Kingston upon Hull

**Kingston upon Hull** is usually called just  **Hull**. It is an English city.

It is the "unitary authority" for the region of Yorkshire and the Humber. The region is in the Ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The city is on the North side of the River Hull where it meets the Humber Estuary (see diagram),  from the North Sea.

Hull has been a market town, military supply port, trading centre, fishing and whaling port, and industrial giant. Hull was also an early battleground in the English Civil Wars, and was the backdrop to events leading to the abolition of the slave trade in Britain. Hull was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and after a period of decline, when many factories closed; the city has started to regenerate.
The Port of Hull is one of the UK's largest goods and passenger ports.

## History

Meaux Abbey was founded between 1150 and 1179. This is the earliest date people are known to have lived in the area.

Edward I used the port to help supply his troops when he was fighting the Scots. as a site from which to supply his troops as they engaged their northern foes

The king granted a royal charter, dated 1 April 1299, that renamed the settlement of Wyke to _King's town upon Hull_, or Kingston upon Hull. The charter remains preserved in the archives of the city's Guildhall.

In 1440, a new charter allowed the town to choose a mayor, a sheriff, and twelve aldermen to run its own affairs. The charter also said that the aldermen also be justices of the peace (that is, judges) for the town and its county.

Hull's port grew busier in the Middle Ages, sending wool, cloth, and leather to north Germany, towns on the Baltic Sea, and the Low Countries, bringing back timber, wine, furs, and dyes.

Sir William de la Pole was the town's first mayor.

The town grew rich during the 16th and early 17th centuries. At this time Wilberforce House was built. It is now a museum about William Wilberforce. who campaigned to abolish the slave trade.

In 1642 Hull decided to support for Parliament and refused to let Charles I enter the town. This meant the king could not have Hull's arsenal. Named a traitor, Hotham was eventually executed, in spite of a pardon issued by Parliament. Charles I besieged the town, that is he ordered his army to surround the town and force Hull to surrender. This siege helped start the fighting in the Civil War.

Hull became a city in 1897 This was then time when the city was the richest it had ever been. Catching whales and fishing were very important. Whaling is now banned, and fishing is limited by EU rules. But Hull is still a major port sending bulk goods and commercial road traffic by RORO ferry to and from the Dutch ports of Rotterdam and Zeebrugge and on to Europe. Hull is also an important centre of food-processing for the United Kingdom.

In the Second World War much of the city centre was completely destroyed. Hull was the most severely-bombed city or town apart from London during World War II, with 95% of houses being damaged or destroyed.

Hull was hit hard by the June 2007 floods. There was standing water over a wide area affecting 20% of the city's housing and damaging 90 out of its 105 schools. But the flooding was not as dramatic as the localised flooding in Sheffield and Doncaster. Newspapers and television reported about other areas, and Hull Council leader Carl Minns said Hull was the "forgotten city" of the floods.
Damage to schools alone has been estimated at £100 million.

## Geography

Kingston upon Hull's city centre is close to the Humber. The city is surrounded by the rural East Riding of Yorkshire, isolating it from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Much of Hull is on reclaimed land at or below sea level. The Hull Tidal Surge Barrier is where the River Hull joins the Humber Estuary and is lowered at times when unusually high tides are expected. It is used between 8 and 12 times per year and protects about 10,000 people from flooding.
Due to its low level, Hull is expected to be at increasing levels of risk from flooding due to global warming.

The city is quite small, but there are many villages in the metropolitan area. The largest of these suburbs is Cottingham.

## Government

Hull was a county borough in the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1889 to 1974. Then it became a non-metropolitan district of the new Humberside county. When that county was abolished in 1996 it was made a unitary authority.
The governing body of the city is now Hull City Council, based in the Guildhall in the city centre.
The council has adopted the "leader and cabinet" model. This means that most decision are made by the leader of the council and a _Cabinet_

The council was the UK's worst council in both 2004 and 2005, but is now rated as a two star _improving adequate_ council after its recent _corporate performance assessment_.

### Cities and towns linked to Hull

Hull has the following twin towns:
- , F<nowiki/>reetown
- Niigata
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Reykjavík
- Rotterdam
- Szczecin
- Chișinău

Hull, Massachusetts in the USA is named after this city, as is Hull, Quebec, which is part of Canada's national capital region.

## Telephone system

Hull is the only city in the UK with its own independent telephone network company, now called KCom. On 24 May 2007, the council sold their remaining stake in the company for over £107 million.

