Anlaby Road South Side Streets
Anne Street | Midland Street | Pease Street Great Thornton Street | Walker Street | De Grey Terrace | Day Street | Campbell Street | South Parade | Convent Lane | Linnaeus Street | Regent Street | Bean Street | Coltman Street | Saner Street | Boulevard | Selby Street | Ruskin Street | Perry Street | Walliker Street | Granville Street | Sandringham Street | St George’s Road | Plane Street | Melrose Street | Glencoe Street | Stirling Street | Hawthorn Avenue | Wheeler Street | Boothferry Road | Hamlyn Drive | North Road | Belgrave Drive | Pickering Road | Plantation Drive | The Greenway | Anlaby Park Road North
Anne Street
Anne Street was laid out about 1826, running north and south from Osborne Street. It may have been named after the daughter of one of Hull’s famous bankers, Joseph Robinson Pease. Originally, the north end was a cul-de-sac, and ran only as far as the back of the Trinity House almshouses (see later). In 1882 discussions were recorded in the local press, between Trinity House and the local authorities, regarding the “proposed Anne Street improvement”. Soon after, c.1885, the street was extended to join with Carr Lane and Anlaby Road. The extension of the street required the demolition of a large part of the almshouses and grounds that belonged to Trinity House.
Midland Street
Midland Street was cut through the much earlier Ocean Place, and was named after the North Midland Railway, who owned the Paragon Station on the opposite side of Anlaby Road. The street was laid-out in 1856/57, to provide a more direct link from Anlaby Road, Ocean Place and the railway station, to the densely populated Porter Street area and Hessle Road. The Street was made “one-way” in 1958.
Beyond Midland Street and the west end of Ocean Place, there was very little property except for the odd inn, mill and farm. Sporadic building projects and new road developments gradually took over former fields, farms, market gardens and pleasure grounds from the 1820s and 1830s, but it was not until the 1840s that Anlaby Road became built upon in any large way.
The properties that front the Anlaby Road, were not built sequentially from the city centre but consisted of many blocks and terraces of property that were built independently. Many terraces and houses were built at different dates making it difficult to compile a logical east to west chronology. The stretch of property between Midland Street and Pease Street included some of Anlaby Road’s more well-known buildings.
Pease Street
Pease Street was named after Hull’s most famous banker, Joseph Robinson Pease, possibly because he had invested in the turnpike road to Anlaby and Kirkella, but more likely that he was such a prominent citizen when the road was being constructed. Pease Street was first laid-out c.1844 from the Adelaide Street (south) end, but was extended north to meet Anlaby Road in the 1860s. The extension to join Anlaby Road crossed land owned by the Broadley family. Very little of the street line now remains and there are no original buildings, most of them having been cleared in the mass 1950s/60s compulsory purchase schemes.
Several new buildings were constructed, west of the new Pease Street, in the 1860s; extending as far as the junction with Great Thornton Street, the long row of property was named Frederika Terrace. The new terrace consisted mostly of houses, some with front gardens, the majority of which later converted to shops. Some of the large buildings that adjoined Frederika Terrace became well-known landmarks on the ever-growing Anlaby Road and formed a unique line of varied architectural styles, and featured two of Hull’s most ornate theatres. The area had long become synonymous with entertainment and had enjoyed a varied history of spectacle and sport.
Great Thornton Street
Great Thornton Street marks the meandering line of a much older route known as Gallows Lane leading to Love Lane, and the Waverley Street (formerly Pinfold Lane) area, and the site of the old town gallows. The lane was gradually built upon from the south, eventually becoming Great Thornton Street by c.1845. The street cut through land owned by Alderman John Porter, who had married a Miss Thornton; hence the street’s name. The “Great” in Great Thronton Street was possibly added to distinguish it from an other Thornton Street in Drypool. Amongst the notable buildings in Great Thornton Street, was the Great Thornton Street Chapel, opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1842. It was designed by architect H F Lockwood, in the Greek revival style, and had seating for 1,300. Its stone façade, hid more a modest brick shell, built at a cost of £7,000. At the time it was one of Hull’s outstanding buildings, but was sadly almost destroyed by a fire in 1907; a small section survived until c.1950. A new hall was built in 1908/09, on the site of the damaged chapel, known as Thornton Hall. Designed by Gelder & Kitchen and built at a cost of £18,250, the new hall seated slightly more, with seats for 2,000. The new hall was destroyed in the air-raids of World War Two.
Walker Street
Walker Street shared the same junction on Anlaby Road as Great Thornton Street. It was named after James Walker of Sand Hutton near Beverley, and later of Lairgate, Beverley, who owned the land on which it was built. The street was developed from 1830, but not built upon until the 1840s, and by 1849 it was still “only half built upon”. Plans in the Hull City Archives indicate it was still being developed in the 1860s, and mostly at the Anlaby Road end.
The Zion Wesleyan Chapel was built in Walker Street around 1855, but was replaced by a chapel in Campbell Street in 1866, and was then registered by another denomination. The Independent Methodists held it from 1871-76 and it was taken over again in 1881, as a Zion Calvinist chapel. It was in use until at least 1930 and had seating for just 250. The shared junction of Great Thornton Street and Walker Street has now been re-named Icehouse Road.
Beyond the junction with Great Thornton Street the Anlaby Road widened, probably illustrating the need for more traffic space as the road developed. Historian Edmund Wrigglesworth, writing in 1890, note : –
“The Anlaby Road here broadens out, and from the elegant houses and mansions which line its sides, and the quality of its foliage, presents a striking picture of modern street landscape”.
One line of “elegant houses and mansions” running west from the junction of Great Thornton Street and Walker Street, was named Coburg Terrace (sometimes shown as Coburg Place). This terrace was constructed earlier than the buildings nearer the town, to the east, and was laid out c.1820. Coburg Terrace ran from Great Thornton Street to what later became De Grey Terrace (see below). It initially consisted of eight houses, with front and rear gardens; the front gardens were almost certainly lost when Anlaby Road was widened here, between 1860 and the 1880s. It is possible that the whole terrace was rebuilt to a more uniform appearance at that time. Coburg Terrace suffered a direct hit in 1941, during World War Two, and was demolished by 1946.
De Grey Terrace
At the west end of Coburg Terrace stood a small development of seven properties facing the Anlaby Road, and known as Albany Terrace or Place. The terrace was split halfway by one of Anlaby Road’s lost streets known as De Grey Terrace, which was first mentioned in the late 1860s trade directories. It was one of many developments named in honour of Viscount Goodrich M.P., who became the Earl De Grey and Ripon in 1863. Ripon Street and De Grey Street in Hull were also named in his honour. The short terrace consisted of two rows of seven houses facing each other, and was constructed on a much older alignment that, like many in this area, was once the entry to large gardens and nurseries. De Grey Terrace gave no entry to the more substantial houses of Clifton Street, built on the same alignment further south. Sadly all trace of the terrace was lost as this area suffered severe bombing during World War Two, and was mostly demolished by 1946. The site was re-developed in the late 1960s, and is now lost beneath blocks of garages belonging to the nearby tower blocks. Albany Terrace extended to the junction of Day Street.
Day Street
The original line of property that became Day Street, was shown as Wellington Lane, on the large-scale 1853/6 Ordnance Survey plan of Hull. The name Day Street came into use in the 1860s and plans in the Hull City Archives name it as Wellington Gardens in 1860, and Day Street by 1864.
Day Street was named after Mrs Jane Day of Wellington Gardens, Anlaby Road, whose land it was built upon. Wellington Gardens was a functional address, as the gardens it referred to were actually working, market gardens or nurseries and pleasure gardens. Many of these gardens fed the citizens of Hull and were developed to replace the older gardens within the old town walls that had been acquired for building as land became scarce. As Hull expanded even further, during the 19th Century, many of these gardens were themselves built upon. The Hull Packet newspaper ran an article on 22 October 1852 (page 5) that may relate to the house of Mrs Day:
THE HAUNTED HOUSE ON THE ANLABY ROAD –
DISCOVERY OF A GHOST “Some little distance beyond the end of Walker Street and Great Thornton Street, on the left-hand side of the Anlaby Road, is a quiet lonely lane, known by the name of Wellington-lane, at the bottom of which stands the haunted house.”
Just inside Day Street, on its west side, was the Day Street School, built in 1868, and originally titled the Day Street British school; the school was created following the closure of the Dock Green School. It had a capacity of 765, with an average attendance of 600 in 1904/06. The local education authority acquired it in 1906 and the infants department was closed in 1907, followed by the boys in 1916, and the girls in 1922. It is unclear what happened to the building following closure, but it was still shown on the 1928 Ordnance Survey plan as a school. All traces of Day Street were removed in the 1950/60s redevelopment in this area, which included the construction of the present tower block/multi-storey flats in 1965.
