Anlaby Road North Side Streets

South Street

South Street was named at a time in Hull’s history when it was still possible to use simple descriptive names, such as East Street, West Street and North Street. It was laid out from 1802, at a time when few streets existed outside of the Old Town walls, and named as such because it led south, from the older West Street, to link with the even older Carr Lane, The land beyond South Street, heading west, was shown as open land on plans from the early 19th Century. By the time of the 1826 Ordnance Survey plan of Hull, there were still only a small group of buildings at the corner of South Street. From South Street westwards, as far as Park Street, was open fields apart from two isolated properties, probably a farm or cow keeper’s premises. However, from c.1845, a new terrace of property was developed on this north side of Anlaby Road called Regent or Regent’s Terrace.

South Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for South Street

Brook Street

Brook Street was so-named as it followed the line of an old water-course, or ditch running south from Prospect Street. Originally Brook Street only extended as far south as Mill Street, but was extended further south to provide a more direct link from Beverley Road and Prospect Street to Paragon Station in the 1860s. It was further extended, as Paragon Station was redeveloped c.1902 to join with Anlaby Road at a point between Nos.28 to 38 Regent’s Terrace. Following the creation of the Brook Street junction, many of the original buildings in Regent’s Terrace were lost, and a spate of new building occurred.

The extension of Brook Street, involved the demolition of around 10 properties in Regent’s Terrace (Nos.28 to 38). Within these properties were the studios of Turner & Drinkwater, one of Hull’s most respected photographic businesses that was established in 1878. In February 1885 plans for a new “photographic studio” in Regent’s Terrace were approved, and signalled Turner & Drinkwater’s move into new premises. The company moved into it’s premises at No.8 (later 8 & 9) Regent’s Terrace c.1885 and was listed there until c.1897. No.8 Regent’s Terrace had been home to artist Charles Richardson until late 1884. From c.1893 these properties were recorded as No.26-28 Anlaby Road as the streets in Hull were gradually re-numbered. Turner & Drinkwater’s premises were rebuilt in 1904-05 as a high quality Edwardian building named Regent House. The stylish new buildings were designed by Hull architect J.M. Dossor, and Turner & Drinkwater remained there until c.1970. [See double page advert in Port of Hull, 1908]

From the late 1920s a new street was planned, to provide a direct and wider thoroughfare between Beverley Road and Anlaby Road. In 1930 when work had already begun it was decided to call the new street “Ferens Way” (in honour of Thomas Ferens who died in 1930). This project required the foreshortening of Brook Street and the re-naming of its southern end as Ferensway.

Some of the original buildings of Regent’s Terrace remain, and can be identified above modern shop frontages, east of Ferensway. Regent House also remains, and the ground floor is now a café.

Brook Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Brook Street

Ferensway

Some of the original buildings of Regent’s Terrace remain, and can be identified above modern shop frontages, east of Ferensway. Regent House also remains, and the ground floor is now a café.

Park Street

Park Street has been recorded by a series of names as it is actualy made up of independently named sections; the oldest alignment being the south end, entered from Anlaby Road. The alignment of Park Street is shown on the Enclosure Plan of Myton Carr in 1771; Cragg’s 1817 plan of Hull shows it as Pest House Lane, running north towards Spring Bank. A “Pest House” had been established at the south-east side of the old lane since at least 1576 , where people affected with the plague were isolated from the town. It was recorded in the town records of that year that “infected persons were removed to pest houses in Myton Carr”, and again in 1602. Early plans of Hull show a series of small buildings at a site on the south-east side of Pest House Lane, that may mark the site of the isolation cottages. Pesthouse Lane formed part of an old route stretching from the Humber Bank and the town gallows, via Pinfold Lane, Pesthouse Lane and north to Sculcoates and Cottingham. Anderson’s 1818 plan shows just one property, Johnson’s Ropery, on the east side of the street and it is clear from other early plans of the town that Pest House Lane stretched only as far as the Myton Carr Sewer. The Myton Carr Sewer ran west to east along the line of Londesborogh Street, and defined the northern extent of many of the streets on the north side of Anlaby Road. Beyond the old sewer a simple footpath ran north to join Spring Bank. The street had a poor reputation in the early 19th Century, when one writer noted: –

“at nightfall it was not fit for a woman to go along, and in winter time it required a man with a stout arm to traverse the distance between Anlaby Road and Spring Bank, which 20 years ago and less was as destitute of life and light after dark as the most destitute region in the world”.

North of the Myton Carr Sewer, the old lane remained empty until the north end was developed from Spring Bank. This was colloquially known as College Lane by 1837, as it ran alongside the Hull College on Spring Bank that was built in that year. The Hull Advertiser newspaper recorded a “new street to be made – Pest House Lane” in its edition of 6 December 1856; in a later edition of 17 October 1857 the new “street” was named as Park Place, and was to be “promenaded with trees”. Park Place was in fact a terrace of property on the west side of College Lane that ran from the corner of what is now Park Row. Another new street was named in the Hull Packet newspaper of 8 January 1858 (page 5): –

“ELM TREE AVENUE – The worshipful wardens and older brethren of the Trinity House having completed the planting, sodding, and fencing of the avenue of elms in their fields, on both sides of the new street from Park Place towards Anlaby Road, have, at a board meeting, resolved that such new street through their property shall be called Elm Tree Avenue. The planting has been well done by Mr Doran, the Corporation’s gardener

