Part 16

And what of winter travelling, with the thermometer down below freezing-point and the risk every minute of the coach’s being stuck fast in a snow-drift on a part of the road ‘five miles from anywhere’? Here are two local records which testify to the existence of such discomforts:—

1839. Jan. 7. A dreadful storm visited the country.... For an hour and a half the Scarbro’ mail coach horses could not contend against the wind. The inside passengers of the Beverley coach had to get out and support the vehicle from being overturned.

1846. Dec. 15. Turnpike roads impassable with snow. Scarborough mail coach unable to proceed beyond Bridlington. Narrow escape of several persons from being frozen to death on the highways.

Ten years before stage coaches reached the height of their prosperity, a new era had begun—the era of the RAILWAY. The first railway to be used for passenger traffic was one between Stockton and Darlington, and in the year of its opening another from Leeds to Selby was being planned by the great engineer, George Stephenson.

This, as originally planned, was to be of a length of 20 miles. Near Leeds there were to be three inclines, up each of which the train was to be hauled by a fixed engine stationed at the summit. The rest of the line was to be worked either by a travelling engine or by a horse.

The latter could, it was calculated, be very profitably employed. For his work would only be needed on the flat and up the slight inclines; and for six or seven miles on the journey from Leeds to Selby he could be ‘thrown off’ and could ride ‘in his own carriage behind the train of waggons,’ until his services were again required. Such was Railway Engineering in its infancy.

The Leeds and Selby Railway Company having been formed, work was proceeded with on plans drawn up by another engineer, Mr. James Walker, and the line was declared open for traffic in 1834.

In the following year a new Company, known as the Hull and Selby Railway Company, was formed, with Mr. Henry Broadley as Chairman. An Act of Parliament ‘for making a Railway from Kingston-upon-Hull to Selby’ was then obtained, and the work of constructing the new railway was pushed forward rapidly.

This, the first terminal railway to be constructed in the Riding, was expected to bring with it great advantages. By it Hull would be linked to Manchester, and Manchester was already linked to Liverpool. Thus there would be direct railway communication across England from the North Sea to the Irish Sea.

But, for all this, the scheme met with great opposition. Hull and Selby were already served by steam packets travelling along the Humber and the Ouse, and this service was deemed so satisfactory that there was little chance of the new railway’s proving a commercial success.

Objections were also raised by some of the large landowners, who feared that the introduction of the railway would very largely decrease the value of their properties along its route. Such objectors had, of course, to be conciliated—as was Mr. Raikes of Welton, by a gift of £10,000 and an undertaking to build a station at Brough instead of at Welton.

* * * * *

July 2nd, 1840, saw the opening of the first terminal railway in our Riding, amid scenes of wild enthusiasm at both Selby and Hull, as well as at the various stations along the line. The first train from Hull to Selby—as reported in the _Hull Packet_—‘started about a quarter past twelve, and was nearly two hours in going to Selby. In returning, however, the Prince performed the trip, 31 miles, in one hour and five minutes.’[62]

Footnote 62:

The _Prince_ was one of the five engines employed on the new line. The fastest non-stop run in the British Isles to-day is that made on the N.E.R. from Darlington to York, when 44-1/4 miles are covered in 43 minutes—an average speed of 61.7 miles per hour.

The first East Riding time-table was a very modest affair, as will be seen from the reproduction overleaf. The order of arrangement of the train is seen to be:—Engine and tender, goods waggon, second-class carriage, first-class carriage, and third-class carriage; but the last-named is on this occasion occupied by four-legged passengers. It is recorded that when the passengers in this were two-legged cattle, ‘a great number of hats were lost’ and many ‘colds and inconveniences’ were caught—facts at which we shall probably not be surprised.

Several of the regulations of the Hull and Selby Railway seem very quaint. It was the duty of a _station-keeper_ ‘to conduct himself civilly,’ and ‘to enter on a waybill the number, class, and destination of the passengers sent by each train.’

The _guard’s_ duties were very numerous. Among them—

He shall not allow any of the passengers to smoke in the trains, nor in any manner to endanger themselves by imprudent exposure. No passenger shall be allowed to ride on the outside of a carriage without leave from the general superintendent. In the event of any passenger being intoxicated, or disorderly, so as to annoy other passengers, the guard shall use all gentle means to stop the annoyance, and if he does not succeed, he shall set him down at the next or most convenient station, and report the circumstance.

The new method of travelling proved very popular. In 1841 the number of passengers carried by the Hull and Selby Railway amounted to 212,000, ‘without the slightest accident to any of them.’ This was the beginning of the days of the ‘cheap tripper,’ and it is recorded that on August 22nd, 1844—

A pleasure train from Hebden Bridge and Luddington Foot brought 3,200 persons [to Hull] in 82 carriages; being the longest train that ever visited the town.