Between Day Street and Campbell Street was a terrace of property fronting Anlaby Road known as Cottage Row, built c.1820, much earlier than neighbouring property. Cottage Row’s name probably referred to one of the long established and larger, detached houses in the vicinity, possibly Shalam House to its rear, or the much larger Myton House to its west. The term “cottage” was then commonly used to describe much grander properties than the word suggests today, and could simply describe a line of elegant cottage properties. Cottage Row was also very badly damaged by severe bombing in World War Two, and was demolished by 1946.
Campbell Street
Campbell Street ran north from the Hessle Road to the Anlaby Road, through land owned by the Broadley family. Miss Sophia Broadley signed a contract to have the street laid-out in 1861, and it was developed from that date. Its name could have been taken from any number of Campbells, who were linked with the life of Miss Broadley; alternatively it may have been named after Sarah Campbell, the tireless matron of the Borough Asylum on Anlaby Road during the 1850s. The Broadleys found themselves in the company of many other so-called “slum landlords” during the 1870s, when Day Street and Campbell Street were described in the press as “simply disgraceful”, and “the haunts of disease and death”. The terraces of grand houses that faced Anlaby Road often hid masses of low-quality housing, in the warren of streets and courts that were developed behind. These inferior housing developments were often slotted-in around pre-existing industrial buildings on any available piece of land whatever its shape and size.
Campbell Street was developed from an older lane, which had led to a tannery, established on the site many years earlier. The 1861 Census refers to it as Tan Yard Lane with tanner Thomas Holmes, residing at Shalam House, No.1 Tan Yard Lane. The Holmes family established their tanning business in Hull c.1803, at premises in Church Street, Wincolmlee; a John Holmes, late of Doncaster, was first mentioned as a tanner in the directory of that year. Between 1823 and 1826, one of John’s sons, Thomas Holmes, also listed as a tanner, had acquired property on West Parade, Anlaby Road. This may have been a residential address, and John Holmes junior was listed at West Parade in 1828, whilst John Holmes senior was still listed at the original premises in Church Street. By 1834 John Holmes & Son were listed as tanners on the Anlaby Road and an 1835 plan of Hull shows their property in-situ, on the Tan Yard Lane site. Later maps show the complex of buildings gradually increasing in size, until they dominate the area around the small lane. The largest warehouse on the site was constructed for Thomas Holmes in 1860, to the designs of architect William Botterill. The Holmes’ tannery had become the largest in the town and in 1851 employed 100 men, along with 36 men and four boys employed at the original Church Street tannery. Historian James Sheahan, writing in 1866, said of the company: –
“One of the most perfect establishments of its kind is the Anlaby Road Tannery, which has, like many other places of business in Hull, been rebuilt and very much extended. Its owners (Messrs Thomas Holmes & Son) are the tanners and manufacturers of the famous patent walrus and hide leather strapping, now used in the principal works in the kingdom, in which very powerful straps are necessary. There are two or three smaller tanneries.”
The Holmes family, Thomas, William, John and Samuel (later a JP), continued in the tanning business for many years, and the family home Shalam House was occupied throughout the life of the company. Shalam House is shown derelict in a 1940 photograph, and narrowly survived bombing in World War Two. It was badly damaged however and was demolished soon after the war.
During its heyday, the company dressed leather at Anlaby Road, whilst leather for shoe-soles was made at Wincolmlee, from salted Buffalo hides. The family firm became a limited company in 1890, with T B Holmes as chairman; the fully paid capital amounted to £110,000. By 1936 the company had reduced their operations, having sold off some of their sites, and concentrated all their work at Wincolmlee. The old Campbell Street works were used by a number of other businesses, including a transport company, until being demolished in the 1960s redevelopment of the area.
St Thomas’s Anglican Church and St Thomas’s School rooms behind, formed unlikely neighbours with the foul smelling tannery buildings in Campbell Street. Initially a temporary church, St Thomas’s was opened in 1873, and a more permanent church was consecrated in 1882. The church was cruciform, in red brick, and was designed by Edward Simpson of Bradford. Wrigglesworth noted: –
“An iron church was previously used for some years, and is now occupied as a parish room. The church consists of a nave and aisles, double transepts in the north and south aisles, an apsidal-ended chancel, with vestry and organ chamber on the south side, and a porch and lofty octagonal bell turret on the north, at the junction of the chancel and north transept. A noticeable feature of the church is that the aisles are com-paratively narrow, and the walls unpierced by any win-dows, the lighting depending entirely upon a lofty range of clerestory windows. There is, however, no lack of light in any part of the church. There is an excellent organ, the gift of Col. Saner, JP. The church has accommodation for 750 persons, all the seats being free. The cost of the church was about £94,000, exclusive of the site” (sic).
Sadly, and somewhat unluckily, St Thomas’s was damaged by Zeppelin bombers in World War One, and suffered again during World War Two. The church was demolished soon after 1945 and the site is now lost under council housing, but the name was perpetuated in a district church in the parish of the Ascension.
Only the gardens of a large mansion-house stood between Campbell Street and the next street off Anlaby Road – South Parade, until c.1875. Set back from the street, the large property was known as Elm Tree House, and was built c.1830. The residence was still shown on the 1853 Ordnance Survey plan of Hull, but between 1875 and 1879 the block was redeveloped with new property fronting the Anlaby Road with a network of smaller terraces behind. The property facing Anlaby Road consisted of two, two-storey buildings named Livingstone Terrace (at the east end) and five, three-story buildings named Livingston Arcade (adjoining at the west end). These were purpose built as shops with living accommodation above; the whole terrace was damaged during World War Two and demolished c.1950.
South Parade
South Parade was laid out shortly after West Parade, which had stood on the north side of Anlaby Road since c.1807. The southernmost end is shown as South Parade on some maps, but its Anlaby Road end was originally known as Elm Tree Lane and later Keddey’s Terrace. Keddey’s Terrace ran through grounds owned by wealthy merchant and shipping agent Robert Keddey, who lived in Myton House, the grounds of which later became the site of the Convent of The Sisters of Mercy (see Convent Lane).
Myton house was adjoined by a long stretch of gardens, which ran south to the end of Staniforth Place, a street on the Hessle Road. During the first half of the 19th Century this whole area between the Anlaby Road and the Hessle Road was predominantly gardens (shown clearly on maps of 1835 and 1842). Often the lanes, or “Parades”, through the gardens would link via a “halfpenny hatch”; small gates from one owners land to another, where an entry fee was charged. Such an entrance was made at the bottom of South Parade to link it with Staniforth Place, as the Hull Rockingham newspaper reported on 21 August 1830 (page 5): –
“HALFPENNY HATCH. – A foot road has been opened from the Anlaby to the Hessle road, through Keddey’s Terrace and Staniforth Place”.
As Hull expanded to the west the gardens were soon built upon as the demand for new housing increased. A later article in the Advertiser of 18 April 1845 reported details: –
“TO BE SOLD BY PRIVATE CONTRACT, a Plot of BUILDING GROUND, now occupied as Gardens, being in KEDDEY’S TERRACE, or SOUTH PARADE, on the Anlaby-Road, and nearly opposite the Elm Tree House, comprising about 1,000 Square Yards. Part or the whole of the Purchase money may remain on Security of the Property for 8 or more years. For further particulars apply to Mr. Wm. Foster, Brewer, Vincent-Street, Hull.”
South Parade was often known locally as Nunnery Lane, no doubt due to its close proximity to the Convent situated on the land between South Parade and Convent Lane. All traces of South Parade have gone, having been demolished in the late 1950s and early 1960s redevelopment of the area.
The land between South Parade and Convent Lane was first occupied by a large, detached private house, with extensive gardens adjoining the Anlaby Road known as Myton House; this was the home of Robert Keddey, shipping agent and merchant, and subsequently John Malam Esq, a former sheriff of Hull. The Hull Packet advertisement shown below and dated 25 September 1857, refers to the purchase of the house and grounds and the proposed establishment of a Roman Catholic Convent & School of the Sisters of Mercy on the Anlaby Road: –
“THE FIRST CONVENT IN HULL – A contemporary announces, apparently on authority, that the extensive house and grounds, Myton Hall, Anlaby-road, in this borough built by the late Robert Keddey, Esq. and which was afterwards the property of John Malam, Esq., some years ago sheriff of Hull, has been purchased by the Roman Catholics, to be converted into a convent, and that a school is to be opened therein as early as possible, “to meet the educational requirements of the districts.”
Confusingly, Myton House appears to have also been known as Elm Tree House; John Malam’s address is listed as Elm Tree House in an 1848 directory. Elm Tree House however, is some distance from the site of the convent, and its site was taken by housing, not the convent. The convent was actually built in the grounds of the house, not on the site of the house itself. Local historian James Sheahan, writing in 1865, said of the convent: –
“This charitable institution in connection with the Catholics of Hull, was founded here in 1857, and is an affiliation from the Convent of Mercy in Bagot Street, Dublin. The house and grounds were purchased of Mr Malam (who bought them from the late Mr Keddy) for the sum of £3,800, which sum was chiefly raised by subscription. The stables and coach-houses were converted into schools for the poor girls of the Jarratt Street congregation – about 200 of whom attend”.