Thus the old lane became fully built upon by 1858, with Elm Tree Avenue filling the gap between College Lane/Park Place and Pesthouse Lane. The building registers record the name Park Street from 1861 onwards, with many new houses being built along the extended thoroughfare; by this date “Park Street” had taken in College Lane to the north, Park Place and Elm Tree Avenue, and Pesthouse Lane to the south, although the older names remained in use for some years. We now tend to think in terms of Park Street and “Little” Park Street, as the railway line leading to the new Paragon Station divided the street c.1846. A level-crossing here was replaced by the present railway bridge c.1871. The iron structure of the bridge was replaced with steel girders in 1959, which caused the bridge to close for several weeks. The last of the grand houses, and other property in Park Street, was demolished in 1982/83 in the clearance programme for this area. The only Victorian buildings of note that remain are the former Victoria Hospital for Sick Children (1890 by Samuel Musgrave), and the Park Street Centre of The Hull College (1856 by William Botterill). However, some original houses survive on both sides of the railway bridge, which give an idea of how the street may once have. Many of the surviving houses had been grand, double-fronted properties, built to quite a high standard; the interestingly named Quern House survives, at the north-east, which must surely have been a miller’s house? At the junction of Anlaby Road, where the railway bridge and the original line of Park Street meet, there was an interesting group of council buildings. A police call box, a cabmen’s shelter, an Edwardian telephone kiosk and an Edwardian public toilet, all clustered together at the foot of the bridge; the 1930s wooden Police Box was removed in 1959, and the other buildings were lost more recently.

Wilberforce Street

Wilberforce Street was laid-out on the site of a former rope manufactory that was shown on the 1852 Ordnance Survey plan, running north from Anlaby Road. The ropery and other buildings in the area were demolished in the late 1850s for the construction of more streets and terraces. Wilberforce Street had not been built by the time of the 1861 Census, and was developed in 1862 for the heiress Sophia Broadley, whose family developed huge tracts of land around Hull at this period.The emancipator William Wilberforce would seem the likely candidate for the name of the street. The houses in Wilberforce Street were of a lower standard than those fronting Anlaby Road, with no front gardens, and very small rear gardens. They remained occupied until c.1980, when property in this area was compulsorily purchased and demolished. Demolition of the remaining houses in the street was underway in March 1983, with the last of houses in the area being demolished in January and February 1984.Sadly, no original buildings survive in Wilberforce Street, although the street line exists.

Wilberforce Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Wilberforce Street

Fountain Street

Fountain Street had yet to be laid-out, according to the Census of 1861, and was named by “Miss Broadley, the owner of the street, 9 May 1862, in compliment to John Fountain, Alderman, Governor of the Poor of Holy Trinity & St Mary’s”. John Fountain was governor of the poor for 21 years, and very much involved with the Anlaby Road Workhouse; he also lived near Fountain Street, being listed at No.3 Balmoral Terrace in the 1870s. The houses in Fountain Street were of a slightly higher specification than those in Wilberforce Street, with bay windows and small front garden areas. One house was much grander than the rest; the first house on the east side of the street, was double fronted, with a projecting front bay and ornate stone detailing. This was possibly the first house built in the street, and very likely the home of builder Thomas Redfearn, who was listed there by 1872. Fountain Street was cleared of its remaining housing under the 1980 Compulsory Purchase Order, and no longer has any original buildings.

Tremayne Terrace continued beyond Fountain Street, with a further five houses. Adjoining Tremayne Terrace at this point, was Balmoral Terrace, which spanned both sides of Fountain Street, again, facing Anlaby Road. Balmoral Terrace was built c.1862, and seemingly named in honour of Queen Victoria’s royal retreat in Scotland; it consisted of three houses east of Arlington Street, and five houses to the west. Three of the houses in Tremayne Terrace (Nos.142, 144 and 146 Anlaby Road) survived until the 1970s.

Fountain Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Fountain Street

Arlington Street

The inspiration for the name Arlington Street is a mystery, but, as it was laid out on former garden plots surrounding the Ship Launch PH, there may be a link. Arlington Court in Devon was a favourite place to visit in Victorian times, with its extensive gardens, as was Heligan in Cornwall, home of the Tremayne family. Both were at the peak of thier popularity in the late 19th Century. The street is not listed in the 1861 Census, but plans in the Hull City Archives show it was being built upon by 1865. The houses were of quite a high standard, with the obligatory bay windows of the period. The west side was interrupted halfway, by the rear of a garden extending from an existing house in West Parade. Most of the housing in Arlington Street survived into the 1980s but have since been demolished; no original buildings survive.

Balmoral Terrace continued, west of Arlington Street, with a further five houses, but could only extend as far as the grounds of a large detached house. The house had been established some years earlier, c.1812, with the development of West Parade. Built for “gentleman” Mr Aistroppe Stovin, it was sold soon after building.

Arlington Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Arlington Street

West Parade

Named simply because it was west of the town; in 1807 the grounds of West Parade were described as follows: –

“About an acre and a half of rich garden ground, recently dug out of sward, situate on a close in the Lordship of Myton, adjoining the Anlaby turnpike-road, and opposite to Mr Ridsdale’s Mill, being about a third of a mile from the end of Carr Lane. The same, if not let in lots, will be let altogether. 2nd, about an acre and a half of rich grass land in the same close”.

