December 12th

On 12th December 1303, Hull burgess John Schayl left 20shillings in his will towards the rebuilding of Holy Trinity Church.

On 12th December 1659, James Primrose MD, aged 63, of Whitefriargate, Hull, signed his will, and died sometime in the same month. Raised and educated in France, related to James I’s principal surgeon and Scottish nobility. Prominent writer on medical matters, and highly respected Hull physician. Andrew Marvell referred to him in a poem. A religious nonconformist who was fined for non-attendance at church at least twice.

On 12th December 1895, Robin Pockley, coxswain of th eFlamborough lifeboat, saved the 3 crew of the fishing boat Elizabeth, who had been washed into the sea several miles off Flamborough Head; as there was not enough time to call out the lifeboat, he put out to sea with 2 colleagues in an ordinary fishing boat. He was awarded the RNLI silver medal.

On 12th December 1946, Barrie Rutter was born in Hull. Actor, director and founder of the Northern Broadsides theatre company; awarded OBE for services to drama. photo shows him (middle) in 2017 production of ‘Richard III’.

-Barrie-Rutter-Mat-Fraser

December 11th

Meaux Abbey Farm

 

On 11th December 1538, Ellerton Gilbertine Priory was dissolved and the monks pensioned off. Sir John Aske of Aughton was granted the monastic lands, part of which became the parish church and graveyard. I have no record of the fate of the 13 poor elderly men whom the priory hospital was created to house.

On 11th December 1539, the Abbot and monks of Meaux Abbey were pensioned off when the monastery was dissolved. The abbot retired to Skerne, and some of monks took up posts as curates in Welwick, Keyingham and Beeford. photo shows farm near the site

On 11th December 1647, priest John Saltmarsh, MA, died. Author, theologian, rector, deacon and Chaplain in the Parliamentary Army during the Civil War. Argued for religious toleration and liberty of conscience. Told Cromwell and Fairfax that God was angry with them for their treatment of the Levellers, and resigned his post with the Army. (b Saltmarsh date?)

On 11th December 1915, former Reckitt’s employee Private Edgar Winson was killed in action, serving with 10thBtn West Yorkshire Regiment. Born Spurn. No known grave.

 

December 9th

On 9th December 1644, Capt John Hotham had a second trial, this time for betraying the trust placed in him as a parliamentary commander. Found guilty and sentenced to beheading on 1stJanuary.

On 9th December 1754, pensioners in Trinity House almshouses were required to attend every Divine Service in the chapel, or lose one week’s pay for every default.

On 9th December 1917, the Spurn lifeboat rescued the crew of the steam ship Florence of Stockton when they ran aground in heavy seas. Coxswain Robert Cross jumped into the sea with a line, and with crewman G. Martin, stood on the sands until all of the crew were safely in the lifeboat. Cross received the RNLI Silver Medal, and Martin received a Monetary Award.

On 9th December 1959, half of the tower of St Martin’s Church, Wharram Percy, collapsed in a storm, 10 years after the last service held in this abandoned village, now probably the subject of more archaeological investigations than any other place in England.

Wharram Percy

December 6th

On 6th December, it was the tradition in many villages for a Boy Bishop to be elected, to serve to Christmas Eve.

On 6th December 1567, after being admitted to the Council in the North by the Archbishop of York, Sir John Constable of Halsham and Burton Constable was dismissed after opposition from protestant Sir Henry Gates.

On 6th December 1852, Henry ‘Box’ Brown, escaped US slave and actor, performed a panorama of African and American Slavery at The Music Hall, Hull.

Henry Box Brown

 

December 4th

On 4th December 1688, Capt Lionel Copley, vice-governor of Hull, in support of William of Orange, arrested Lord Langdale, governor of Hull, and Catholic officers supporting James II. Mobs attacked, ransacked and demolished Catholic houses and the ‘mass-house’, and the events of Town-Taking Day were celebrated into 20thC. It is believed that this is the event which was plotted in the parlour of the Olde White Harte.

On 4th December 1841, Joseph Davey, 28, became the new master of the Spurn lifeboat, and master of the tavern, replacing Robert Richardson, the first master, who had served in post for 31 years. Davey did not last so long – he was dismissed in February 1842 when the lifeboat failed to respond to a vessel run aground on the Stony Binks. Fortunately, the crew of the Elizabeth managed to refloat her, and there were no casualties.

On 4th December 1857, William Watson of Seaton Ross, maker of maps and sundials,  died. (b 17.5.1784) photo shows Dial Cottage, Seaton Ross.

On 4th December 1894, Robert Butterfield was elected first Chair of the Nafferton Parish Council; earlier in the year, parish councils had been introduced by the Local Government Act, replacing a number of parish and manor courts dealing with minor local issues. This process was happening across the country. One of the PC’s first acts in Nafferton was to clean the beck, and appoint a beck-watcher to look after the 2 swans donated by Mr Butterfield.

seaton ross.JPG copy

November 30th

On 30th November 1219, William de Forz II, count of Aumale, Lord of Holderness, was declared a rebel and excommunicated for offences against the Crown and the sheriffs of 6 counties were instructed not to give him any help; he had held onto castles after being ordered to restore them to their owners.