The building registers mention works in progress at the “new Convent of Mercy” in 1872. The convent was later rebuilt to the designs of architect G A Goldie, of London, in 1874. Historian and writer Edmund Wrigglesworth noted in 1890: –
“The order to which this convent is affiliated is a religious congregation of ladies, who devote themselves to the exercise of all good works, spiritual and corporal, and has about 600 houses, chiefly in the British Dominions and the United States of America. The house here has so much educational work that the sisters in it can do little more than visit and relieve the sick poor weekly. They contemplate establishing homes for girls of good character, and for penitents, as soon as they have the neces-sary means of doing so. The convent, which was erected about 1874, is a large and substantial edifice, of red brick, with stone dressings, three storeys in height. The front ele-vation presents in the centre a large block of building, with three tiers of six windows each; at the east angle is a tower, and at the west a gable, beneath which is a stone niche. The architecture is Gothic, and the appearance of the building denotes its use. There is a handsome chapel, the Sanctuary of which is richly adorned. In the rear are schools for the accommodation of 600 girls and infants of the elementary class, and 40 select pupils are taught in another portion of the building, All the pupil teachers employed both here and in the other schools under the care of the sisters, reside here. The number of children under their care is about 1,500. There are branch houses subject to this Convent at Beverley, Whitby, and North Ormsby, near Middlesbrough” (sic).
The convent closed in 1931, and moved to new premises in Southcoates Lane, where it remains to the present day. St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic School was built in South Parade c.1859, by the Convent of Mercy, and replaced the girls department of St Charles school. Taught by the Sisters of the Convent, it had 666 places for girls and infants by 1897, but these were later reduced to 531 (335 girls and 196 infants). The average attendance was 272 in 1938. The building was destroyed by bombs in 1941 and the school formally closed in 1945. St Mary’s Grammar school was established in South Parade in 1905, by the Sisters of Mercy next to their convent in Anlaby Road, partly as a pupil-teacher centre, but conducted as a “recognized” secondary school after 1906. There were 127 girls in 1913, 382 in 1936. Following air-raid destruction of its premises in 1941 the school occupied huts at Endsleigh Training College until 1960, when a new building was erected in Inglemire Lane. The old convent and school buildings were severely damaged during bombing during World War Two, but not demolished until 1954.
All of the land and buildings between Great Thornton Street and Convent Lane is now occupied by Great Thornton Street Flats – Blocks One, Two and Three; constructed in 1965, their construction required the demolition of many remaining original buildings in an area that once held some of Hull’s finest architecture.
Convent Lane
Convent Lane, originally Mill Lane, and later Oil Mill Lane, was named as such because it led to Mill Yard and a large windmill situated on its west side. The mill, which had been in existence since at least 1807 (see West Parade), was originally a corn and flour mill, and is shown on Anderson‘s 1818 plan of Hull as a Ridsdale’s flour mill; Mr Ridsdale was first listed as a miller, on Anlaby Road, in an 1806 trade directory. The mill was built of brick and its machinery powered by five sails; an advertisement in the Hull Advertiser of 29 March 1822 gave a description of the property: –
“To be SOLD by PRIVATE CONTRACT,
THE CORN WIND MILL and PREMISES on the Anlaby Road, opposite to West Parade, now occupied by JAMES ELLIS.
The Ground Plot consists of about One and Half Acre, and the Buildings are the Mill in very excellent condition, convenient Granary Room, Stable and Sheds, with a Dwelling House and Two Tenements, all in good repair, large Garden, well stocked with Fruit Trees, and in a thriving state; the Garden Ground is frontage to Anlaby-Road, and very desirably situate for Building Ground.
The Mill contains 3 pair French Stones, Iron Axis, and is replete with requisite Machinery, on the most approved principle; the great improvements in the neighbourhood are particularly calculated to give the Mill local advantages, and as the present Occupier is intending to remove to another situation in a distant part of the country, an opportunity will be afforded of introducing the Purchaser to the current business. For further Particulars apply to JAMES ELLIS, on the Premises” (sic).
The mill was twice more advertised for sale, in the Hull Advertiser of 1822 and 1830, but continued to be known as Ridsdale’s Mill until at least 1850. The 1853 Ordnance Survey plan then shows it as an Oil Mill known as the Carr Mill, indicating it had been converted for seedcrushing by that date; “Carr” was most likely a reference to its location, although it could have been the name of one of its many owners.
John Storry, of Oil Mill Lane, who purchased the mill during the 1850s, built two houses in the lane in 1861, a further three houses in 1862 and another in 1863. He was an oil miller and it appears that he had converted the mill for seedcrushing, to produce oil. During the 1870s Mill Lane became known as Convent Lane, although it is still mentioned as Mill Lane in later directories; the construction of the convent mentioned earlier was obviously the cause of the re-naming. Buildings relating to the old mill, were still shown on the 1890 Ordnance Survey plan, although the mill appears to have been demolished by that date. Memories of life in Convent Lane during the 1880s were submitted in a letter to the Hull Times, 17 March 1923. Elderly Hull resident, Mr A Clifford, recalled: –
“At the present time and situate on the right side of Convent Lane, a short distance down, there is a large garden belonging the Catholic Convent, which is utilised as a praying ground. It is enclosed by a large wall and approached by a small postern door. This garden occupies what was formerly the site of an old mill. It was called “Old Black Mill”. I have no recollection of it working, but have been informed that at one time it was used in the oil refining and seed crushing industry. I do remember this dilapidated old mill standing for years, its rickety tower being supported by massive timbers to prevent its collapsing. Down the adjoining yard, commonly known as Mill Yard, was a long row of cottages, in which formerly resided the mill hands.
At the corner of the lane there still stands a small shop with house attached. This, I understand, was at one time the residence of the mill-keeper. I can also distinctly recall on the opposite side of Convent Lane (prior to the extension of the Convent premises), there stood in its own grounds a beautiful mansion. I have no recollection, however, of anyone residing there, but have been informed that the house was formerly owned and occupied by a family called Newton, and the property eventually went into Chancery.
This old building, to my knowledge, stood in a forlorn and dilapidated condition for years. It was roofless and windowless, and everything of any value had long since been removed. Apparently in former years it had possessed French windows overlooking a spacious lawn and artistically laid out flower beds, but all the surrounding space, as I remember it, was literally covered with bricks and debris up to the time that the Catholics bought the property. Upon the site of this old house there now stands a Catholic Convent and St Mary’s High School for Girls. Probably many older readers of the Hull Times can recall the time when the Newton family where in actual occupation of this house and when they possessed a large croquet ground, which was situated on the right side of the lane and facing their private residence.” (sic)
Between Convent Lane and Linnaeus Street, to the west, there were initially only three buildings. These were much earlier than their surrounding neighbours and had been established since the early 19th Century. At the corner of Convent Lane was Carr Cottage – its name linking it to the former Carr Mill, that was occupied throughout the mill’s working life by the foreman at the mill. The cottage was built c.1820, with the front of the house, facing west, away from the hustle and bustle of traffic in and out of the mill and yards. The old building survived until the early 1950s, when it was still used as a shop, and the redevelopment of the area began; the line of Convent Lane is still marked by a street sign at its southern end although there is no vehicular access from Anlaby Road.
The site of Carr Mill, the cottages and yard, is now occupied by Anchor House; once a social centre for seamen visiting Hull from all over the world, it was the base for the Roman Catholic Port Chaplain and was run by the Roman Catholic Apostleship of the Sea. The facility had previously been located in modest premises in Charles Street, but with funds raised by the Apostleship and its supporters a new centre was designed and built in the 1950s. The new centre had lounges, a games room, a bar and a restaurant. The centre closed for a short time and re-opened on 21 May 1957 following the conversion of what was once the gymnasium of St Mary’s school; this had been extended to create a new social hall for functions and dances etc., at a cost of £27,000. Anchor House eventually closed due to a reduced need for the facilities it provided, and is now serving as a residential home, with 38 rooms.