The Hull Advertiser had advertisements for “building land” in West Parade in its edition of 16 February 1808, which suggests the street had been laid-out by then. The houses in the street were of the detached Villa type, all situated on the east side of the street, and of considerable size. Each sat within their own grounds facing west across an area of open land, planted with trees. The importance of the street, and the fashionable suburb that was developing around it along Anlaby Road, was highlighted when in 1831, it received some of the first street lighting in Hull: –

“GAS LIGHT – We have the pleasure to inform the population inhabiting each side of the Anlaby-road, from Ocean-place to the West-parade, that the commissioners have given orders for laying gas mains the whole of that distance. It is calculated that in the whole there will be fourteen lamps. The residents in West-parade will also have the power of accommodating themselves with light by pipes from the mains.”

Hull Rockingham, 6 August 1831, page 3

West Parade developed into a very grand thoroughfare, with some notable residents and high class housing, although it was not without its problems; the Hull Advertiser reported “defective drains” in West Parade in its edition of 31 May 1833. By 1848 West Parade had extended north, beyond the railway to meet Spring Bank, where its northern end is still marked by the Tap & Spile pub. Only a handful of properties were ever built in West Parade; in 1846 there were only six houses, seven houses by the 1861 Census, and eight by 1899. They included one of the biggest houses in the area, West Parade House, situated at the north end, and was home to many Hull merchants and dignitaries (including Sir William Alfred Gelder). Amongst the other houses were Curre House, Walton House, Northumberland House and Murrayfield House, all listed in various census returns during the period. A sketch of West Parade was made in 1877, by Danish Consul and talented artist Clements Good; his sketch shows his own house (at No.2 West Parade) and clearly shows the standard of the buildings, many of which would not have looked out of place in Kensington or Knightsbridge.

West Parade retained its exclusive character throughout, and by 1928 the eight original houses were the only ones in the street; all situated on the east side they were mostly unoccupied. They faced west, looking out across the open land, which also survived redevelopment. Nos. 5 and 6 West Parade, designed by architect William Botterill (who occupied No.6 in the 1870s and 1880s), were latterly used as a social club; sadly these too were demolished in April 1985, as part of the ongoing destruction of the area following compulsory purchase orders from the council. West Parade no longer has an entry from Anlaby Road, although its alignment can still be discerned.

Between 1842 and 1848, land immediately west of the open grassland that faced the West Parade houses, was laid out as gardens. Approximately 40 individual plots were divided up, on land owned formerly by Henry Sykes Esq. These were shown on the later 1852 Ordnance Survey plans as gardens, or some type of allotments; later plans show them each to have summerhouses or greenhouses. The plots were laid out running off a central path, running north from Anlaby Road; this was named as Cremorne Gardens in an 1858 trade directory.

As more property was built along the road, and new streets developed, the garden plots were soon lost to redevelopment. A new street was laid out, marking the line of the former garden path; this was to be Lansdowne Street. A small terrace, fronting Anlaby Road, linked the new street with the grasslands opposite West Parade. The terrace was called West Parade Terrace, and consisted of three adjoining houses; the largest was situated at the corner of the new street, and called Lansdowne House. Built c.1861, it was a large house of five-bays, and three-storeys high, later numbered No.178 Anlaby Road. From c.1915 it was used as a boarding house, and later became The Lansdowne Hotel, and later Musgrave’s Residential and Commercial Hotel, which it remained until the late 1940s. From the late 1960s, following the construction of the Hull Royal Infirmary, Lansdowne House was used as a Nurses Home, which it remained until being damaged by fire around 1976, and was subsequently demolished.

Arlington Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for West Parade

Lansdowne Street

Lansdowne Street was not listed in the April 1861 Census, but the buildings registers record houses being completed there later that year. The street was named in 1861, after the 3rd Marquis of Lansdowne, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (1780 -1863), who was a respected cabinet member, often consulted by Queen Victoria, and one of the most powerful Whig statesmen of his time. He also owned property in Hull, and has been referred to as a “slum landlord”, by more than one writer on Hull’s history. Lansdowne Street suffered Blitz damage in World War Two, on its west side, which was later completely demolished for the construction of the Hull Royal Infirmary in 1966/67. The east side remained occupied until the compulsory purchase, and subsequent clearance of the area, around 1980. No original buildings survive and the street now serves as the entrance to Hull Royal Infirmary and its associated buildings .

At the west corner of Lansdowne Street was West Park Terrace, interestingly named, as the West Park wasn’t built for another twenty years. It consisted of just three houses, fronting Anlaby Road, constructed c.1861. The houses remained in private occupation until c.1905, and were taken over by the Hull Incorporation for the Poor by 1910. The buildings survived both wars, but were demolished during the construction of Hull Royal Infirmary in 1966/67.