In many cases the railway train, steam packet, and stage coach ran in conjunction. Thus the journey from Hull to Knaresborough was completed in the following three stages:—

Hull to Selby by steam packet, Selby to Micklefield by railway, Micklefield to Knaresborough by stage coach.

The fares for this journey were ‘6s. 6d. outside and fore-cabin,’ and ‘10s. 6d. inside and best cabin.’ Certainly the traveller could not complain that he did not get plenty of variety for his money.

As an instance of the success of the new Railway in transporting ‘live stock’ may be given another extract from the _Hull Directory_:—

1842. December 9. A cow, which arrived here by the same steamer as the Post Office bags, outstripped those bags, 14 hours in her arrival at Manchester.

It is to be presumed that the cow travelled from Hull to Manchester by train, while the Post Office bags went by mail coach. But this is left to the imagination of the readers of the Directory.

In 1845 the Hull and Selby Railway was leased to the York and North Midland Company, a powerful company under the control of Mr. George Hudson, the ‘Railway King.’

* * * * *

This year and the next saw what was called the ‘Railway Mania,’ when promoters vied with one another in preparing schemes for new railways which people with money to invest were only too anxious to support. Two hundred and seventy-two Acts of Parliament authorizing new railways were obtained during the ‘boom;’ and when the ‘crash’ came, many lost the whole of the money they had so rashly invested.

The Hull and Bridlington Branch Railway was opened in 1846, and continued to Scarborough the following year. In 1847, also, the York and Market Weighton Branch Railway was opened; and the following year saw the opening of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway ferry from Hull to New Holland. Hull and Withernsea were joined by the Hull and Holderness Railway in 1854.

Among the projected railways not carried out were the Hull and Market Weighton Railway, via Brough, and the Hull, South and West Junction Railway. One of the objectors to the former was the Vicar of South Cave, whose objection was that if there were a station at South Cave, ‘the scum of Hull would make it one place for their Sunday revels.’ His summary of the results of the introduction of railways was that—

The country youths go to some neighbouring town for a ‘lark,’ and the tag-rag-and-bob-tail of towns come into the country, not for sober enjoyment, but for Sunday dissipation.

Although this line of railway was not built, an alternative route from Hull to Market Weighton has long been provided. But the Hull, South and West Junction Railway, which was to cross the Humber by a tunnel at Hessle nearly forty years ago, remains as a project which will some day be successfully carried out.

XXV. ENGLAND’S THIRD PORT.

THE MODERN GROWTH OF HULL.

We have seen in some of the foregoing chapters how the small town of Wyke, or Hull, was born early in the twelfth century, how it received a charter of privileges from King Edward I., and how it was afterwards fortified with walls and ditches that withstood successfully a couple of sieges during the Great Civil War. It remains to see how the small, insignificant ‘King’s Town upon Hull’ has grown into a city so important as to take rank after London and Liverpool as ‘England’s Third Port.’

Six hundred years ago Hull was much smaller than, and nothing like so important as, its neighbours, Beverley and Hedon. Yet to-day its inhabitants number twenty-one times those of Beverley, and two hundred and thirty-nine times those of Hedon. Why should this be?

The answer is that in the first place Hull owes its greatness to its position on the northern shore of the mighty Humber. When ships were small, they could pass up the river Hull to Beverley, and could reach Hedon by its Haven. But as ships grew in size this became no longer possible, and Beverley and Hedon were left behind in the race, while Hull, because of its deep water, went ahead. For it is situate at the only spot on the north bank of the Humber where there is water sufficiently deep to allow large ships to approach the shore.

But there is one remarkable thing about the growth of Hull. This has taken place almost entirely within the last two hundred years. For 450 years after its walls were built, its inhabitants lived within them. Not till nearly the close of the eighteenth century did their houses begin to stretch out beyond its walls. In 1812 the area of the town was about three times that within these walls. But in 1912 the city has extended its arms so far beyond them that there are along its main roads six tram routes, each measuring from one and three-quarters to two and a half miles, while the houses of its inhabitants extend still farther.

The rapid growth of Hull within the last hundred years may be seen also by comparing the numbers of its inhabitants in different years:—

In 1811 its inhabitants numbered 37,000 ” 1841 ” ” ” 67,000 ” 1871 ” ” ” 122,000 ” 1901 ” ” ” 241,000 ” 1911 ” ” ” 278,000

These figures show that during each period of thirty years from 1811 to 1901 the population almost doubled itself, and that the greatest actual increase was between the years 1871 and 1901.

And why this sudden growth? Because of the introduction and perfection of the railway and the steamship, which together have enabled merchants to reap full benefit from the great advantages that nature herself bestowed upon their city.