Beyond the garden of Carr Cottage was the Hull, East Riding & North Lincolnshire Female Penitentiary. The term penitentiary conjures up images of prisons and women locked in cells, however this was not the case. The institution was a refuge, established in 1811 for “the reclamation of fallen women”, and was supported by voluntary subscription. Managed by a team of ladies, the house afforded an asylum for 30 penitents, who were required to stay for one year, following which they were placed in “respectable situa-tions”. The service was discontinued c.1825, before re-opening again in 1837. The penitentiary was rebuilt to the designs of architect Charles Hutchinson in 1839 on the gardens in front of the older building. Following the re-building the penitentiary became known as Hope House. The Victoria County History notes that the “new” building, latterly No.199 Anlaby Road, was designed in the Greek revival style by architect Charles Hutchinson, and completed in 1840. In 1881 the Census listed 28 “inmates”, their ages varying between 15 and 37 years. The Hull Rotary Club gave a more detailed study of the institution in a 1928 review of the “Institutions & Charitable Agencies of the City of Hull”: –
“Hope House, 199 Anlaby Road, character of work – a rescue home for fallen girls, who are taken in for two years and given a thorough training. Chairman Thomas Priestman Esq., Treasurer and Hon Sec. E.M.Thompson Esq. 79 Albany Street. Many look askance at the dull building on Anlaby Road known as Hope House, but to the girls it is a real home and a happy one. The two years’ training in laundry work fits them for earning their living, and on leaving, suitable situations are found for them, and a complete outfit provided. This is a considerable item, for clothing is very costly, as a great many girls pass out of the Home, the bill for drapery is exceptionally large. Nearly all the clothing is made in the Home, only outdoor coats being bought ready made. This entails many hours work each week on the part of the matrons. The girls are taught plain sewing, knitting ad mending, while fancy work is a source of interest to many. The evenings are spent in recreation, singing and reading. The food is necessarily plain, but plentiful, and not too monotonous. Gifts of fruit and cake are greatly appreciated by young healthy appetites. Very encouraging reports from mistresses are constantly received, and are much more numerous than complaints, through these are by no means unknown. For some of these poor girls seem utterly incapable of standing alone, and our object is to strengthen them and teach them where to obtain help in their often-difficult lives. The Head Matron keeps in touch with the girls after they leave, and is more than repaid by their love and gratitude for help given in their time of need”. (sic)
Hope House closed in 1937 and the proceeds from the sale were divided between the Hull Royal Infirmary and the Hull & Sculcoates Dispensary. The building survived and was used as a storage facility before being demolished in the 1970s; a fragment of wall and a tall stuccoed pilaster adjoining No.197 next door is all that remains of Hope House. No.197 is a later property known as Albert Cottage, and was built between 1842 and 1848, immediately east of Hope House. This was latterly a post office and a rare survivor in this area, it is now a florists.
Filling the gap between Hope House and the corner of Linnaeus Street, were two properties, firstly a modest property built c.1848 and known as Leanion Cottage. Beyond Leanion Cottage, was a larger detached mansion house, known as Elm Lodge or Elm Cottage, which must have been built c.1817 or perhaps earlier, as it appears on a plan of that date.
Linnaeus Street
Originally known as Botanic Lane, as it originally led to Hull’s first Botanic Gardens that had been established at the bottom of the lane since 1812, this street was renamed Linnaeus Street by 1823; named in honour of the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), Linnaeus Street was shown on Baines’ plan of Hull in that year. The Ordnance Survey plan of 1852 shows Linnaeus Street with only eight or nine properties, the rest of the area being gardens or open fields. The Hull Advertiser of April 1828, April 1845 January 1849, carried announcments for: – “Building land for sale near Botanic Gardens”, and in March 1841 “Fruit gardens for sale in Linnaeus Street”. The building registers in Hull City Archives show that the street was still being built upon as late as the 1860s. Later reports in Hull Times of July 1876, mentioned the proposed closure of the Botanic Gardens. The gardens were eventually closed c.1879 and re-opened on a site that is now occupied by the school and grounds of Hymers College off Spring Bank West. The writer to the Hull Times in 1923 also recalled details of Linnaeus Street and the Botanic Gardens: –
“I have a distinct recollection of these Botanic Gardens, or part of them at any rate. After Linnaeus Street (beyond the Avenue) was built up on both sides with dwelling houses, a substantial part of the old garden still existed for years, the entrance gate to this being at the bottom of Convent Lane. The latter in those days was only a short street possessing three terraces. Beyond the last terrace, and the old Botanic Gardens entrance, were some stables and coach houses belonging to a family called Earle’s residing in Linnaeus Street. As children we used to visit these Botanic Gardens and nobody appeared to stop us. The large gate was open all day and we had free access. It was enclosed at one side by the back garden walls of Linnaeus Street residences, and on the other side by the houses and high terrace walls of South Parade (known then as Nunnery Lane), whilst at the furthermost end there was a small outlet into Linnaeus Street.
There were, I remember, some large grass plots which evidently a few years previously had been beautiful, well-trimmed lawns and remnants of what had once been decorative flower beds, but flowers and shrubs and plants had all then disappeared. There were still growing in abundance some large and beautiful trees (elms, beeches etc.) and in one corner there were some white lilacs and a wealth of elderberry trees. For years this garden continued to flourish until one day a party of tree-fellers came on the scene and commenced to operate. Evidently some building contractors bought the site, for shortly afterwards digging, draining, and building operations commenced. The whole of this space is is now built up with terrace property. In close proximity to the old mill stood a large house and garden – then the private residence of Mr G F Grant, the front entrance being in Linnaeus Street. When this house became vacant the, the Jewish community purchased the site and erected thereon the present Western Synagogue” (sic).
Linnaeus Street was a cul-de-sac but linked with Vauxhall Grove on the Hessle Road via a “halfpenny hatch”; the hatch was a gate enabling a short cut enabling a traveller on foot , on payment of a small toll, to travel from one person’s land to another. The halfpenny hatch house was still in place in 1911, when it featured in a newspaper article.19 The house remained occupied into the 1930s but the toll had been dispensed with as the council created a right of way through adjoining property.
Linnaeus Street survives in 2006, but with very little original property other than Linnaeus House and the former Western Jewish Synagogue. Designed by B S Jacobs, it was built in 1902 opening in September of that year, and included a Hebrew School on the same site. The grounds of the synagogue extended through to Convent Lane behind, and the school was erected in front facing Linnaeus Street. An adjoining house, the former Jewish school, lay derelict for many years but has since been converted to accomodation. The synagogue closed in 1994 and now houses a Judaeo-Christian Study Centre and is a Grade II Listed building.
The Hull Guardians Childrens Scattered Home was established at Nos.16, 18 and 92 Linneaus Street in 1915; it had taken in No.23 by 1929. By 1936 it was listed as the Hull Corporation Childrens Scattered Home and was still extant in 1939. In 1915, the York Diocesan Maternity Home was established at No.14; the character of its work was to help unmarried mothers under the age of 25, “of previous good character, and for first cases only”. It was a Church of England home, but girls of any denomination were taken. The following information is taken from “Institutions & Charitable Agencies of the City of Hull”, compiled for The Hull Rotary Club in 1928: –
“The girls are admitted before the confinement, and pay seven shillings and six pence per week during their stay. They remain for six months, and if their babies stay on as boarders after then they pay six shillings a week for the maintenance of the baby. If however an affiliation order is obtained, sums varying from six shillings to ten shillings are paid. The girls, at the end of the six months, if they cannot go back to their old employment, are found suitable work whenever it is possible, and are encouraged to spend their spare time at the Home, so keeping in touch with their babies. 276 girls have passed through the Home since it was opened in 1915. Applications for admission should be made to the Lady Superintendent, Miss Wynn Lloyd who resides at the Home”.
Beyond Linnaeus Street, and facing the Anlaby Road, was a long terrace of property extending to the corner of Regent Street. What appeared to be a continual terrace in later years, had actually been built in sections from the early 19th Century onwards. A single property was shown amidst huge gardens and orchards, on Cragg’s plan of Hull made in 1817; this was almost certainly the property named as Providence Grove on the later 1853 plans; its name suggesting the former gardens were linked with the property in some way. A later plan of 1835 shows the area in more detail, and appears as elaborately laid-out formal gardens. A short lane or path marks the western end of the gardens on the same plan, and this later becomes Regent Street. By 1846 the gardens had gone, and the whole block re-developed as three blocks of houses. Furthest east were three houses in a terrace named as Russell Place in a directory of 1838; then the previously mentioned property known as Providence Grove (re-named Victoria Cottage by 1889), and two separate terraces collectively named Victoria Terrace in a directory of 1846, running to the corner of Regent Street. Although the names suggest they were built uniformly, the detailed Ordnance Survey plans show they were mostly individual houses closely built. Interestingly, these appear to have been amongst the first houses on Anlaby Road built with bay windows. A vacant plot separated the two sections of Victoria Terrace until c.1858, when the plot was filled by the newly built Argyle Hotel public house.
When Anlaby Road was re-numbered to odds and evens, between 1893 and 1899, probably when the town became a city in 1897, this range of buildings was numbered 205 to 231. Sadly, the only surviving property is No.215, now a listed building and part of the NHS Institute of Rehabilitation; the NHS restored the building in 1997 to its present appearance. Built, like many of its neighbours in the Greek revival style, it was probably designed by the architect George Jackson c.1838. At the back of the house are surviving gardens and the rear elevation of the building has been little-altered, giving a feeling of how the other villas along the road would have looked. The Victoria County History described No.215 in 1969:-
“a stucco-fronted detached house of three bays, the central bay being recessed and containing a Greek Doric porch. The frontage is flanked by screen walls which are pierced by round-headed openings and surmounted by acroteria”.
East of No.215, at No.209, stood Driffield House, it too was a Listed building but sadly, permission was given for it to be demolished in December 1975. The site of No.215 is now marked by a two-storey block of flats that appear to be of the same date as two adjacent blocks within Linnaeus Street; Coniston House and Kendal House.
