Maritime History

During the late 12th century when the monks of Meaux needed a port to export wool from their estates they chose a spot at the junction of the rivers Hull and Humber to build a quay and named it Wyke on Hull. In the late 13th century when Edward I looked for a port in the north east of England he acquired Hull which then became known as Kingston (King’s Town) on Hull. The king set about enlarging Hull and built an exchange where merchants could buy and sell goods.

Hulls’ trade continued to develop as the power structures in Europe altered and by the late 17th century trade was booming, which in itself caused problems as River Hull was unable to cope with the volume of traffic and there were problems with it silting up. This eventually resulted in the development of new docks in the 18th century. This saw Hull prosper through the export of goods from the manufacturing towns of Yorkshire.

Trading links
From its medieval beginnings, Hull’s main trading links have been with Scotland and northern Europe. Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Low Countries were all key trading areas for Hull’s merchants.  In addition, there was some trade with France, Spain and Portugal as well. As sail power gave way to steam, so Hull’s trading links extended throughout the world. Docks like Alexandra Dock were specifically opened to serve the frozen meat trade of Australia, New Zealand and South America. It must also be remembered that Hull was also the centre a thriving inland and coastal trading network, serving the whole of the United Kingdom.

Fishing and Maritime links
Hull has a rich fishing and maritime past and many seamen have passed through the port of Hull during its long history.  Fishermen and whalers have been operating out of Hull since the 16th century and over the years communities and institutions have developed in Hull to aid and assist sailors and their families.

These pages highlight records relating to Hull’s maritime past that can be found in Hull History Centre. These include records of welfare organisations set up to help the families of sailors, fishing and associated records, records of shipping companies, official records created by officers of central or local government and a section on where other sources can be found along with useful websites.