Lansdowne Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Lansdowne Street

Argyle Street

Argyle Street was originally called Asylum Lane, as it led north from Anlaby Road to an asylum, first established as the Hull & East Riding Refuge for the Insane in 1838. The refuge was developed by Dr John Alderson, and surgeon Richard Casson, and was improved in 1849 when the Commissioners in Lunacy improved the buildings to the level of an Asylum when the corporation acquired the premises. The refuge is shown on Wilkinson’s plan of Hull in 1848, and was entered via a small track from Anlaby Road. Following its improvement, a second entrance was made from Spring Bank, as the old track entrance was less than satisfactory. Historian Dr Bickford describes the lane in his history of the asylum: –

“From the turnpike, Asylum Lane, (now Argyle Street), led up to the asylum crossing over the Hull and Selby and Bridlington railway lines, and it was soon in a deplorable state. For some twenty years it was unlit, and its surface was so bad that the drivers of carriages often refused to go along it to take old and frail patients over such a surface, which was to risk killing them as a consequence of the jolting they would receive. The roadway as far as the first railway line was dirty and there were holes, or rather pools of thick watery mud. The nearer the asylum was approached the deeper the holes became. After the second railway crossing, not only did the lane get worse but the footpath disappeared, and was replaced by a deep unenclosed ditch on either side. To try and reach the asylum after dark without a lantern was so risky as to make its traverse extremely hazardous. Mrs Casson and her children were rendered more or less recluses.”

As the area around the asylum was built upon, the new residents objected to the name, and it was changed to Argyle Street, by resolution of the Board of Health in October 1861. However, the lane was still being referred to as Asylum Lane in 1879, when numerous letters of complaint in the press noted that the north end, which ran to Spring Bank, was still not made-up. This end of the lane possibly retained the old name, before being officially designated as Derringham Street. By 1852 access could also be gained to the asylum by a circuitous route from Spring Bank via Derringham Street, Trinity Street and a short lane that was later improved to become Londesborough Street. The new name, Argyle Street, was possibly chosen to fit with other “royalist” names in the area; directly opposite across Anlaby Road were Regent Street, Victoria Terrace, Albert Terrace, and the Argyle public house. However, Argyle Farm was listed at the north of the old lane in trade directories of the time, and may have been another inspiration for the name.

Cricket had been played on a ground to the south of the old Asylum since at least 1857, when it was recorded there in a newspaper article; the ground was the new home of the Hull Town Cricket Club by 1864 following thier move from the Brown Cow Field (see earlier). The Argyle Street ground was small and balls were frequently hit over the boundary into the grounds of the asylum. The world famous cricketer W G Grace played on the ground in an 1875 match between the south and north of England teams. In 1888 a grandstand was erected on the asylum side of the ground, which was later moved to the club’s new home – The Circle (see later). The last match played at Argyle Street was against Halifax on 18 September 1897, although the pavilion was used for meetings during the construction of the new site. Everything, including the turf, was gradually removed to the new site during the following year.

A railway bridge over the long-established lines, was constructed c.1887, at a predicted cost of £6,500. A meeting had been held regarding many new bridges in Hull, including Argyle Street, and was reported in the Hull Times of 24 April 1886 (page 7). The Argyle Street Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1895, and cost £5,500. It was designed by W A Gelder in the Romanesque style, of white brick with stone dressings, and could seat 1,000. It was situated on the north-east side of the street, and survived until closure in 1959. The main building was demolished by 1964, but a later school room of 1910, designed by Gelder & Kitchen, survives to the present day and has long been the home of the Hull Sea Cadets. Argyle Street was the victim of another compulsory purchase order in 1972, from which point almost all of the property in the area was systematically demolished; demolition continued until the early 1980s.

At the south-east corner of Argyle Street, was a cluster of street furniture; a cabman’s shelter was located on the Anlaby Road side, with a seat set in to the wall of the Work House, alongside the footpath. Both of these enabled passers by to take advantage of a drinking fountain, set in the wall at this point. This was one of earliest street drinking fountains in Hull, and was presented to the town by Alderman Fountain in 1858. Situated at the opposite (western) corner of Argyle Street, was Argyle House, built c.1869 as a huge five-bay house adjoined by a terrace of smaller, three-bay houses, known as Crown Terrace. Later, known simply as No.190 Anlaby Road, Argyle House was home to surgeons and the like until c.1915, when it was taken over by the National Union of Railwaymen’s Institute, which it remained until the 1950s. Later known as The Argyle Club for some years, from the late 1950s it was converted to flats, which was to be the fate of most of the terrace. Sadly, Argyle House was demolished in October 1975, and the site was latterly used as a car showroom, with portions of the demolished walls of the house surviving on the perimeter. The entrance of the hospital car park now marks the site.

Crown Terrace consisted of six houses adjoining Argyle House, and another four further west beyond a church that intersected the terrace (see below). Crown Terrace had been converted, mostly to offices, by the 1920s, and was home to the St John’s Ambulance Brigade, and other welfare organisations. Latterly, some of the fine Victorian houses were home to auctioneer Gilbert Baitson’s curiously named Edwardian Auction Rooms, with a familiar Hull landmark; a statue resembling King Edward VII, in the front garden.

Argyle Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Argyle Street

Gladstone Street

Gladstone Street was laid out c.1870, and by the time of the 1871 Census only six or seven properties were occupied. One of the first occupants was David Parkinson Garbutt, the developer of the “Avenues” (Marlborough, Park, Westbourne etc.), who was listed as a “brick maker”. Kelly’s directory of 1872 listed 15 occupied properties in the street, and 22 by 1875. Its name was no doubt chosen to honour the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, who served in that post from 1868 until his defeat in the elections of 1874.

