Buffet car

So what do you do with two old rail carriages and an archway on Beverley Road? Obviously you turn them into a cafe bar, what else?

Haircut

As a child I was sent to the barber's every fortnight for a sixpenny (2.5p) short back and sides. Such training put me off barber's for life so that I haven't been in one of these places for decades as my long grey hair testifies. Still, as the guy on the bike shows, there's clearly still a demand to have one's hair cut back to the wood as they say.

Butchery

This old butcher's sign has been revealed on Beverley Road, near to Cave Street. I can't remember a butcher's ever being there, that's going back thirty years. The shop is shuttered and closed along with neighbouring shops all benefiting from the economic butchery that is the government's austerity policy. Cuts here, chops there, free money for all our banker friends, oh well done old boy!

Pictures by Margot K Juby, because she had the camera and I didn't.

Cave Street

I don't know of any caves in this neighbourhood unless we are all in some kind of Platonic cave and only seeing shadows of reality cast upon the walls of our miserable existence. Anyhow this street of immeasurable pleasures runs off Beverley Road and is, as far as I know, unfortunately, only too real.

These pictures were taken by Margot K Juby while I was waiting at the bus stop. There's more monochrome merriment at the Weekend in Black & White here.

Five houses on Mayfair

I may have mentioned that Hull's Beverley Road had at one time pretensions to posh; there's a Harley Street, Park Lane, Fitzroy Street (with allusions to Fitzrovia) and here's good old Mayfair. At one time these were respectable Victorian town houses for the rising middle classes complete with garrets for the domestic serving staff. Now, as you can see, no-one calls them home. I recall that in Monopoly™, Mayfair goes for £400 with houses £50 a go; that seems about the right price for this little lot.

Molly

Whenever we pass the pet and garden shop on Beverley Road we have to stop and say hello to Molly. Molly is a Moluccan cockatoo and usually sits in her cage but is allowed out now and then to meet and greet customers with her seductive "Helloooow".

Pictures taken by Margot K Juby.

In the red

Ah well, I guess it couldn't last. Here's the pub formerly known as the Fishbowl, Hockney's and also Aussie Beach all boarded up and for sale once again. Seems it failed to attract the students despite having staff dress up as goldfish during the first few days of term last year. Can't imagine why a gimmick like that didn't work. Are students becoming more discerning?

Anyway if you've got a quarter of a million sterling going spare and you fancy trying your hand in the licensed trade well  you can see who to contact in this photo. Be warned history has a nasty habit of repeating itself usually as farce.

Rose Villa

Rose Villa stands at the entrance to Pearson Park on Beverley Road. It's now a care home for the elderly but must have been some rich man's fantasy back in the early 1900's when Beverley Road looked like the picture below taken from almost the exact spot as the above.

Now with less

This picture, taken from the bus on my way home, shows a little piece of 20th century history. The building on the right is the remains of the National Picture Theatre on Beverley Road. It was destroyed in an air raid on the night of the 17^th March 1941 during a showing of The Great Dictator. One hundred and fifty people sheltering in the foyer escaped with their lives. Since that day the ruins have just been left and now it is the last blitz damaged civilian building in the country.

So what to do with the site? Well there were plans to turn it into restaurants and flats but the great bankster driven recession has put paid to that. There's now a plan to turn it into a ‘tribute to the home front’ whatever that means. As far as I know they are still seeking funding for this so it may be another seventy years before anything happens.

Now I've only ever passed the front of this ruin and was unaware of what lies behind until I came across this little web page while researching this post. All I can say is what a mess!

As for the building on the left that was a pub called the Swan. I only ever went in there once many, many years ago. I recall it was full of big tall Kerry men drinking a strange black liquid and singing Country & Western songs. I did not stay long.

Big Black Box

 

I showed you this hotel while it was being built and it was still covered in scaffolding (here). Well here it is all opened up and ready for business. As for appearances whatever fee they paid the architect was too much; it's location however, at the junction of four main roads, makes good business sense.

The Hour of the Flower

Hull's very own floral clock stands at the junction of four busy roads and must be seen and ignored by thousands as they make their way into and out of Hull. This year's display is looking a bit tatty in the centre and it's certainly not as complex as previous years. Possibly the result of,  dare I say, pruning of budgets.

The Haworth Arms

One the best pubs in Hull,  erm probably. This is the Haworth at the junction of Beverley Road and Cottingham Road. Being close to the University it's the haunt of students as well as many  locals. It's a large place and holds many events along with the usual goings on to be found in pubs. A recent refurbishment was completed in February to restore the old wooden pannelling and bar fittings. 

Now again a word of warning, it looks old but it ain't. It's yet another glorious mock-Tudor construction of the late 1920's and 30's (seems they built nothing but this style in those years!). Indeed it didn't use to be such a big building at all, just a dowdy little pub on the corner as this old photo shows. My how it's grown!

It has a website these days and you'll find that here.

Latest theme

Round the corner from yesterday's tat shop is the Fishbowl, a public house so I'm told. Over the past ten or so years this 'pub' has had three identities that I can recall, first it was called Hockney's then after that cosed it reopened as Aussie Beach all green and yellow and selling Foster's. Then it shut and magically reopened as the Fishbowl I shudder to think what they're selling now. 

Beverley Road Public Baths

A fine example of Edwardian civic pride on display here. Not one but two domes all copper; there's posh. Opened in 1905 the baths served two purposes, recreational and hygenic. Many of the surrounding houses lacked bathrooms and so residents used the excellent slipper baths which were still in use in the 1980s; I know, I used to use them and very nice they were too! The swimming pool was used at one time for the preservation of an ancient wooden boat that was found on the shores of the Humber, there a link here. A campaign to save the baths from demolition in the 1990s was successful and they were renovated and are now in constant use; the council have a page here. There's a bit more about the building here.

The Sick Rose

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

William Blake

Across the road from the Bull is one of Hull's many closed pubs. This one has a history of attracting what can only be called a bohemian clientele, thieves, drunkards, imps, pimps and banjo players. Finally the landlords helped themselves to the takings. The observant will notice it is on the corner of Park Lane; this is one of Hull's little jokes, Mayfair is just up the road; as you can see it's more Old Kent Road.

The Bull

The Bull sits on the corner of Stepney Lane and Beverley Road. Its a typical Victorian pub that has seen better days but somehow is managing to survive.

Fubar

They say it's bad luck to change the name of ships and maybe the same applies to pubs. Here is what used to be the Mainbrace pub on Hull's Beverley Road. For many years it was a successful pub especially with the student crowd that use Beverley Road for pub crawls. Then about two years ago it was all change and it became the Fubar. I don't know what the reasons were but this pub is now closed and is in the process of becoming a block of flats and offices.
Find out what fubar means here; now you can see what an apt name it is.