

The Hull Sentinel. In 1928 the Hull and District Trades Council founded the paper as a weekly 'workers' newspaper for the workers of Hull' and published it from an office in Whitefriargate. It contained 8 pages and 40 columns and cost 2d. (fn. 281) Soon afterwards it became a monthly paper and varied in size and price. In 1965 it contained 8 pages and cost 3d.

The Hull and Haltemprice Echo. The earliest surviving copy dates from April 1937. It was published from an office in George Street, contained 8 pages and 48 columns, appeared weekly on Friday, and cost 1d. The date at which publication ceased is unknown. (fn. 282)

Footnotes