* * * * *

If you turn to the fourteenth-century plan given on page 165, you will see that trading ships are moored in the river Hull—the ‘Old Harbour,’ as we call it to-day—on the right bank of which are the cranes for removing their cargoes. For another four centuries the river continued to be the only place for the mooring of ships.

But when, by the revival of the whale-fishing industry in 1765, the amount of shipping greatly increased, need was felt for more accommodation. An Act of Parliament was therefore obtained in 1774 giving permission to ‘the Dock Company, of Kingston-upon-Hull,’ to make a dock extending from the river Hull to the Beverley Gate along the line of the town moat.[63]

Footnote 63:

The Hull Dock Company became extinct in 1893, when its property was purchased by the North Eastern Railway Company.

The first stone of this dock was laid in the following year, amid scenes of great enthusiasm. Saluted with the firing of nine cannon and accompanied by ‘a large band of music, constables and flags,’ the Mayor and Corporation walked in procession to the _Cross Keys_, where they had, we read, ‘an excellent dinner.’ Nor did they forget their humbler townsfolk, for the workmen were given ‘fifteen guineas to drink.’

In 1778 the work of building the dock was finished, and Hull had the honour of possessing the first enclosed trading dock in Great Britain. It proved a great success, paying to its 120 shareholders good dividends out of the dues which were collected from the owners of vessels using it.

These varied from two pence per ton for a coasting vessel trading as far north as Holy Island or as far south as Yarmouth, to one shilling and ninepence per ton for vessels trading with Greenland, Africa and America—foreign vessels paying in all cases double dues.

THE DOCK measured nine acres in water area. In 1809 another dock was built, with an entrance direct from the Humber. This became known as the NEW DOCK, the corresponding adjective ‘Old’ being then applied to the earlier one. In 1829 a JUNCTION DOCK was built between the two. The line of the town moat was now entirely replaced with a line of docks.

In 1840 the railway came to Hull. The station was at that time in Kingston Street—on the site of the present Goods Station—and to give greater access to it for ships, the RAILWAY DOCK was built off the New Dock.

But the four docks that Hull then possessed proved quite incapable of dealing with the volume of trade to which they gave rise. So new ground was tapped, and in 1850 the VICTORIA DOCK, with a water area of 20 acres, was built. At the same time the names of the three old docks were changed, and became thenceforth the QUEEN’S DOCK, HUMBER DOCK, and PRINCE’S DOCK.

For nineteen years this provision was sufficient. Then there was opened the ALBERT DOCK, four acres larger than the Victoria Dock, and in 1880 and 1883 this was followed by the WILLIAM WRIGHT DOCK[64] and the ST. ANDREW’S DOCK.

Footnote 64:

The Albert Dock and the William Wright Dock are now combined into one, known as the ALBERT AND WILLIAM WRIGHT DOCK.

All this building of new docks was intended to provide greater facilities for shipping, and as these were provided the volume of trade went on increasing. Meanwhile new shipping companies were formed to cope with the increase of trade.

* * * * *

Most famous of all the shipping companies is that known to us as ‘Thos. Wilson, Sons & Co., Limited,’ which was started by Mr. Thomas Wilson about the time of the opening of Junction Dock. ‘Beckinton, Wilson & Co.’—as the firm was then called—possessed one or two sailing ships and traded with Sweden in iron ore. ‘Thos. Wilson Sons & Co.’ possess a fleet of nearly one hundred steamships, and trade with all the chief ports of the world.

The history of the Wilson Line has been called a romance of the shipping world. Trade with Sweden was followed by the opening out of trade with Russia. When the building of the Suez Canal gave added importance to the Mediterranean, the Wilson Line began to trade with the ports of the Adriatic Sea, and later with Odessa and Constantinople. Next came trade with India, the _Orlando_, built at Hull in 1870, being the first steamship to arrive at Hull from India direct.

After this was laid the foundation of trade with New York. The success of the new venture seemed very doubtful at first, but the Wilson Line now carry more cargo to and from England and New York than the vessels of any other line of steamships. Together with all these new enterprises has gone the organisation of weekly services to the Belgian ports, and of fortnightly services to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea.

* * * * *

Early in this chapter it was stated that in the first place Hull owes its greatness to its geographical position. It is this position which has made it a great distributing centre for imported goods, and a great collecting centre for exported goods. The Port of Hull has thus become ‘the gateway for the world to the great manufacturing centres of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Midlands.’

Much of the transfer and despatch of goods is carried on over the side of the ocean-going steamships into or from the river-going lighters and keels, which are able to make use of two systems of inland waterways. One of these, the _Aire and Calder Navigation_, dates from the year 1698, and is the oldest as well as the most up-to-date waterway in Great Britain. The other system is known as the _Trent Navigation_.