Regent Street
Regent Street was probably named in honour of Queen Victoria who came to the throne in 1838; the street was located at the end of the slightly older Victoria Terrace, and first appears in the trade directories in 1848, its route following the line of a track or narrow lane that was shown on the same alignment on an 1835 plan. Originally a short street, it had extended further south to link with the Hessle Road by 1873. The whole street was demolished for the creation of a new relief road named Rawling Way from c.1979, created to provide a direct link with the Hull Royal Infirmary from the A63. It was originally intended to call the new road “Regent Way”, thus retaining a connection with the old name, however the then Lord Mayor of Hull, Maurice Rawling, sadly died in office during the construction and the name was changed in his honour. The majority of Regent Street consisted of residential housing, and surprisingly it had only one pub; the Regent Hotel, which probably opened in the 1850s, but can only be confirmed from c.1872. No doubt enjoying good trade from the thousands of houses in the area, the pub was acquired by Moors’ & Robson’s brewery in 1909 for £3,300. It had narrowly escaped demolition in 1906, when it fell within the net of a planned street improvement scheme to extend Adelaide Street through to Coltman Street. This would have required demolition of property including houses in Campbell Street, Regent Street and South Parade and was cancelled only because of the high price of compensation demanded by the owners of property. Originally holding only a six-day licence, the pub was granted a full licence in 1961. The Regent was demolished with the rest of the street c.1979.
Between Regent Street and Bean Street was Adelaide Terrace; eight houses with front and rear gardens, built in stages. No mention of the terrace is made in trade directories of 1846 or 1848, but Wilkinson’s 1848 plan of Hull shows two houses at each corner of the block, with the middle four yet to be built. Adelaide House, at No.1 Adelaide Terrace , was the home of the Anlaby and Myton historian J Travis-Cook, who lived there from 1890. The terrace was listed in a trade directory of 1851 and is shown fully built on the 1852 Ordnance Survey plan. The 1852 plan showed the houses with plain fronts, but by the time of the 1889 Ordnance Survey, many had been refitted with more fashionable bay windows. Most were later converted, with the addition of shop fronts, and at the corner of Bean Street was Branch No.50 of the Hull Co-op, which opened in 1929 and survived until 1971.
Bean Street
At the west end of Adelaide Terrace was the entrance to Bean Street. Originally a short street leading to an old farm, the street was shown, un-named, and with only a few buildings on Wilkinson’s plan of Hull of 1848. It was originally named “New” Jarratt Street to avoid confusion with the older Jarratt Street in the centre of Hull, and was still named as such on the 1852 Ordnance Survey plan of Hull, when it led only as far as an old-established farm, whose land and buildings initially prevented its further development. Slightly later, a new street called Bean Street was being developed from the north side of the Hessle Road (most likely to have been named in honour of Alderman Robert Bean, a brewer and maltster, who was chairman of the Property Committee in the 1840’s). Bean Street was laid out c.1869, and the 1871 Census lists many occupied houses on the street and terraces running off it. It developed north, eventually joining the older New Jarratt Street that ran south from Anlaby Road. As the two became joined c.1871. The Sir Henry Cooper Board School was situated in Bean Street, opening in 1876, it was named after the School Board’s first chairman. There were 900 places after 1903, for boys girls and infants, Average attendance was 813 in 1904, and 543 in 1938. The boys were transferred to Boulevard High School in 1957 leaving only the senior girls and infants departments. The school was demolished c.1966; the transfer of the land (0.625 acres) was noted in the Town Planning Officer’s annual report for 1967/68. A new Sir Henry Cooper High School was built on the Orchard Park Estate around the same time. The huge population of Bean Street (it was said that more people lived in Bean Street than the whole of Withernsea) was served by two pubs; a small beer-house called the Engineers Arms, which opened c.1872, and closed in the 1960s.
The Anlaby Road end of the street was served by The Bean Hotel, which opened c.1872, and was purpose built as a pub, being one of the first properties built on the east side of the street. It was common to build a pub early in the construction of new streets, as pubs were often the places used as site offices, and the place were labourers were paid. The Bean Hotel survived the development of Rawling Way in a small section of Bean Street that was ironically part of the former New Jarrat Street, but was sadly demolished in the summer of 2005 when the site was required for a planned development of a three-storey building, containing 14 flats, which has yet to be built.
A long stretch of terraced housing linked Bean Street with Coltman Street, the next street on the Anlaby Road. Developed from the early 1840s, the terrace was named Albert Terrace, another Royalist connection, in a trade directory of 1846 when it had just five residents. Wilkinson’s plan of 1848 shows 13 properties, and the terrace almost completed. At the west end of the block, on the corner of Coltman Street, the terrace appears unfinished and is shown as a large ornamental garden on the 1852 Ordnance Survey; this belonged to the Eagle Tavern, which was named on the plan. Following redevelopment c.1860, the former gardens were built upon to form six extra properties on the end of the terrace. The whole of this terrace survives but bears little resemblence to when it was first built; many of the former houses and shops have suffered from poor alterations and continuous changes of use. Some surviving details can be found at No.265, which has some ornate carved heads on its gutter, and No.279, which has retained its original doorcase; the post box outside signifies its former use as a post office. One very smart and well kept exception is a former shop, now integrated into the Eagle pub at the corner of Coltman Street.
Coltman Street
Coltman, or Coltman’s Street was named after the Coltman family, who owned the land on which it was built. The reverend Joseph Coltman of Beverley left the land to his son, a judge – Sir Thomas Coltman, who named the street in honour of his father following his death in 1837. The street developed in the early 1840s from the Hessle Road end, in a similar way to Bean Street, joining with another older street alignment that had developed off the south side of Anlaby Road. The Hull Advertiser newspaper noted that Coltman Street was to be “Macadamised” in its edition of 10 October 1850.
The Yorkshire Agricultural Society met in Hull in 1841, and again in 1859, on ground at the back of the property on Coltman Street, with an entrance from Anlaby Road. Mr Henry Coxwell made a balloon ascent during the show, and came down at Burton Constable. Coltman Street had a Trinity Wesleyan chapel, which opened in May 1872, built at a cost of £8,000. It could seat 1,250 and was designed by architect William Botterill; it was built in the Decorated Gothic style, in Ancaster stone. The chapel was damaged during World War Two and demolished in 1953, the Coltman Street Day Hospital later occupied the site. An accompanying Sunday school to the chapel was built c.1895, to the designs of Gelder & Kitchen. Coltman Street has a unique selection of high quality housing at the Anlaby Road end, with many surviving houses, some in the Greek revival style dating from the 1840s. David Neave writing in the revised Pevsner guide notes: –
“Many of the original houses survive. Those of the 1840s-50s have simple Classical detail, e.g. Nos.179-186, a stuccoed terrace, and Nos.37-38 and Nos.100-101, stuccoed pairs, all have doorcases with Doric columns in antis. No.114 and No.168, c.1854 by Benjamin Musgrave, are red brick with Doric doorcases recessed in segmental arches.”
Beyond Coltman Street and stretching to the brick and tile yards to the west, was one of the older terraces on Anlaby Road. Built as one uniform block from c.1845 as Canton Place, a trade directory of 1846 lists just three occupied properties. By the time of Wilkinson’s 1848 plan, the whole terrace had been constructed; a trade directory of that year notes at least eight of the 13 houses occupied. In his work “Living & Dying in Hull”, author Bernard Foster recorded an article in the local press concerning the sanitary arrangments in local houses: –
“In January 1875 the Sanitary Committee learned that when water-closets had been installed at 10 Canton Place, a large tank had been put under the kitchen floor for a cess pool, although there was a main drain in front of the house. Apparently this was not thought unobjectionable. The houses in nearby Coltman Street, equally large and imposing, had privies beneath the stairs”.
At the time of writing Canton Place survives, almost intact, as Nos.289-305 Anlaby Road and has mostly been converted to flats. The large houses, of two-storeys, all with large basement accommodation and Doric or Tuscan porches, have proved too expensive to maintain as single occupancy dwellings and have been converted to flats from the late 1950s. Sadly, the conversion to flats often results in less care and maintenance shown to the property; the end two houses in the terrace were damaged by a fire in recent years resulting in the demolition of the first property.
Saner Street
Saner Street is narrower than its neighbouring streets, and was named after the owner of the land it was laid out upon. John Saner owned the land to the west of the street and was originally a tailor, draper and hatter based in Whitefriargate in the 1840s. He lived at No.13 Canton Place, Anlaby Road (the last on the block). From c.1848 he was also noted as a brick and tile manufacturer in Powder House Lane, Anlaby Road. The 1853/6 Ordnance Survey plan shows Powder House Lane running alongside No.13 Canton Place, and leading to his large brick and tile works. By 1858 Mr Saner was also noted to have brick works at Wallingfen, and at New Holland by the 1870s although he was not listed as being in the brick business in Hull until the 1867 trade directory. His life was not without problems, however; the local press reported many incidents of his brick-ponds receiving most of the sewage from the area. Having used his brick works and land for a new housing development, Powder House Lane was re-named Saner Street c.1889, and was fully developed and inhabited by 1897. A surviving boundary stone on the east side of Saner Street clearly marks the extent of the Coltmans land, and is inscribed as such. Several original buildings survive at the north end of the street.
