The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Over the past few days I've posted from various points on Castle Street today I've reached the end with the junction of Waterhouse Lane and this scaffold clad remains known as Castle Buildings or Castle Street Chambers depending on where you look. It's a Grade 2 listed former office block probably connected with the foundry that used to operate from Princes Dock in the mid 19^th century. Anyhow it's under protection and was, I think, being restored and so was wrapped up under plastic sheeting as you see in the top photo taken about three years ago. That is until a mighty storm ripped up the sheeting and completely destroyed it leaving it to thole the winter's sleety dribble, an' cranreuch cauld as it were. 

And, looking forward at the prospect dreary, if I've read the plans for Castle Street's 'improvement' correctly then this place and the Earl de Grey which is close by are both due for demolition. Some might say not before time.

Myton Gate

In 1322 the city of Hull was granted the right to collect murage, a tax to build and repair the city walls. Within thirty or so years the city was surrounded by walls on all sides except on the river Hull. There were five main entrances through which traffic could pass, North Gate, Beverley Gate, Myton Gate, Hessle Gate and Watergate. (I know the plaque says four but just because a gate leads to the city dump doesn't mean you can ignore it). You can get an idea of how the walls looked from the title picture at the top of this blog. The walls and gates were maintained up until the establishment of the Hull Dock Company in 1774, the next few years saw the demolition of all these medieval defences. I couldn't find any accurate contemporary images of Myton Gate, the image below comes from a series drawn in 1951 by somebody called T Armstrong and is on display in the robing room of the Guildhall. I cannot vouch for its accuracy.

This plaque is on a converted warehouse at the Castle Street end of Princes Dock. I've posted bits of this building before here and here.

From Hull Museums Collection

Fish Street: now and then

Fish Street runs south from Holy Trinity church to Castle Street. Local artist Frederick Schultz Smith in 1889 must have been standing in more or less the same spot as me when he drew the picture below. I focused on the large Victorian former warehouse at the end as the street itself is just two monotonous rows of rabbit hutch social housing put up in the 1990s (modern houses are nearly half the size of houses built in the early 20th century). Back in 1889 this was a street of varied houses, hotels and even a church and many different trades operated from the street though even then the expansion of the city westward meant this area had started to decline. Nothing stands still and if the plans for Castle Street go ahead Fish Street will be blocked off at the southern end making it a cul-de-sac.

From Hull Museum Collections

One bridge or three?

Well it had to happen I suppose. After years of delays and moans and groans from all who have any contact at all  with Castle Street the Government have finally said that money (esti­mated cost of the project is £129 mil­lion to £192 mil­lion!) will definitely be spent on improving this road. The plans, as I understand it, are to lower the level of the road and build pedestrian bridges across. But work won't start 'til at least 2015 and as the saying goes there's many a slip twixt cup and lip. Speaking of slips, the question has arisen as to whether to have one big extra wide 'land bridge' or three smaller ones. The Council are pushing for the former (they are calling it 'iconic', which is always a worry) and a 'developer's tax' (aka community infrastructure levy) might be imposed by Hull Council to pay for some of this. That sounds to me like well if not exactly killing the goose that lays the golden eggs then at least taking a bucket of the auriferous corn.

Shadows

This is the path that leads under Myton Bridge from Castle Street.

If you like your weekend in black and white click here.

Good old fashioned fog

Spurn Lightship from Castle Street

A strange sort of day yesterday; one minute I was taking pictures in clear blue sunny conditions then I walked a few yards towards Castle Street and into one of the thickest fogs I've seen for a long time. With visibility down to around twenty yards thankfully there was no air pollution to turn it into a pea souper. Undeterred by the lack of light or indeed subject I managed a handful of shots of the gloom.

Marina

Victoria pier from the Horse Wash

Waiting for the little green man

The wait to cross this road is considerably shorter than the wait for improvements to traffic flow on Hull's busiest road. The improvements do not even figure on the list of major road projects approved by the Department for Transport. 2015 is the earliest date we can expect work to begin on Castle Street but I'm thinking it might never happen.  So until then we'll just have to push the button and wait for the signal.

The Earl de Grey

No blog about Hull could  fail to mention the infamous Earl de Grey. This now closed drinking establishment is situated close to the docks. It had a reputation for a certain type of clientele; that is to say sailors with money and women who were all too willing to make them part with it. It was, in short, a knocking shop. Its renown was worldwide among the sailing fraternity.
A flavour of the place can be gleaned from the following story printed in the local paper when the pub closed. "Until 15 years ago, two parrots lived in the pub mimicking the drunken revellers who propped up the bar. Cha Cha and Ringo were popular regulars until the pub was burgled in 1985. The thieves, fearing the chatty parrots would reveal their identities, stabbed Cha Cha to death. Legend has it the bird was later buried under Castle Street during the road's construction. Lonely Ringo pined for his mate and never spoke again."

Now the building is Grade2 listed but boarded up with only this fading sign to remind us of its interesting if insalubrious past.

South

Looking south over the Marina and the redeveloped dockside. The road is Castle Street, often busy, regularly snarled up and scheduled for a serious rethink except there's no money. The horizon shows where sky and Lincolnshire and water meet.

Flagging Interest

This is Castle Street which runs between the main shopping area on the left and the Marina on the right. It doesn't look it but this road is one of the busiest in the area and there are plans to build a tunnel and bury the road. The Marina and the Riverside development are meant to attract new and vibrant companies to poor old Hull. This is the "build it and they'll come" approach to economic revival. We still await their arrival.

Anyhow the flags were colourful and it was a nice sunny day.