On 30th November 1280, the residents of Hedon petitioned government to fix their tax (fee farm) as they were ‘few and poor’ and competition from Ravenserod and Hull were increasing from day to day. The port was firmly in decline. Hedon ship motif can be found in St Augustine’s church.

Hedon ship, St Augustine's

On 30th November 1587, Alexander Crowe, Catholic priest, aged approx 34, was executed in York. Born in Howden, worked as a shoemaker and travelled to Douai; ordained at Rheims 1583. Captured at South Duffield while baptising the baby of Cecily Garnett.

On 30th November 1644, Sir John Hotham began his trial for treason at the Guildhall, London.

On 30th November 1832, Henry John Shepherd, attorney and JP, of Beverley, went bankrupt, having speculated in building projects; his creditors were reported to include mainly individuals who had given him money for investment with no security; the bankruptcy register describes him as ‘dealer and chapman’. Shepherd was again practising as a solicitor in 1833.

 

November 29th

On 29th November 1486, John Thurleby started in a new post as Hull Collector of Customs, joining existing staff Thomas Annesley (collector) and John Wolleston (Controller).

On 29th November 1596, William Knight of South Duffield, and Henry Abbot of Howden were hanged, drawn and quartered as traitors for their Catholic faith. Knight was beatified on 22.11.1987,  Abbot 15.12.1929.

 

English Martyrs, hanged, drawn and quarted for the Catholic Faith in England

 

November 25th

On 25th November 1641, Nicholas Pearson, parish clerk at St Mary’s Beverley, wrote this rhyme in the parish register, as a reminder of the dates when the Catholic church traditions forbade the celebration of marriage: ‘When Advent comes do thou refrain till Hillary set ye free again. Next Septuagissima saith ye nay But when Low Sunday comes thou may. Yet at Rogation thou must tarry Till Trinity shall bid ye marry.’ However, Pearson was a Puritan, showing perhaps that many traditions continued in the Church of England.

On 25th November 1818, Hull Trinity House started a fund to build cottages for the Spurn lifeboat crew, to help the lifeboat get under way more quickly after a call. £800 was raised.

On 25th November 1857 (or 1851) died when the steam packet Empress collided with the Ouse ferry in the dark at Whitgift. 3 passengers from Sheffield also died.  Verdict of accidental drowning by the carelessness of the ferrymen. photo –  Whitgift

Whitgift

November 16th

On 16th November 1503, Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk, died, aged 58. She was married to John de la Pole, 2ndDuke of Suffolk. The lands she held in Hull and Myton reverted to the Crown, and in 1514 Henry VIII gave them to William Sidney, buying them back in 1539 to build his fortifications in the town. She held 1,000 acres of land, including meadow, pasture, 100 dwelling houses, a mansion and gardens and the patronage of the Charterhouse.

On 16th November 1857, ‘A Dissenter’ issued a campaign leaflet encouraging religious dissenters to oppose plans by the Church of England to close down the school run by the Leonard Chamberlain Charity, the trustees of which were all dissenters. The writer estimated that 1/3 of Hessle people were not CofE members. The school remained open for a further 45 years.

On 16th November 1918, PC244 Harry Burgess filed a statement at Hull Central Police Station, reporting on 3 US sailors and 1 American soldier being followed by a large crowd. The Americans used obscene language, threatened to fight, and refused to go to their billets. Police escorted them to the Grosvenor Hotel, guarded the gate and dispersed the crowd, who accused the Americans of attacking British and Canadian soldiers.  The US commander later ordered his men, based at Killingholme US Naval Air Station, not to visit Hull without orders.

On 16th November 2017, Queen Elizabeth II visited Hull and met some of the City of Culture volunteers, had lunch with the Bee Lady among others, visited Siemens, and the new Allam Medical Centre at Hull University.

 

royal visit 2017

November 11th

Lister's Hospital, S Church Side

 

On 11th November 1642, the building work at the new William Lister’s Hospital in South Church Side, Hull, was inspected. They were surprised to find Mr Gough, Reader at Holy Trinity church, living there, in rooms allocated to the Assistant Preacher, which post was vacant at the time. Eventually, agreement was reached with the Mayor and Aldermen whereby Gough was allowed to remain, and given the post on a temporary basis.  He appears to have still been in post 20 years later. A dispute arose in 1749 over the same rooms, and post, when the trustees decided that the Mayor and aldermen had no power to ‘intermeddle’ this time. photo shows the Hospital

On 11th November 1899, the Evan Fraser Hospital opened at West Carr, Sutton-on-Hull as an isolation hospital for smallpox patients, named after a surgeon and Hull alderman (d.8.4.1906). The hospital replaced the Garrison Hospital on Sammy’s Point. Police were posted outside to prevent access, and the city banned religious services and the loan of library books.

On 11th November 1920, Mr Arthur B. Reckitt unveiled memorial tablets at Reckitt’s Institute, Dansom Lane, Hull, to staff who had died in World War 1. 159 Reckitts employees died.

On 11th November 1942, Abdul Rahman, aged 22, seaman, was lost to enemy action whilst in Merchant Navy on board SS City of Ripon of Hull, in Atlantic convoy.