Saner Street school was built on the former brickyards, opening in 1913, when it held 280 juniors and 280 infants, allowing expansion from the burgeoning Boulevard Secondary School by releasing temporary accommodation occupied by its former junior and infants department’s. Average attendance fell from 463 in 1919 to 164 in 1938 and the school closed in 1941. The building since then has accommodated St Wilfrid’s Roman Catholic school. More recently it has been used as Centre 88 of Hull & East Yorkshire Ability, helping children and young people with disabilities.
Elgin Villas, two adjoining semi-detached mansions, were built beyond Canton Place, for John Saner and his son James c.1870, on land that was formerly adjoined by their brick works. Located at the corner of the street that took their name, the imposing properties, appearing as one to the onlooker, stood in grounds overlooking their former brick manufactory to the south. The two grand houses were damaged in the Blitz of World War Two and subsequently demolished.
Immediately west of Elgin Villas, was another grand range of buildings known as Clyde Terrace. Laid out in the 1860s, the terrace was completely uniform, and fully occupied by 1872. Built in typical one-upmanship form, they had an additional storey to those of Canton Place, whilst still retaining basement accommodation, they were renumbered as Nos.335-343 Anlaby Road.
Boulevard
Saner Street is narrower than its neighbouring streets, and was named after the owner of the land it was laid out upon. John Saner owned the land to the west of the street and was originally a tailor, draper and hatter based in Whitefriargate in the 1840s. He lived at No.13 Canton Place, Anlaby Road (the last on the block). From c.1848 he was also noted as a brick and tile manufacturer in Powder House Lane, Anlaby Road. The 1853/6 Ordnance Survey plan shows Powder House Lane running alongside No.13 Canton Place, and leading to his large brick and tile works. By 1858 Mr Saner was also noted to have brick works at Wallingfen, and at New Holland by the 1870s although he was not listed as being in the brick business in Hull until the 1867 trade directory. His life was not without problems, however; the local press reported many incidents of his brick-ponds receiving most of the sewage from the area. Having used his brick works and land for a new housing development, Powder House Lane was re-named Saner Street c.1889, and was fully developed and inhabited by 1897. A surviving boundary stone on the east side of Saner Street clearly marks the extent of the Coltmans land, and is inscribed as such. Several original buildings survive at the north end of the street.
Saner Street school was built on the former brickyards, opening in 1913, when it held 280 juniors and 280 infants, allowing expansion from the burgeoning Boulevard Secondary School by releasing temporary accommodation occupied by its former junior and infants department’s. Average attendance fell from 463 in 1919 to 164 in 1938 and the school closed in 1941. The building since then has accommodated St Wilfrid’s Roman Catholic school. More recently it has been used as Centre 88 of Hull & East Yorkshire Ability, helping children and young people with disabilities.
Elgin Villas, two adjoining semi-detached mansions, were built beyond Canton Place, for John Saner and his son James c.1870, on land that was formerly adjoined by their brick works. Located at the corner of the street that took their name, the imposing properties, appearing as one to the onlooker, stood in grounds overlooking their former brick manufactory to the south. The two grand houses were damaged in the Blitz of World War Two and subsequently demolished.
Immediately west of Elgin Villas, was another grand range of buildings known as Clyde Terrace. Laid out in the 1860s, the terrace was completely uniform, and fully occupied by 1872. Built in typical one-upmanship form, they had an additional storey to those of Canton Place, whilst still retaining basement accommodation, they were renumbered as Nos.335-343 Anlaby Road.
Selby Street
The Hull & Selby Railway first laid tracks into Hull in 1840, opening their first station in Railway Street, near the Humber Dock. The station proved too small and a new one opened in Paragon Street in 1846; the new line ran from the old line in a four mile curve to the new station. The Hull & Selby Railway was taken over by the York & North Midland Railway who in turn formed the North Eastern Railway Co. Selby Street was named after the first railway to run into Hull but was not built upon until 1873. The level-crossing here caused much congestion on the Anlaby Road and in an effort to alleviate this, a fly-over/viaduct was constructed, with building well underway by December 1963, eventually opening in 1965.
Between the railway line and Ruskin Street, is a row of terraced property originally named Stanley Terrace. Initially consisting of just 15 properties, Stanley Terrace was by no means as elegant as the earlier terraces to the east. The houses are a confusing mixture of architectural styles, and were all independently named (Rokeby, Weymouth, Linton, Robin, Cliftonville etc); it was completed in a piecemeal way from c.1870, being fully built up by 1889. Nos.367, 385 and 387 show surviving details that indicate some of the properties were built to a reasonable architectural standard; the rest of the block has been neglected in recent years, possibly due to it being over-shadowed by the railway flyover/viaduct, which has blighted the area since its construction.
Ruskin Street
At the end of Stanley Terrace is the entrance to Ruskin Street, laid-out between 1892 and 1896, and built as part of the Stanley Terrace development. It was probably named after John Ruskin (1814 – 1900), who was a well-known social reformer of the time.
Stanley Terrace was extended beyond Ruskin Street from c.1892, with an extra 10 properties, leading to the corner of Perry Street. The surviving West Park Hotel was formed from four houses of this block. Another striking local landmark standing on the eastern corner of Perry Street was the West Park Picture Palace, which opened on 2 November 1914; the first film shown was “The Adventures of Miss Tomboy”. Seating 742, at various prices from 3d at the front, further back 6d, and on the balcony 9d, the cinema was extremely popular, and by 1958 prices had risen to 1s-6d, 2s-, and 2s-6d. The cinema closed just a year later, on 4 January 1959, re-opening under various guises including The Granada, which closed in 1985. It was later better known as The West Park Club, predominantly a snooker hall, closing again in 1989. Following extensive refurbishment, the former cinema and club re-opened by 1995, as The Steam Tavern public house. The building retains its striking classical façade, with colonnade to the upper storeys, supporting a pediment and has once again been refurbished to become The Premiere Bar.
Perry Street
The origin of name Perry Street is unclear, but the properties were built as part of the same development as Ruskin Street, and were completely occupied by 1899.
Beyond the entrance to Perry Street are the last few properties in the Stanley Terrace development; purpose-built between 1896 and 1899 as shops with accommodation above, they were referred to as West Park Row in an 1896 trade directory. All of the property, including Ruskin Street, Perry Street, and the many small terraces behind, were built on land belonging to the Broadley family, known as Maiden Hill Farm.
Walliker Street
Walliker Street was named in honour of a well-respected Hull Post Master, Samuel Walliker (born 1822) who’s home Ashburnham House fronted the Anlaby Road at the corner of St George’s Road. Samuel Walliker was postmaster in Hull from 1863 until 1881, and although the street is not mentioned in the 1881 Census it was laid-out by 1882, when buildings plans show property being completed in the new street. The west side was complete by 1888, the east side being undeveloped and still occupied by Maiden Hill Farm at that date. Running off the east side of Walliker Street is the small Carnegie Street, built on the site of several houses and gardens to provide a link via Perry Street to the stretch of Anlaby Road that was left isolated following the contruction of the railway flyover/viaduct in 1965.
Beyond Walliker Street Newington Villas continues the long line of terraced property running along the Anlaby Road frontage. The rather grand name applied to a single line of property built c.1874, leading to the corner of Granville Street, and were constructed as two storey shops, with accommodation above (including attic rooms), as part of the Walliker Street and Granville Street development completed in the early 1880s.
Granville Street
Most of the property in Granville Street had been laid-out c.1874, when building plans show it was first built upon. It was heavily developed and the majority of the houses occupied by the time of the 1881 Census, with more new houses in the course of construction. The street, along with several others in Hull, took its name from George, Second Earle Granville, a prominent politician who died in 1891.
Beyond Granville Street are Granville Villas and the adjoining Granville Terrace, both constructed between 1875 and 1879; they now appear as one terrace, purpose built as shops, although the two-storey buildings are more modest than some of thier neighbours. The first part of the terrace, Nos.455 to 457, were taken over by Woolworths in 1957, with a store that was the first non-food store in the city to sell only self-service lines.
Immediately west of Granville Villas/Terrace were two semi-detached, double fronted houses; Beech Wood House and Clifton House (latterly Nos. 483 and 485), which appear to have been constructed slightly earlier, around 1874. Sadly, these were demolished c.1913 when two new semi-detached shops were built for William Jackson.
Sandringham Street
This street was probably named after the favourite royal estate of Sandringham, as larger houses on Anlaby Road near this point had similar aristocratic names, e.g. Chatsworth House home of the Scaife family. Its name first appears in the trade directories in the late 1870s, and by 1879 it was fully occupied. The street was tree-lined, and in comparison to the smaller streets to its east, the houses were of a better quality with front and rear gardens. This may suggest that it was developed as one project, along with St George’s Road, and the grander houses facing Anlaby Road at this point.