The relative cheapness of transit by water makes these inland waterways of very great importance for all heavy traffic in which speed is not required. For fast traffic Hull is served by three railway systems, the North Eastern Railway, the Hull and Barnsley Railway, and the Great Central Railway; and other Companies have running powers over the lines of the North Eastern.

The coming of the first railway to Hull in 1840 was described in the preceding chapter. Five years after this event the merchants of Hull sought to establish a Hull and Barnsley Junction Railway; but the project fell through, and it was not till 1885 that the line now known as the Hull and Barnsley Railway was constructed.

With this new line was also constructed a new dock. This, the ALEXANDRA DOCK, is the deepest dock on the east coast of Great Britain, and has a water area of 53½ acres.

The opening of this huge dock gave a great impetus to the export trade in coal. In 1884 not more than 600,000 tons were exported, but in 1910 the quantity exported reached the enormous total of 5,000,000 tons.[65] Most of this went to North Russia, Germany, Holland, Sweden and South America.

Footnote 65:

It is expected that this amount will be greatly increased within the next few years by the opening of new collieries around Doncaster, and the tapping of a new ‘Eastern Coalfield,’ which is believed to extend deep down under the Humber and the Wash, right out into the North Sea.

* * * * *

Let us take a walk round some of the Hull docks, and try to realise what the import and export trade really means.

Here, in the Alexandra Dock, is a huge iron steamship into which coal is being shipped by means of electric coal hoists or by transporter belts. Its cargo of 5,000 tons is being taken on board at the rate of ten tons a minute. From the hold of another equally large ship grain is pouring into lighters ranged alongside. It will require five working-days of ten hours each to discharge its cargo of 6,000 tons. Then the ship will take its place under the coal hoists, and its empty hold will be filled with an outgoing cargo of ‘black diamonds.’

The Victoria Dock is mainly given up to vessels unloading timber from the White Sea and the Baltic, a large proportion of it being ‘pit props’ for the coal mines of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

In the Albert and William Wright Dock, as well as in the Alexandra Dock, are vessels discharging hundreds of cases of bacon and hams from the United States, or of frozen carcasses of sheep from South America. From the hold of another vessel are being brought up crate after crate of eggs from North Russia, from another bale after bale of wool from Australia. Lined up alongside another big steamship are dozens of agricultural engines and machines made by workmen in Gainsborough and Lincoln. In a few weeks’ time they will be at work in the corn-fields of Russia.

Every day of the week we shall find ships giving up their cargoes of linseed and cottonseed from India, Egypt, or South Russia. But if we want to see the ‘butter boats’ emptied, we must be on the spot in the very early hours of a Monday morning. For these boats arrive from Denmark during the Sunday, and the work of transporting their cargoes to the lines of railway waggons that await their arrival begins with the last stroke of midnight. By four or five o’clock on the Monday morning the butter is on its way to all parts of the north of England. The cargo of one ship alone is sometimes consigned to as many as 300 separate stations.

Come for a walk along the Humber Dock or on the Riverside Quay and, according to the season of the year, we shall see unshipped cargoes of plums from Germany; new potatoes and other vegetables from Jersey, France, and Holland; cranberries from Russia; bananas from the Canary Isles; apples from Australia, Canada, and the United States; oranges, lemons, grapes, nuts, tomatoes and onions from Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Last of all we will pay a visit to the St. Andrew’s Dock, and watch the entrance and unloading of the steam trawlers and steam carriers of the Hull fishing fleets. From the fishing-grounds of the North Sea, the White Sea, and the stormy seas around Iceland each brings its ‘catch.’ As quickly as it can be brought up from the hold—tubs of plaice, turbot, halibut, codfish, ling, hake or herring—it is sold at auction to the fish buyers who attend from all the large towns of the north of England; and as quickly it is packed on board the waiting ‘Fish Trains,’ which will distribute it among the fifteen million people who live within reach of the port of Hull.

* * * * *

We shall now be able, perhaps, to understand what is meant when we call Hull ‘England’s Third Port.’ The following table shows the position of Hull in comparison with the other large ports of Great Britain:—

Annual Value of Imports Name of Port. and Exports in 1910.

London 360 million pounds.

Liverpool 341 " "

Hull 73 " "

Manchester 47 " "

Southampton 46 " "

Glasgow 44 " "

Grimsby 32 " "

The growth of Hull’s shipping industry has meant a corresponding growth of its manufacturing industries. Most of these find their home on the banks of the river Hull, along whose winding course we can find oil and cake mills, flour mills, saw mills, paint, colour and varnish works, starch, blue and black-lead works, coal tar works, and cement works—all one after another.