## People associated with Kingston upon Hull

People linked to the city include:
- John Alderton, actor, grew up in Hull and attended Kingston High School.
- Jon Culshaw, impressionist and comedian, also began his career as a DJ on Hull station Viking FM.
- John Godber, playwright, has been Artistic Director of the Hull Truck Theatre Company since 1984.
- Marion Hood, singer, grew up in Hull and performed in music hall there as a girl and young adult.
- JK and Joel, presenters on BBC Radio 1, began their partnership on local radio station Viking FM.
- Ted Lewis, author of _Jack's Return Home_, later filmed as _Get Carter_, attended Hull School of Art.
- Andrew Lincoln, actor, spent some time growing up in Hull.
- Clive Sullivan, rugby league player, played for both of Hull's rugby league teams. The main road into the city from the Humber Bridge is named after him (Clive Sullivan Way).

## Other websites

- Holy Trinity Church
- Hull City Council
- Hull City Council photo archive
- Hull Daily Mail
- Hull Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
- Hull York Medical School
- "The Humber Mouth" - Hull Literature Festival
- Photographs of modern and historic features in Kingston upon Hull
- Port of Kingston upon Hull
- Prince's Quay (shopping centre)
- Quay West Project
- Skyscrapercity: Developments for Kingston-Upon-Hull. Urban discussion forum dedicated to new development and regeneration
- St Stephens Project
- The University of Hull
- Wikivoyage Guide

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Kingston upon Hull
- **other name**: Hull
- **settlement type**: Cities in the United Kingdom, City and unitary authority
- **image caption**: Top: Hull City Hall,
Hull College and Wilberforce Monument
Middle: Hull Marina,
Queen's Gardens and Maritime Museum
Bottom: The Deep and Hull Minster
- **pushpin map**: United Kingdom#UK England#Europe
- **pushpin map caption**: Location within the United Kingdom##Location within England##Location in Europe
- **pushpin relief**: 1
- **image shield**: Coat of Arms of Kingston upon Hull.svg
- **image map**: Kingston upon Hull UK locator map.svg
- **mapsize**: 250px
- **map caption**: Shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Sovereign state
- **subdivision name**: United Kingdom
- **subdivision type1**: Countries of the United Kingdom, Country
- **subdivision name1**: England
- **subdivision type2**: Regions of England, Region
- **subdivision name2**: Yorkshire and the Humber
- **subdivision type4**: Ceremonial counties of England, Ceremonial county
- **subdivision name4**: East Riding of Yorkshire
- **government type**: Unitary authority
- **governing body**: Hull City Council
- **leader title**: Executive arrangements#Leader and cabinet, Leadership
- **leader name**: Local Government Act 2000#Options for council executive forms, Leader and cabinet
- **leader title1**: Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom#Unitary authorities, Executive
- **leader name1**: Labour Party (UK), Labour
- **leader title2**: Lord Mayor of Hull, Lord Mayor
- **leader name2**: Lynn Petrini Labour Party (UK), (L)
- **leader title3**: Leader of the Council, Council Leader
- **leader name3**: Daren Hale Labour Party (UK), (L)
- **leader title4**: Chief executive officer, Chief Executive
- **leader name4**: Matt Jukes
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 12th century
- **established title2**: City status in the United Kingdom, City status
- **established date2**: 1897
- **seat type**: Administrative headquarters
- **seat**: Guildhall, Kingston upon Hull, Guildhall
- **total type**: City
- **area land sq mi**: 27.59
- **population total**: (List of English districts by population, Ranked )
- **population rank**: (List of English districts by population, Ranked )
- **population density km2**: 3486
- **population metro**: 573,300 (Larger Urban Zone, LUZ)
- **population urban**: 314,018
- **population blank2 title**: Ethnicity
<small>(2011 Census)
</small>
- **population blank2**: 89.7% White British
0.3% White Irish
4.1% Other White
1.1% S. Asian
1.2% Black
1.3% Mixed Race
2.3% Chinese and other (0.8% Chinese)
- **population demonym**: Hullensian
- **timezone**: Greenwich Mean Time
- **utc offset**: +0
- **timezone dst**: British Summer Time
- **utc offset dst**: +1
- **postal code type**: UK postcodes, Postcode Area
- **postal code**: HU postcode area, HU
- **area code type**: List of dialling codes in the United Kingdom, Dialling codes
- **area codes**: 01482
- **blank name**: ISO 3166-2:GB, ISO 3166-2
- **blank info**: GB-KHL
- **blank1 name**: ONS coding system, ONS code
- **blank1 info**: 00FA (ONS)
E06000010 (GSS)
- **blank3 name**: Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS 3
- **blank3 info**: UKE11
- **blank4 name**: Primary airport
- **blank4 info**: Humberside Airport (Outside of Kingston upon Hull)
- **blank4 name sec2**: Councillors
- **blank4 info sec2**: 57
- **blank5 name sec2**: List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election, MPs
- **website**: [http://www.hull.gov.uk/ hull.gov.uk]