Kingston upon Hull in historic gazetteers

Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887). John Bartholomew

Hull.-- or Kingston-upon-Hull, parl. and mun. bor., seaport, and co. in itself, East-Riding Yorkshire, on a low plain at the influx of the river Hull to the estuary of the Humber, 55½ miles SE. of Leeds and 173½ miles (by New Holland) from London, 7916 ac., pop. 165,690; 8 Banks, 12 newspapers. Market-days, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Hull received its charter from Edward I., but was a place of some consequence long before the reign of that monarch. The marked progress and prosperity of the town in recent times may be attributed to the opening of docks, of which the chief are the Old Dock, and the Humber, Junction, Railway, and Victoria docks. Through the great maritime enterprise of the inhabitants, Hull has become one of the largest ports of the United Kingdom, having shipping commerce with all parts of the world. (For shipping statistics, see Appendix.) Regular lines of steamers ply between the town and the chief ports of the Continent. Sea-fishing is very extensively prosecuted by an immense fleet of trawlers and drifters belonging to the port. The other industries of Hull comprise shipbuilding, rope and sail works, chemical works, mfrs. of oil, paint, and colours, flax and cotton mills, engineering works, breweries, foundries, &c. There is a fine Town Hall and many other handsome and large public buildings. Near the docks is a monument to William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the philanthropist, who was a native. For parliamentary purposes the bor. is divided into 3 divisions-East, Central, and West - each returning 1 member; the representation was increased from 2 to 3 members in 1885, when the parliamentary limits were extended.