Tag: strike

8th May

On 8th May 1660, the day on which it was proclaimed in London that Charles II had been King since the execution of his father, Hull ordered the arms of the Commonwealth removed from Hull Town Hall,  to be replaced with the King’s arms, and that the town’s maces be engraved with the King’s arms.

On 8th May 1926, mounted police on Monument Bridge, Hull, baton charged crowds trying to prevent volunteers signing up in the City Hall, on the 5th day of the General Strike. 41 people needed hospital treatment.

On 8th May 1941, Hull suffered its worst air raid on of WW2 overnight; 420 people killed, 800 injured, more than 800 fires; the Prudential building collapsed on top of its basement air raid shelter; 3,000 houses were destroyed and a further 9,000 damaged. 35 churches were hit, 2 synagogues, 14 schools; 2 million sq ft of factory space damaged or destroyed; notable buildings such as House of Powolny restaurant; extensive damage to the docks, including the destruction of Riverside Quay. 40,000 people made homeless in the month. A large number of commendations for gallantry were made this night and the following night – too many to record here.

On the same night, a German landmine fell on Magdalen Lane, Hedon, killing 12 people and destroying 2 houses.

May 7th

On 7th May 721, retired Archbishop of York John of Beverley died at Beverley. He was canonized as St John of Beverley, and this is his feast day, celebrated at his birthplace, Harpham, with a procession.

On 7th May 1798, Hull Trinity House paid £3 1s to John Cook, the master of the ship John and Mary, and to 8 of the crew, after the ship was captured by a Dutch privateer, and then recovered by the British.

On 7th May 1915, William (Ely) Taylor, 36, stoker 1st class and former Reckitt’s fitter, died at Gallipoli while serving with the Royal Navy Hood Battalion; he is buried in Lancashire Landing Cemetery.

On 7th May 1926, strikers clashed with police at Hull on the 4th day of the General Strike.

April 24th

 

john-hotham-1-sized

On 24th April 1597, the Council in the North asked Hull and York corporations to work together and take part ownership with Roger Ashe of a new ship being built at Grimsby. Both corporations objected, and the York Merchant Adventurers joined in, asking both sides to take over Ashe’s share in the ship, as he evidently wished to pull out of the project. How it was resolved the author does not know.

On 24th April 1642, King Charles I sent heralds with a message to Sir John Hotham, giving him a last chance to admit the King to the town. It was rejected.

On 24th April 1644, Parliamentary and Scottish troops took the town of Stamford Bridge from the Royalists.

On 24th April 1882, Hull Street Tramways Company broke a strike by drivers and conductors, by engaging staff to replace those on strike. The strike was for improved working conditions, and resulted in the formation of the Hull Tramway Men’s Union.

 

April 22nd

On 22nd April 1566, Walter Cave was assaulted in his own home in Hull by Ralph Ellerker, his brother James and servants, and Cave brought an action in the Star Chamber. The argument involved Walter Cave accusing Robert Dalton, his brother-in-law and servant of the Ellerkers, of illegally harbouring Catholic priests, and Cave’s refusal to allow Dalton into the house to speak to Dalton’s mother. Ralph Ellerker claimed he acted in defence of his brother, who was unarmed. The outcome of the case is not recorded.

On 22nd April 1642, James Duke of York, the King’s son, aged 9, and the King’s nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, 23, arrived in Hull unannounced, with the country people arriving for market day. They were well looked after, and invited to dinner with Sir John Hotham the following day. portrait on left shows James aged 12

On 22nd April 1893, arson suspected when fires broke out in timber stocks on Hull docks, during a dock strike which saw rioting, police charges and military involvement. The fire covered an area of 8 acres; the Citadel Hotel was destroyed, and total damage was estimated at up to £1million. Kier Hardy asked Parliament why the military had been sent to assist the shipowners. The strike continued into May.

January 19th

 

Pilgr Grace

On 19th January 1537, Sir Francis Bigod was attacked by Ellerker’s men in Beverley, and most of his men were captured. After failing to capture Scarborough, he had gathered more followers at Bainton, but heard that John Hallam had failed to capture Hull. Bigod escaped to the north, and was eventually captured in March. Both Bigod and Hallam were executed.

