The great city of Kingston upon Hull and its citizens have been first in many fields over many years. This trail, created by Carnegie Heritage Centre volunteers as part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017, helps you explore the city and its history through some of these “firsts”. Learn about Hull’s pioneer aviator, see where the English Civil War started, find out which Hull pop star earned the first ever gold disc, and lots more! We hope you enjoy the trail, whilst discovering more about Hull.
The full trail shown by the dotted magenta line, takes between 1.5 and 2 hours.
The Trail Area – an overview
The full trail, shown by the dotted magenta line, takes between 1.5 and 2 hours and covers 20 major Hull “firsts”.
An enlarged view of the map can be accessed by selecting the map image below, which will appear in a new window so you can move back and forth between the main map and the trail. Alternatively, if on a mobile device, you can pinch and zoom the map below.
The tour starts at Paragon station.
Paragon Station
Plaque in Paragon Station, Ferensway, HU1 3UQ. Grid B2; also the Tigers Lair pub, 64-68 Anlaby Road, HU1 2NR. Grid B2
Paragon Station was designed by G.T. Andrews and opened in 1847; it was often described as “Hudson’s Folly”, because of its huge scale. The station was the terminus of the York and North Midland Railway and the Hull and Selby Railway. There was a specially built emigration platform, which was the first stop for up to 1,000 people a day who were on the way from mainland Europe to the USA; 2.2 million people embarked at this platform between 1850 and 1904. The platform is now disused with no platform number, and stands outside the main station building, behind the emigrant waiting room, which was built by the North Eastern Railway in 1871. The emigrant waiting room is now the Tigers Lair pub, facing onto Anlaby Road. The separate platform and waiting room ensured that the emigrants were kept away from the other station users, to minimise the risk of disease spreading.
This project is funded by the generosity of Lottery players.
Without those who play the Lottery, this and many other projects simply wouldn’t be possible. Thankyou.
