Hull tourist information

Kingston upon Hull (usually abbreviated to 'Hull') is on the Humber Estuary and bordered by the rural county of East Yorkshire. The low-lying city stands on both sides of the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber estuary.

The town was established in the 12th century as Wyke upon Hull by the monks of Meaux Abbey. The port's location, 25 miles from the North Sea, was chosen because it gave access to navigable rivers and a prosperous hinterland. Edward I (1272 - 1307) acquired the town from the abbey to provide a secure port for his armies who were fighting the Scots. The town received a royal charter in 1299 and was renamed 'Kings town upon Hull'.

Hull became the foremost port on the east coast of England, exporting wool and woollen cloth and importing wine. The old harbour in Hull was once the focus of the town's considerable trading interests. The narrow, winding thoroughfares along the river were lined with grand merchants' houses.

From medieval times until the 19th century the most important merchant families lived over their counting houses and near their wharves. The houses were splendid examples of the taste of their time and richly displayed the skills of the plasterer and woodcarver. Maister House on the High Street is one of the few buildings surviving from this period. The first commercial dock was built on the River Humber in 1770 and this heralded the gradual decline of the Hull's old harbour. Many of the merchants' houses have disappeared in the last eighty years.

Over the centuries Hull has served as a market town, military staging post, trading centre, fishing and whaling centre and industrial city.

The city was at its most prosperous just before World War I. Much of the city centre was destroyed during World War II, when Hull was the most severely bombed city in the country, apart from London. At the end of the conflict Hull suffered considerable industrial decline but recently the city has enjoyed regeneration and renewal.

Museum Quarter

The celebrated Museum Quarter is located around the High Street in the Old Town area. The museums located here are Wilberforce House Museum, the Hull and East Riding Museum, Streetlife Museum of Transport and the Arctic Corsair. All the museums in the Museum Quarter have free admission.