The block of property between Sandringham Street and St George’s Road was only half-built by the time of the 1889 Ordnance Survey plan, with three houses to the western side, at the corner of St George’s Road. These were built around 1872-74, and are listed individually in a trade directory of 1874/75 as Lyndhurst, Lynton Villa and Ashburnham, latterly 495, 497 and 499 Anlaby Road; Lynton and Lyndhurst survive. They were almost identical to Beechwood House and Clifton House, and had large formal gardens to the rear, which survive in part. The land east of the three houses at the corner of Sandringham, Street is shown empty on the 1889 Ordnance Survey plans. This was built-up later, between 1900 and 1904, and consisted of four purpose-built shops. The house at the corner of St George’s Road, Ashburnham House (latterly No.499), was occupied by postmaster Samuel Walliker (see Walliker Street) and later by a bank manager, an ironic twist, as it was later the site for a branch of the Hull Savings Bank; this stylish building was constructed in 1925, to the designs of the architect John Bilson, in the classical style.
More recently this building was used as various restaurants before being converted into a public house by Anchor Inns, known as The Three Crowns, opening in March 2003. The name “Three Crowns” refers to the former shield of the Hull Savings Bank, located on the building, and the Hull coat of arms, which shows what are in fact three coronets.
St George’s Road
St George’s Road was laid out in the late 1870s, and listed an 1879 trade directory almost completely occupied at this north end. Running south to connect with the Hessle Road, it is one of the longer thoroughfares on the Anlaby Road, and has many streets and terraces running off each side. The name was a statement of British patriotism, at a time when the British Empire was at its peak.
Still occupying a site on the east side of St George’s Road, at the corner of Arthur Street is the St George’s Primary School. The Newington School Board built the gothic style building as a Board School in 1881, to the designs of William Freeman. It is now a Grade II Listed building and one of Hull’s oldest surviving school buildings.
West beyond St George’s Road and shown on the 1889 Ordnance Survey plan, were four houses built in two semi-detached pairs. Matching the houses on the opposite corner of St George’s Road, they were built as part of the same development, c.1874. They were named on the plan as Granlien, Avenue House, Freshfield and St George’s House, later becoming Nos.501 to 509 Anlaby Road (Avenue House was divided into two residences). The first house in the block, Granlien (No.501) was vacant by the late 1920s but by 1937 was listed as The Hull Social Hall Ltd. By 1939 it had been demolished and rebuilt, in the neo-Georgian style, as a branch of The Midland Bank. The former bank, and No.503 next door, is now the location for The Griffin public house, which opened c.1995. The Griffin has more recently become known as The New Griffin, having undergone substantial refurbishment.
St George’s House (No.509) was the home of William Parkinson Garbutt during the 1870s, who was the father of David Parkinson Garbutt – the developer of the “Avenues” estate west of Prince’s Avenue. Master mariners and ship owners occupied a number of the other houses; William Gemmell, of shipbuilders Cook Welton & Gemmell, lived at Freshfield (No.507) from c.1904 until the 1920s. During the 1930s it was listed as The Sandringham Club, and since c.1960 it has been home to the Humber St Andrews Engineering Company’s Social & Recreation Club, continuing the shipping link. A further seven properties were built leading to the corner of Plane Street between 1896 and 1899, which appear to have been built as houses, with gardens front and rear, some of which were later converted to shops.
Plane Street
Plane Street is documented from the late 1870s, and by the time of the 1881 Census there were 16 occupied properties on the new street, with several more houses under construction. One of the earliest houses, on the west side of the street was noted in later 1880s trade directories as Plane Tree House, and this may account for the street name. The 1890 Ordnance Survey plans show that the house had many trees in the back garden, whereas the street itself had no trees at all and was only later planted, and then with mostly Birch trees. This house appears to be the present No.42, and is the most ornate and possibly the oldest house in the street. Other blocks of property and houses built early in the development of Plane Street also had names that related to species of tree, e.g. Maple Grove and Elm House.
Along with its shops and pubs, the rapidly developing Newington area also needed schools and churches to serve its growing population, and the Newington Parish Church Mission Hall was completed on the north-east side of the street in 1875. The small building was shown on the 1890 Ordnance Survey plan of the area, but was removed between 1899 and 1905, as the remainder of the street was developed. A parcel of land was acquired on the west side of Plane Street, at the north end, and on 19 October 1894 Sir James Reckitt laid the foundation stone of a new church school, the Plane Street Wesleyan Sunday School, which officially opened in 1895. Newspapers and coins of the realm were deposited in a cavity underneath the foundation stone and several memorial stones were also laid. This larger new building, built of red brick with terracotta dressings, had separate entrances for boys and girls, an assembly hall, 16 classrooms, church parlour, infant’s room, etc. It was built in the late Tudor-Gothic style, to the designs of architect William Alfred Gelder, costing £2,900 and could accommodate 800 children. The new buildings were also used for worship, until a new chapel had been built adjoining. Sadly the Sunday School was recently demolished.
The new building, the Plane Street Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, was constructed on the remaining portion of the land, which had been acquired at the corner of Plane Street and the Anlaby Road. Built to the designs of architects Gelder & Kitchen, the openeing ceremony was held on Thursday 1 December 1910, in atrocious weather conditions that restricted the planned ceremonial affairs. It was built in red brick and Ancaster Stone, in the Gothic Style, with a tower of about 80 feet, and cost £9,500 with seating for 950, including galleries around the interior. Local builder Mr Fenwick of Albert Avenue carried out building work.
The proposed demolition of the church was reported in the Hull newspapers from the late 1980s onwards, however the church survived in an increasingly derelict and fragile state until it was finally demolished in the spring of 2005. A new Health Centre was constructed in the late summer of 2005, and is now open and doing well; amongst its services are doctors practices, nursing teams, therapy services and outpatient clinics. Some original architectural details from the original building were rescued and have been used in the design of the new centre, however much was lost due to vandalism and theft whilst the building was left to deteriorate.
Plane Street is unusual in that it retains most of its original housing, including some frontages that appear to be unique in Hull’s domestic architecture. Sadly none of the school, or church buildings, survive. The 1888/90 Ordnance Survey plan shows, that a “rope-maker” or “spinner” had built a “rope-walk” by that date, on the west side of the street, and trade directories confirm that in 1882 Francis Lewidge was listed as a rope-spinner” in the street; it appears his premises were built upon as the street developed. On the west side of the street, at its south end, there is a group of old industrial buildings. Consisting of an old foundry and a small engineering workshop, they appear to have been constructed c.1901 for Gemmell & Frow, who were engineers and part of the Cook, Welton and Gemmell empire. William Gemmell lived nearby, on the Anlaby Road.
Beyond Plane Street, the remaining open land and fields were soon eaten up by the growth of Hull and its new suburb Newington. At the time of the 1889 Ordnance Survey plans of the area, only two houses were shown between Plane Street, and the much older Hawthorne Avenue. Mascotte House lay just west of Plane Street and was listed as the private residence of fruit merchant Henry Koser in 1888. The house had been built just a few years earlier and was of a similar design to those at the junction of St George’s Road.
Across a field to the west of Mascotte House, was one of the Anlaby Road’s famous “lost houses” – the grand Newington Hall (see later). The land between Plane Street and Newington Hall, was soon taken up with new building developments, but by 1896 just one more house had been built in this section, named Westholme. However, between 1896 and 1899 a whole block had been constructed aound Westholme and another new street built on the site.
Melrose Street
Melrose Street was laid-out c.1897, and was the first of three consecutive streets with Scottish themed names. The three small streets were constructed in a development area between the older Plane Street, and much older Hawthorne Avenue. More property was being built fronting the Anlaby Road with the new streets intersecting and dividing the new housing. The new developments fitted in awkwardly around the grounds of Newington Hall and what had once been an isolated country residence was gradually becoming hemmed in by quite low-quality housing, behind the larger houses fronting the Anlaby Road.
It is interesting to note, that the Anlaby Road had been re-numbered by 1897, and the new houses and terraces were no longer given individual names, as had previously been the norm, but from this date were numbered consecutively, from east to west. This was the case with many of Hull’s streets and roads, and may have been at the behest of the Post Office.
Glencoe Street
Glencoe Street was not listed in an 1899 directory, but had been fully built upon by 1905. It was laid alongside, but not within, the grounds of Newington Hall. Despite suggestions that the street was named after a South African place name, during the Boer War, it seems more likely that Glencoe Street was given its name in keeping with the other neighbouring streets, which also had Scottish themes.