The Imperial Steam Laundry was built at the bottom of Gladstone Street in the late 1890s, on an area of land used by many local businesses for their works, which survived into the 1940s. Some of the housing in the street was lost in the air raids of 1941, but the majority remained occupied until the 1970s, with some still inhabited until their demolition from 1980 onwards; no original buildings survive.

Beyond Gladstone Street, was another elegant terrace, known as Albermarle Terrace. The terrace consisted of seven houses in the Italianate style, similar in design to Crown Terrace, and almost certainly designed by architect Frederick William Hagen. Architectural student Ian Goldthorpe, writing in the 1950s, described them, somewhat generously as “probably his finest group of terraced houses”. The terrace was not built as one, sections having been constructed at several different dates. By 1875 only three houses had been built, including the larger corner property at the east end known as Temple House, later used as a private girls school. The main entrance to the school was in Gladstone Street. The grand terrace, latterly Nos.216 to 228 Anlaby Road, was home to many of Hull’s leading men, includin Richard Thornton-Varley, James Saltmer (Lofthouse & Saltmer), Hebblethwaite the land agent etc.

Beyond the terrace was an open plot, with a footpath leading to Mr Richards’ florist & gardener’s premises. The plot in front of the gardens remained empty until c.1920, when W L Thompson, Motor Car Agents, built a showroom and garage on the site. Beyond the large plot, latterly the site of Thompson’s garage, was the final house on this block, known as Arnold House. Built c.1870 for wine & spirit merchant William McBride, Arnold House was named as such, as it stood at the corner of Arnold Street. In early directories and the Census returns, it is often referred to simply as No.1 Arnold Street. The houses in this terrace had mostly been demolished by the 1980s, but Temple House, the former girls school, survived until 1991.

Gladstone Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Gladstone Street

Arnold Street

As Gladstone Street had been named after a prominent Victorian, so it seems was Arnold Street. Mathew Arnold (1822 – 1888), who was seen by many as the embodiment of Victorian values and constraints, was a famous poet, literary critic, and once professor of poetry at Oxford University. It seems likely that the name was given in his honour. The street was laid out on land that had been owned by the York & North Midland Railway Company, and was developed from c.1870. The Cenus of 1871 records just two houses in the street, including Arnold House, mentioned earlier. Historian John Markham, suggests that Arnold Street had at first been named St Mathew Street, and was re-named in 1870, to avoid confusion with another St Mathew Street, nearer the church of the same name. At the bottom of Arnold Street were allotment gardens, running along the side of the railway lines, almost to the edge of Anlaby Road. The entrance to these allotments became known as Arnold Lane.

Arnold Street was also home to a “double-decker piggery”, allegedly England’s first, built for pig dealers Shouler & Crawford in the early 1920s, and latterly owned by the Rawson family, from the late 1920s until World War Two. Arnold Street marks the boundary of the area devastated by the compulsory purchase and demolition madness of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, and sadly has no surviving original property.

Arnold Street

View the 1872-1873 Buchanan Trade Directory entry for Arnold Street

Walton Street

The line of Walton Street marks the old municipal and parliamentary boundary of Hull; historically it marks a much older boundary. Its alignment was shown as a simple track, or lane, on the 1824 Ordnance Survey plan of Hull, which linked Anlaby Road with “Daringham Bank”. Daringham, or Derringham Bank marked the line of a watercourse originally dug in the 14th Century to supply Hull with fresh water, and now marked by the line of Spring Bank and Spring Bank West.

There would no doubt have been some properties along the old lane, but finding any record of them has proved difficult. It is not until the 1860s that the area was developed, when James Beeton acquired land, and the area became known as Beetonville. Beetonville soon expanded to include the smaller Longden Street, Pulman Street and Paisley Street etc. Walton Street was almost fully built upon by the time of the 1872 Census, when it was recorded in “Beetonville, a township of Swanland”; entries in the buildings registers show plans for houses and shops being approved for construction well into the 1870s.

James Beeton was already well known in Hull and was the principal promoter of the Hull, Beverley and East Riding Land Society. He was known for his business as a basket maker (since 1826) and also as a collector of taxes. Around 1858 he bought 23 acres of land in Wold Carr, then outside the town boundary in order to grow willows for his basket business (the 1861 Census records him as a 58 years old accountant and “cultivator of osiers on 23 acres” resident in Prospect Street, whilst his son (?) John W. was listed as a 30 years old basket maker in Blanket Row. Realising the potential for property in the new district he developed the area for streets and housing, although he was not without his critics; Alderman Lambert dismissed Beetonville as “the paradise of frogs”. Others described the area as “a perfect quagmire” and a “dismal swamp”, because of its un-drained and insanitary condition; all of the sewage from Beetonsville ran in to the old Galley Clough Drain, an agricultural drain that was not built for such effluent, running along the east side of Walton Street. Despite ongoing complaints and a Local Government enquiry into the drainage Beeton succeeded in his enterprise. Members of the board of enquiry included H. Heron, a builder, D. P. Garbutt, property developer and landowner, S. Beecroft, dairy farmer and landowner, and S. B. Wilkinson, builder; the inclusion of such local businessmen made certain that the interests of builders and developers would not be overlooked. The enquiry decided there was a shortage of clean water; historian Bernard Foster noted: –