On 19th January 1684, Sir Robert Hilyard, knight & Baron of Patrington, gave his son Capt Robert Hilyard ‘2 whole pues or closets, which were positioned in the South Transept’.

On 19th January 1970, Alan Plater oversaw the first production at the new theatre in Spring Street of his own play ‘Don’t Build a Bridge, Drain the River’, with music by Mike Chapman and Mike Waterson. The Humberside Arts Centre later became Humberside Theatre, and then Hull Truck Theatre. see photo

On 19th January 1979, William Rodgers, Secretary of State for Transport, reported in the House of Commons that as the result of an industrial dispute in the road haulage industry, there was no movement of grain or animal feed out of Hull docks. The importance of Hull was stressed, as other parts of the country depended on it to deliver goods.

On 19th January 2014, the Environment Agency closed Sutton Lock on the River Derwent to navigation due to safety concerns. The lock had been reconstructed in 1972 to enable pleasure craft to travel up to Stamford Bridge and give access to the Pocklington Canal. There seemed to be uncertainty as to who owned the gates and equipment.

Spring St theatre

September 12th

On 12th September 1843, a Grand Gala was held at Hull Zoological Gardens, with performances by trained animals, an archery competition, and ‘feats of jugglery’.

On 12th September 1911, 12 schoolboys from St Mary’s Catholic School, Hull, began apparently the first school strike in what became a national movement, following widespread strikes in the docks and other industries.

 

ZooGdns

August 17th

On 17th August 1377, King Richard II issued a charter allowing the town of Hull to ensure the town walls and moats were kept in good repair, and to compel every householder to contribute to the cost of repair.

On 17th August 1427, Thomas Brygman, vicar of Foston, asked the Pope to relax the penances paid by those who did not visit church on holy days or give alms, because the church buildings were ruinous, and lacking a bell tower to call parishioners to prayer, and because the parishioners were too poor to repair the church. Their poverty was caused by ‘divers burdens’ imposed by King Henry to fight wars, and also because of the high mortality level in the area.

On 17th August 1863, Dr T.T. Pierson of Bridlington Quay apologised for signing a certificate at The Retreat asylum, Kilham, to declare a woman insane (whom he had known since they were at school) at the request of her husband; she turned out to be suffering only from the effects of alcohol.

On 17th August 1905, Hull merchant Frederick Harker was fined £2 plus costs for speeding at Harpham – travelling at 28 miles per hour in a 20mph zone. It was reported that the method used, of 3 police officers timing him over a measured distance, had not been used before.

On 17th August 1920, Sir Luke White, MP, died at Driffield, aged 75. Liberal MP for Buckrose since 1900, he died a pauper and under investigation for bankruptcy, having covered his political expenses by using money entrusted to him by the clients of his business as a solicitor.

On 17th August 1954, workers at King George Dock, Hull, began a strike against unsafe working conditions called the ‘Filling Strike’; within hours, 4,000 dockers were on strike and 60 ships lay idle. The strike ended after 11 days.

 

1954 dock strike

June 26th

On 26th June 1793, Captain William Hammond died aged 65 in Kirk Ella. Hull sea captain, shipowner and merchant, supporter of abolition, Chairman of Hull Dock Company, Warden of Trinity House, and diplomat. (He and David Hartley MP met Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in Paris on a possible spying mission) Buried in Welton. (b 1727 York). Photo shows a door in the Maritime Museum, former Dock Offices.

On 26th June 1854, at an event to celebrate the opening of the Hull-Withernsea railway line, 500 guests travelled from Hull on the first ever train (which was 20 minutes late, due to late arrival of guests) and part of the lunch marquee collapsed; there were no injuries. Joseph Robinson Pease in his diary recorded heavy showers and high winds threatened to tear the marquee to pieces, but that it subsided and all passed off well.

On 26th June 1920, the National Federation of Women Workers called its Hull laundry worker members out on strike, as they were paid less than in other towns. Hull Trades Council supported the strike and organised a parade on 17 July. Strike breakers were reported being smuggled in to work in laundry baskets.

Hull Dock Co