Sterling Street
Stirling Street was one of the streets built on the site of the former Newington Hall, its junction marking the former entrance almost exactly. Following the demolition of Newington Hall it was not long before Stirling Street first appeared in the trade directories, and by 1910 it was fully built upon. The street may have been named after Archibald Stirling, a local councillor and fruit merchant who lived on Anlaby Road; John Archibald Stirling was listed in the 1881 Census as a Tree and Timber merchant and Town Councillor resident at No.3 Coburg Terrace, near the corner of Great Thornton Street. However, the name fits in with the Scottish theme of nearby streets in the same development. Stirling Street was unfortunate to have been one of very few streets in this western area of Hull to suffer bomb damage during the Second World War.
Hawthorn Avenue
Hawthorn Avenue is an old alignment, known originally as Chalk Lane, perhaps a reference to the building material used for its construction. Hessle Cliff stone was frequently used as a base for roads in the Hull area, and would have been easily transported via boat along the River Humber from Hessle.
The road was not shown on the 1824 Ordnance Survey plan of the area but is shown on the later 1853/6 Ordnance Survey as Chalk Lane, providing a link from the hamlet of Dairycoates (Hessle Road) to the Anlaby Road. It is possible that the street took its present name from a cottage near the grounds of Newington Villa called “Hawthorn Cottage”, but it seems more likely that it was a direct reference to the many ancient field boundaries and nearby hedgerows, most of which were marked with Hawthorn hedges, as was the lane itself. Continuing to be recorded as Chalk Lane until c.1898, when the name Hawthorn Avenue began to appear in the trade directories. An earlier 1872 directory lists Chalk Lane, Dairycoates with just two residents, and the buildings registers note houses and shops being built in Chalk Lane in 1873. In 1875 a “Hotel” was built for Mr Parrott, which was later to become the Hawthorn Hotel. In 1879 the Newington Wagon Works, later the Hull Cart, Wagon & Iron Company was constructed, supplying carts, wagons and machinery far and wide. In 1905 the Norman Memorial Primitive Methodist Church was built on the corner of Hawthorn Avenue and the Anlaby Road, to the designs of architect T Beecroft Atkinson. The church was another victim of bomb damage during World War Two in a series of 1941 raids. The unsafe building was subsequntly demolished, although services continued in the schoolroom until 1955 when it too was demolished. In 1908 the Salvation Army made its presence felt in the street when they constructed the surviving Hawthorn Avenue Citadel on the south-west side of the street. The original land drains still ran open at both sides of the Anlaby Road at this point until the west side was built upon, as property on the Anlaby Road frontage crept further west during the 1890s.
Wheeler Street
Wheeler Street was the last street built before the railway crossing was reached and does not follow the same chronological growth pattern of its easterly neighbours, as it was begun much earlier. It appears in the buildings registers from 1874 onwards, with new houses and shops being built, first appears by name in the trade directories from c.1879, when just three residents were noted. Initially only the south end of the street was developed, with a large open area remaining at either side of the street’s entrance from the Anlaby Road, the plot on the east side of the street remaining empty until c.1914.
Wheeler Street had few noteworthy buildings except the Wheeler Street Wesleyan Mission Rooms, which opened in the early 1880s; a new building was erected in 1900, and taken over by the Church of God c.1960. The Wheeler Street Board Schools, were built nearby in 1902; originaly two buildings (an infants and a juniors) the surviving building (the old juniors) is now home to the Wheeler Street Primary School. All of the houses that once lined Wheeler Street have been demolished, and a number of council and amenity buildings have taken thier place, including a health centre, sheltered housing and the popular Milburn Leisure Centre. On the west side of Wheeler Street was an entrance into the old Tramcar Depot constructed in 1898, the year in which Hull acquired its first electric trams. Horse drawn trams had run as far as Wheeler Street before the sheds were constructed, but terminated at the end of the street until the construction of the depot; the new “electric” lines were opened in July 1899. The Wheeler Street sheds were enlarged in 1925 and the lines extended to run down Wheeler Street from the Anlaby Road, directly into the newly extended sheds. The alterations coincided with the enlargment of the tram system, which was extended further west along the Anlaby Road around the same time. The view of the tram sheds from the Anlaby Road entrance was a familiar site until a fire damaged all of the buildings in [?] and they were subsequently demolished [?].
Beyond Wheeler Street corner is a short line of nine shops and houses that were constructed in the 1890s, extending as far as the railway lines and level crossing.
Boothferry Road
The house and road building scheme that forced the closure of the old golf course was the creation of Boothferry Road, which was named following the construction of the Boothferry Road Bridge over the River Ouse, which opened in 1929. The new bridge replaced an old ferry crossing at the hamlet of Booth near Howden. Boothferry Road was part of a larger scheme that provided a new road linking Hull with the enlarged Port of Goole. Thus Boothferry Road was laid-out from 1927, and fully built-upon by 1929; the overhead railway bridge here was constructed in the winter of 1927, as part of the road construction scheme, which also gave us Airmyn Avenue in the early 1930s, named ater Airmyn, the nearest village to Booth.
Hamlyn Drive
Hamlyn Drive was laid-out in 1936, and named to link with the earlier Hamlyn Road, situated opposite.
North Road
The alignment of the north end, of the present North Road, is shown on the 1852 (and 1889) Ordnance Survey plans as “Water Lane”. Water Lane followed the line of an old water-course or drain that ran south from the Derringham Dyke (the alignment of Willerby Road and Spring Bank West). The ancient lane ran south, determining the course of Calvert Lane, and the parliamentary boundary, winding its way south as far as the Hessle Road. An earlier 1824 Ordnance Survey plan shows the southern extent of the water-course ending at “Kid’s House”, on Hessle Road. John Kidd was listed as a farmer at Dairycoates in a trade directory of 1823.
North Road, as we know it, was laid-out in 1927/28 and fully built upon by 1929. There are many possible reasons for it being named North Road; was it named after Richard North, hero of the Humber, who died in 1926?; or in honour of Alderman W North?; or was it simply that it led to the north?; was it linked with the construction of Boothferry Road and the York & North Midland Railway, whose bridge had been constructed nearby in 1927? The most simple solution is usually the truth, and it seems purely geographical, as the new road linked Hessle Road with all points north.
Calvert Lane and North Road formed the western boundary of the city of Hull, until the boundary was extended in 1929; around this time many new streets and roads were created to the west and following the extension of the city boundary new housing and shops gradually filled the frontage of Anlaby Road between the newly constructed streets.
Belgrave Drive
The Belgrave Drive estate was laid-out c.1928 cutting through the boundary of two old fields, the East Field and the West Field, which gace thier names to the streets built either side of Belgrave Drive. The houses followed the design of the other estates laid out nearby in the Boothferry Road and North Road development areas, and remain relatively unaltered to the present day.
Pickering Road
The line of Pickering Road follows a much older alignment, and is often as “Common East Road” or “Third Lane” on old plans of the area. The route was shown on the 1826 Ordnance Survey plan and was marked by name on a later 1852 plan. The lane ran south from the Anlaby Turnpike Road, to join the Hessle Turnpike Road, just west of the old Hessle Priory. During the development of the area in the 1920s the lane was re-named, as it became built upon, becoming Pickering Road in 1926, in honour of fishing magnate Christopher Pickering (1842-1920), who had donated land to the City of Hull in 1909 for the construction of Pickering Park, at the southern eextremity of the road, which was officially opened on 13 July 1911.
At the turn of the 20th Century the view west, from the corner of Third Lane (Pickering Road), would have been uninterrupted as far as the village of Anlaby in the distance. Only a few old farms and one large country residence, Spring Villa, had been built on this south side of the road. As the Edwardian era begun, several new projects were underway on the former farmlands, and as the new Hull suburbs grew steadily westwards, following the expansion of the city boundary in 1929, they began to envelop the few older established buildings in the area.
Plantation Drive
Both of these exotic sounding street names effectively refer to the east and west side of the same road, constructed c.1926, and divided by a central planted area, the whole is linked with the Anlaby Park Estate. The west side of the road backs onto the former boundary of a once grand estate and house.
The Greenway
The Greenway junction with the Anlaby Road is the main entrance to the Anlaby Park housing estate, and contains at No.2, the former gatehouse or lodge to the former Spring Villa.
Anlaby Park Road North
Anlaby Park Road, in a similar way to Pickering Road, is an old alignment, re-named during the post-World War One development of the area. It is shown on the 1826 Ordnance Survey plan, and by name on the later 1852 plan as “Common West Road” or “Second Lane”. The two old lanes effectively provided direct access from Anlaby Common (the lands north of the Anlaby Road), south across the old Hessle Common (the lands south of Anlaby Road).
By 1921 it was recorded in the directories as “The Park Road”, as it led to the new Anlaby Park estate containing The Roundway and Orchard Road, both laid out adjoining the west side of Anlaby Park Road. The new roads were developed by the City Land Syndicate of Hull in 1914-16, who once again employed the architects Runton & Barry. The gardens of the houses on the west side of Orchard Road follow an odd alignment that marks an ancient land drain; this alignment is the present boundary of Hull, and beyond it is Anlaby. Slightly further west there are some surviving open fields as a reminder of how this area appeared just 100 years ago.