“To remedy this, D. P. Garbutt sank wells into the chalk and obtained a good supply, from the site now occupied by the Albert Avenue swimming baths. Because Hull itself was short of water, Garbutt offered a supply, but this was refused. Further, Hull refused to allow Newington sewage through the Hull out-fall into the Humber. An increasing quantity of sewage was therefore flowing along an agricultural drain into a brick pond, which became a vast cesspool. By 1880 Newington was in such a state that it was inevitable that it should be absorbed into Hull. Corruption, lack of accounting, overspending and incompetence had produced financial chaos and impending bankruptcy. Funds voted for street surfacing had been used in the litiga-tion against the North Eastern Railway Company. In 1880 at the local elections all the old councillors were swept away and men of possibly higher integrity and not unfavourable to annexation by Hull, were elected. The rates of Newington brought in just enough to pay the staff and the cost of night-soil collection. With the dissolution of Newington about to take place six to seven thousand house plans were rushed through in order to avoid the stricter Hull (1854) building regulations. The Hull boundaries were extended to take in Newington in 1883, with a population of 8,066. There was much valuable brick-clay in the area and disused brick-ponds scattered everywhere. Bricks had been made on the site as the houses were being built there. Some of the ponds became cesspools, as in Paisley Street. As the area had so recently been agricultural, much animal husbandry re-mained-especially filthy, with piggeries, dairies and cow-sheds with great accumulations of manure”

from Living & Dying in Hull, pages 86, 87, and 89.-

Beeton lived in a house off Walton Street, named Willow Glen, for some time and later at Beetonville Hall off Albert Avenue, where he died at the age of 70 in 1872, just as his estate was blooming and thus escaping all the uproar. By the time of the 1879 trade directory, the area was fully built upon and his plan was realised.

Situated at the lower left corner of West Park, near to the Walton Street and Anlaby Road junction, the central feature tower of the Carnegie Heritage Centre is quite unique in Hull (and possibly all of East Yorkshire). It is one of the Anlaby Road’s most recognisable landmarks, soon to be included within the regeneration of the West Park and this section of the road.

This former Library, after being deemed ‘surplus to requirements’, was rescued from further decline by the Carnegie Heritage Action Team, with the aim of preserving this unique space as a local history and family history resource centre.The buiding is now once again a thriving resource available to the community.

For more information:
www.carnegiehull.co.uk

Walton Street, Nos 103 and 105, courtesy of Hull History Services.

Lonsdale Street

The corner property, at the west side of Lonsdale Street has a date stone at roof level, which records that it was built in 1890. This building was originally used as the retail department of a dairy, and is adjacent to two houses Lonsdale Villas, which front Anlaby Road. All three properties were occupied in the 1891 Census, taken in April of that year. The street was originally to be named Norman Street, probably in tribute to William Norman of nearby Somerset House (or Villa), who had been a member of the Newington Local Board. The street was constructed immediately east of his grand home. However, the street appears never to have been recorded by this name in any trade directories etc., and was soon re-named. At the request of Robert Thompson, the street’s developer, the name was changed to Lonsdale Street, possibly after Hull builder Alfred Lonsdale of Bean Street, but more probably after the fourth Earl of Lonsdale died in 1882; credence is given to this explanation by nearby Lowther Street, also in Beetonville, as Lowther Castle was the home of the Earl Lonsdale. Plans were submitted in September 1889 for a “new street”, initially of 33 intended houses, drawn by architect Thomas Beecroft Atkinson and countersigned by joiner W E Hunter of St George’s Road. The 1889/90 Ordnance Survey plans show just 16 houses completed in the street, and by the time of the 1891 Census 14 of these were occupied. Interestingly, only five of the families were originally from Hull, and the Census of 1891 records that the inhabitants of the street were mostly white-collar workers e.g. teachers, clerks and managerial staff. By early 1892 there were at least 22 occupied houses in the street, which had developed further north, with two additional blocks of property with long front gardens extending to a path leading off the centre of the street. By 1896 there were 35 houses in the street (20 on the west side and 15 on the east side) and the street was fully developed.

The 1889/90 Ordnance Survey plan also shows a large open plot on the south-east corner of the street; this was formerly occupied by Michael O’Connell & Sons rope & twine manufactory. By the spring of 1892, the manufactory had moved to premises off Hessle Road, and the site had been “acquired for a new Presbyterian church”. The new church was intended to replace a temporary mission hall in Walton Street,built in 1876.

Albert Avenue

Albert Avenue, was laid out from c.1874, when the buildings registers show plans being approved for houses in the new street. Slightly later, in 1877, the registers show an “estate of houses” was laid out to its west. Amongst the buildings in the new street were those built to serve the workers creating the bustling new suburb. The high level railway of the Hull & Barnsley Railway Co was under construction and the workers employed to construct the huge railway and its embankments were served with a reading room and mission. The mission was was provided by the main contractors of the railway, Lucas & Aird; the Hull Packet of 27 January 1882 (page 8) noted: –

“HULL AND BARNSLEY RAILWAY NAVVY MISSIONS. – The Mission Room erected in Albert Avenue, near the Anlaby Road, was opened on Monday.”

