Hull Castle

Floor plan of Hull Castle, from Wenceslaus Hollars City plan of Hull (c. 1640)

Hull Castle was a fortress on the east bank of the River Hull , built in 1543 at the behest of King Henry VIII . The fortress was in what is now the city of Kingston upon Hull in the English county of East Riding of Yorkshire .

One part was converted into a citadel in the 1680s , while another part was demolished in 1802.

prehistory

During the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536), the rebels briefly took control of the city of Kingston upon Hull. After the rebellion, at the end of 1541, King Henry VIII visited the city and ordered the expansion of the fortifications. The moat was to be washed out and the walls and gates of the city repaired and expanded. In addition, the de la Pole house, which had become the property of the crown, was to be converted into the city's citadel and the drainage system outside the city was to be modified so that the fields could be flooded in times of threat.

Building and construction

In February 1542, King Henry's plan had reached a new dimension. Now a fortress was to be built in addition to the city walls. The king appointed Michael Stanhope to be his commander in Hull and endowed him with £ 18,000 to build the castle. The fortress was completed in late 1543. It was made from locally made bricks and stones, some from the recently disbanded Meaux Abbey and also from St. Mary's Church in Hull.

The fortress was built on the east bank of the River Hull and consisted of three forts connected by a wall and stretching from the opposite bank of the river to Northgates , south of the Humber . The central fort, Hull Castle , was complemented by two log houses , one at each end of the wall. At the same time, a bridge, the North Bridge , was being built across the river just outside the city walls. It was the first bridge in Hull.

Hull Castle was a three-story building measuring 20 meters by 15 meters with 2.4 meters thick walls surrounded by an outer wall that was 5.8 meters thick. The log houses were somewhat smaller in their three-pass floor plan with a rectangular design in the fourth corner, where the wall adjoined, and only had two floors.

In 1552 control of Hull Castle and the log houses passed to the city of Kingston upon Hull.

Damage, remodeling and demolition

On September 16, 1643, the north log cabin was partially destroyed during the second siege of Hull in the wake of the English Civil War and the North Bridge was damaged when the magazine was accidentally set on fire by a careless gunner. Both structures were later repaired at a cost of £ 2000.

In 1657 repairs to Hull Castle were necessary; the cost was estimated at £ 5000. In 1670 a storm damaged the southern blockhouse and endangered its stability. In the 1680s the fortifications of Hull were ordered, as were those of Tilbury , Sheerness and Portsmouth . The work on Hull Castle under the supervision of the Swedish fortress engineer Martin Beckman turned the fortifications on the east bank of the River Hull into a modern, triangular fort with a governor's house, magazine and three barracks buildings, which was called the Hull Citadel . The south log cabin and Hull Castle were integrated into the citadel, with the connecting wall between the two buildings removed. The northern log cabin was outside the boundaries of the new fort. It was preserved and later rented out for private use. It was demolished in 1802.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . Pp. 100-103.
^ A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 1: The City of Kingston upon Hull . Pp. 412-418 Para 15. 1969. Accessed June 10, 2016.
^ Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . Pp. 166-171.
^ Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . Pp. 172-174.
^ Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . P. 189.
^ A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 1: The City of Kingston upon Hull . Pp. 412-418, para 24-25. 1969. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
↑ James Joseph Sheahan: General and concise history and description of the town and port of Kingston upon Hull . Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., 1864, p. 272 (Retrieved June 10, 2016).

literature

Audrey Howes, Martin Foreman: Town and gun: the 17th-century defenses of Hull . Kingston Press in association with Hull Museums and Galleries, Kingston upon Hull 1999. ISBN 1-902039-02-5 .

Web links

Commons : Fortifications of Kingston upon Hull - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

SPG Note 27 Heritage & Development Management at Garrison Side, Hull . Hull City Council.

53.74339 -0.326679Coordinates: 53 ° 44 ′ 36.2 " N , 0 ° 19 ′ 36" W.

[GillettMcMahon100103-1] A ^b ^c Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . Pp. 100-103.

[AllisonPara15-2] A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 1: The City of Kingston upon Hull . Pp. 412-418 Para 15. 1969. Accessed June 10, 2016.

[GillettMcMahon166171-3] Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . Pp. 166-171.

[GillettMcMahon172174-4] Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . Pp. 172-174.

[GillettMcMahon189-5] Edward Gillett, Kenneth A. McMahon: A History of Hull . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-19-713436-X . P. 189.

[AllisonPara2425-6] A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 1: The City of Kingston upon Hull . Pp. 412-418, para 24-25. 1969. Retrieved June 10, 2016.

[Sheahan272-7] James Joseph Sheahan: General and concise history and description of the town and port of Kingston upon Hull . Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., 1864, p. 272 (Retrieved June 10, 2016).