The mission was destroyed by fire in 1905, but a new church was built in Albert Avenue; the Church of the Transfiguration, whose foundation stone was laid in November 1902, and consecrated in 1904. The new Anglican church was built of red brick, with stone dressings, in the Decorated style and was designed by architect F S Brodrick. The western front was not fully completed until 1915. Sadly, the church was another victim of dwindling congregations, and was closed in the early 1970s, when the congregation was moved to the Anlaby Road Methodist Church, on the corner of Plane Street. The Albert Avenue church was demolished in 1975, and modern housing now occupies the site.

In 1871 Hull Corporation agreed to supply the Newington district with water; the Newington Water Company was started in 1874 by D P Garbutt on a site on the east side of Albert Avenue. The waterworks were taken over by the corporation in 1893at a cost of £100,000 and its works closed. In 1908 the site of the old waterworks was used for the Newington, or Albert Avenue Baths, which included “slipper baths”, which were poular at the time. The name slipper baths can still be seen in the stonework of the small outbuildings alongside Albert Avenue.

Beyond Albert Avenue, more terraced housing and shops lined Anlaby Road; the first ran from the corner of Albert Avenue, a block of five houses that were shown on the 1888/89 Ordnance Survey plans as Ferndale Terrace. These were not listed in a directory of 1888, and so they must have been built in that year. Also shown on the 1889 plans, was De La Pole House, a single property located further west, nearer the junction of De La Pole Avenue. The land between Ferndale Terrace and De La Pole House was gradually filled by houses, built independently of each other; Norman Villa, Erlesdene and Elm House were all built by 1892. By 1899 the block was complete, including purpose built shops for the Hull Co-operative Stores (No.440) and Kitchen’s drug stores at No.444.

De La Pole Avenue

De La Pole Avenue first appears in the trade directories c.1888, and was marked on the 1888/89 Ordnance Survey plans of the area, although very few properties were shown at that date. The western corner property, at the Anlaby Road junction, has a date stone of 1889. The name was no doubt in recognition of one of Hull’s most famous and influential medieval merchant families, the De La Poles. The writer and poet Stevie Smith was born at No.34 De La Pole Avenue.

Continuing west beyond De La Pole Avenue, the next block of properties developed in the same period as the block to the east. Teviot House, Blair House (later a preparatory school) and Cogan House were built between 1890 and 1893, as well as a purpose built shop for John Webster. By 1899 the block was almost complete, and other houses included Gloucester House, Linden House, Gloddaeth House etc. The block was mostly completed by 1905, when the trend for naming terraces independently of the main road had all but ceased, and the houses had all been individually numbered. The end of this block was marked by a field boundary; at the turn of the 20th Century, open field drainage ditches still ran alongside Anlaby Road, north and south, with small footbridges allowing safe crossings here and there. Nothing was built beyond the last terrace and Old Newington Farm for almost 30 years. The large open space between the last terrace and the farm had been an important location for Hull’s racing fraternity and gamblers.

Parkfield Drive

The name Parkfield Drive, refers to the use of former fields in this area. Many sports (e.g. horse racing) and agricultural fairs and shows were held on these fields. Modern streets and housing on these former fields have taken the older field names; hence the “field” references in each of the surrounding streets. Often the fields related to former farms, e.g. Westfield Farm. Parkfield Drive was originally to be called Newington Drive, but the council rejected the name. The name Parkfield Drive was agreed upon in March 1927, and a development of four new streets on the site of the old racecourse was completed in 1928. The streets do not show on the 1928 Ordnance Survey plans, as the plans were only surveyed in 1926/27, and published in 1928.

Springfield Road

Springfield Road is part of a development of four new streets on the site of the old racecourse, and was laid out in 1927/28. The four streets do not show on the 1928 Ordnance Survey plans, as the plans were only surveyed in 1926/27, and published in 1928.

Northfield Road

Northfield Road is part of a development of four new streets on the site of the old racecourse, and was laid out in 1927/28. The four streets do not show on the 1928 Ordnance Survey plans, as the plans were only surveyed in 1926/27, and published in 1928.

Woldcarr Road

Like Northfield Road and Springfield Road, Woldcarr Road was laid out in 1927/28. Named in recognition of the fact that this area, north of Anlaby Road, was formerly known as Wold Carr, the south side of Anlaby Road historicaly being Wold Ings. As the development of new streets was laid out north of Anlaby Road, a series of short terraces of shops were built fronting the main road; most of which survive. The shops were complemented with a new pub in the 1960s.

Meadowbank Road

The name Meadow Bank is another that relates to the topography of the land in which it is situated; similar names in the area are Spring Bank and Derringham Bank, all suggesting fields named after nearby watercourses, or the land heaped-up as drain banks as drainage chanells were cut through the fields. Historically, this small area was bounded by ancient watercourses and was known as Newington, and is shown as such on the 1837 enclosure plan, and later 1853 Ordnance Survey plans. As the land in the area was built up, from the late 1920s Meadowbank Road, and nearby Cardigan Road, filled the once open land between the Hessle & Cottingham railway line, and the high-level railway line of the LNER. Meadowbank Road was laid-out in 1932/33, being only partially built-up by February 1933.

Cardigan Road

Cardigan Road was created in the same development as Meadowbank Road in 1932/33, and was fully built upon by 1936. Its building line, similar to Meadowbank Road, was defined by the older Newington Farm and railway embankment to its west. The origin of the name is unclear.

Hamlyn Avenue

Only one street was ever built from the proposed Wellsted’s development, and named Hamlyn Avenue. Hamlyn Avenue is first listed in the 1903 trade directories, having been built the year before. The origin of the name is uncertain. The 1908 Ordnance Survey plan shows only limited development in Hamlyn Avenue, and the two blocks of property facing Anlaby Road either side of its entrance.

The houses facing Anlaby Road were adjoined by more houses and shops in the mid 1930s, during the same phase of development that produced Meadowbank Road and Cardigan Road. During the development works Anlaby Road was widened at this point to accommodate the increased levels of traffic; photographs in the Hull City Archives show work well-underway in 1936. At that time Anlaby Road was still almost rural in this vicinity. The city (county & parliamentary) boundary ran along the east side of Calvert Lane, and remained the western extent of Hull until 1929, when the city boundary was extended to its present line further west.

Calvert Lane

Historians have suggested that Calvert Lane was previously known as Culvert Lane, because it had a ditch or watercourse on its east side; however, the lane is shown clearly on the 1853 Ordnance Survey plans as Calvert Lane. The simple explanation seems to be that Calvert Lane led to Derringham Bank Farm, on the north side of Spring Bank West (once known as Springhead Lane). Farmer John Calvert lived there for many years into the 1820s, and the lane extended north from Anlaby Road, across Springhead Lane to his farm. The watercourse formed the line of an ancient lane known as Water Lane, which continued south beyond Anlaby Road (see North Road). An article in the Hull News of 2 June 1900 referred to the road as Jameson’s Lane, although maps of that date continued to note it as Calvert Lane. Mr Jameson was resident in East Ella Hall, on the south-west corner of the road, at that time, and seems to have hi-jacked the name for a number of years. Calvert Lane was built upon from c.1927, and the Anlaby Road (south) end was built upon in the mid 1930s development of the area.

The 1853 Ordnance Survey plans show just four properties between Calvert Lane and Anlaby Common; East Ella Hall, Newington Farm (another one), Laurel Villa and Providence House. This remained the situation until the late 1920s expansion.

Arcon Drive

Arcon Drive is a c.1950 development, which is situated to the west of the former East Ella House / White City Pleasure Grounds. Lindsey Place runs off it forming a fork of properties running north from Anlaby Road. The name “Arcon” may have been derived from a land or housing development company.

East Ella Drive

East Ella Drive is shown partially built, on the 1928 Ordnance Survey plans that were surveyed in 1926/27. Although it was laid-out almost 20 years before the old hall was demolished (in 1945), East Ella Drive appears to be named in honour of East Ella Hall.

Legarde Avenue

Legarde Avenue is first mentioned in a 1936 trade directory, and with its near neighbours Malham and Ingleton Avenue, forms a linked fork of streets running off Anlaby Road.

Malham is a town in the Yorkshire Dales, and makes a link with Ingleton, which is a town near Malham. The name Legarde however, doesn’t at first appear to relate to Malham and Ingleton. The 1937 Kelly’s trade directory for North & East Yorkshire records Lord and Lady Legard at residences (separate) in the Malton area. Richard Legard, apparently from the same family, is recorded at two addresses; Welham Road, Norton near Malton (with Lady Julia Legard) and Anlaby Lodge, in Anlaby.

The Legard family can trace its origins back to a Robert de Legard at the time of the Norman Conquest. They possessed the lordship of Anlaby 1100, and held it continuously until the early twentieth century. A marriage settlement in 1690 of “John, son of Sir Robert Legard, and Jane, daughter of Ann Hildyard of Hull, widow”, included “three stengs of meadow abutting on Ings Dyke in Anlaby”. This description may refer to the area on which the three avenues are built. It seems certain that the family owned this land, and Anlaby Lodge may have been another name for Providence House, just to the west of the plot.

Malham Avenue

Malham Avenue was developed with Legarde Avenue, and was initially called Priory Road (as listed in the 1936 – 1939 trade directories), and appears to have been re-named in the 1940s. This was probably to avoid confusion with Priory Road in Cottingham.

Ingleton Avenue

Ingleton Avenue was developed c.1936, with Legarde Avenue and Malham Avenue.

Norland Avenue

Norland Avenue is listed first in the 1936 trade directory, and runs through the centre of land previously occupied by Providence House, a former grand house with extensive gardens.

Trenton Avenue

Trenton Avenue was also first listed in the 1936 trade directory, and marks the boundary bewtween Hull and Anlaby. The entrance to Trenton Avenue from Anlaby Road marks the alignment of a lost street, known as Lodge Lane. Lodge Lane ran north from The Lodge, a property that was isolated on the south-west corner of Trenton Avenue as the new street was laid out. Lodge Lane ran north to the grounds of Springhead House on the north side of Willerby Road. The Lodge was latterly known as Springhead Cottage, and survived until c.1939 at the end of the line of new shops on Anlaby Road. Sadly it was later demolished with the continuing construction of the Trenton Avenue development.