A Story of Three HULL Pubs

These are the histories of three public houses, which once welcomed travellers arriving from York and Beverley into the town of Hull.  They are as accurate, and as mundane as such things usually are in reality, however, that cannot distract from the fact that these three houses did cater for a thirsty clientele for several centuries.  To those who might remember one or more of them, they were latterly, in numerical address order, 35 Whitefriargate – the Andrew Marvel; 37(8) Whitefriargate – the Monument; and 39 Whitefriargate – the Burn’s Head.  Whitefriargate is one of Hull’s oldest streets, but to delve into the history of that would be another long story, sufficient to say that its title derives from the Carmelite monks who at a time prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530’s, had a house in the very near vicinity on the street’s south side.  At least one of these sites occupied by these houses was prime, hard by the walled and gated entrance to the town, the very first hostelry any traveller would encounter, the other two were no more than a very few paces further.

Each hereafter section will be titled by its address rather than any one of the several titles by which each house has been known.

35 WHITEFRIARGATE

A deed dated 10^th April 1818, provides the first evidence of the age of this site as a hostelry.  It is included as part of an Abstract of Title dated 1852, and the relevant section states:

“ALL that message tenement or dwelling house used as a public house theretofore known by the name of the Post Boy, afterwards the Wool Pack, late of the Lion and Lamb, and then by the sign of the Andrew Marvell, with the kitchens, back kitchen (then used as a cellar) the chamber or sledge room over the same, then occupied by Mr. Scarborough, brewhouse yard and appurtenances thereto belonging…..”  [author’s emphasis]

From the Abstract of Title the first three listed names would seem to be in chronological order, served the same house prior to 1787.  The first, the Post Boy, could be indicative of the postal service that predated Royal Mail stagecoaches.  The service was introduced in 1588, in the same year as the threat of the Spanish Armada, but the first authenticated letter concerning the town of Hull and the Post Boy service dates from 1636.  It was sent from the newly formed Post Office in London and was addressed to the Mayor of Hull requesting the town ensure that the actual Post Boy’s were provided with fresh horses as they travelled northwards.  Could this mean that this house might have been in existence since the early 17^th century? Why not?

There is however no evidence other than that quoted that can substantiate such a proposition.  What can be said is that if one allows an arbitrary average of ten years per title change (to be conservative), then the house cannot be safely dated back prior to about the 1750’s.  The Post Boy system of mail delivery survived until the commission of Royal Mail Coaches in the 1780’s.  The Hull to York Mail Coach service began working in 1787.  In 1774, the Hull Dock Company acquired all of the town’s old and by then derelict western fortifications.  By 1778 the New Dock (later Queens Dock, latterly Queens Gardens) was open to shipping.  It was during this period of four years that the remnants of the Beverley Gate-house were demolished. To either side of the gate there used to be earth ramparts within the wall for the placement of defensive ordnance, these were reinforced during the time of the English Civil War, when Beverley Gate became the focus of the nation (see Sieges section).  The site of the old gate-house has been excavated and is now open to view, and its distance from the ‘entrance’ to Whitefriargate is plainly evident, such distance would have been occupied by the ramparts, and the first building within the town on the north side of the street, was what later became number 34, with 35 immediately next door.  Hollar’s plan of the town dated 1640 clearly shows that there were buildings immediately inside the gate on the north side (see above).  It was the ideal site for a traveller’s rest.

By cross referencing the early trade directories for the town, one could be forgiven for thinking that this house once held the name of the (K)Nag’s Head.  The 1814-15 edition clearly says that number 35 was occupied by John Knight, victualler, the Nag’s Head, this can be linked back to the 1810 directory and forward in time to the 1817 directory.  The 1792 edition of Battle’s directory states that there was a victualler located in Whitefriargate called Robert Knaggs.  It all seems to fit very well, until that is the above-mentioned Abstract of Title is considered.  That document does not mention such a name, and, as all other names and titles are plainly listed, then it is safe to assume that the (K)Nag’s Head would also have been so listed had it alluded to this same address.  Therefore, there must be an error in the 1814-15 directory which, of its self, is not unusual at this period of directories.  The question however remains to be asked, where was the (K)Nag’s Head if it was not at number 35 – one solution could be that it was located at number 34, but no known evidence survives to support such a theory.

It might also be noticed that the word ‘Original’ does not appear in the deeds as part of the title, even though the directories plainly list the house as the ORIGINAL Andrew Marvell between the 1822 and 1831 editions.  By now it must be becoming apparent that the reliability of such sources as trade directories cannot always be taken for granted, and that their veracity has on occasion to be questioned.  One possible explanation for the apparent discrepancy between directory and deed could be that the word ORIGINAL was an un-official prefix, used colloquially as a means of differentiating between two similar named houses, which, when the directory agents made their rounds, the current tenants included the un-official prefix to the title of the house, thereby ensuring its inclusion in the subsequent directory.  It might also have occurred that one mistaken entry in an earlier directory was simply copied by subsequent editions until such time as it could be corrected.

A Deed of Lease and Release dated the 9^th and 10^th April 1818, confirms the acquisition of the premises by Paul Hill and his wife Elizabeth after the previous owners hade been declared bankrupt, which sad event was ratified on the 6^th April concurrent.  The fact that Paul Hill is listed as victualler in the 1817 directory would suggest that he was a tenant at the house under the previous owners, and took advantage of their misfortune to acquire the premises for himself and his wife.  However, the premises were initially bought by Richard Moxon from the Commissioners of Bankruptcy, and it was at auction on the 23^rd June 1817, that Hill acquired the house from Moxon, for the sum of £700.  On the 2^nd March 1830, the Hill’s transferred their share of the property to Thomas North and his wife, by Deed Poll, but the day to day running of the Andrew Marvell seems to have transferred at about the same time to Thomas Walker, who is first listed as victualler there in 1831. It was during Walker’s tenancy that the prefix ‘Original’ disappeared from the house’s title in the directories. Walker had been replaced by the time of the 1840 directory by John Bramhan, who in turn was superseded by his widow Eliza who is listed in the 1846 directory.  On the cover of the afore mentioned Abstract of Title there is a small roughly drawn plan that provides evidence of exactly the sort of house the Andrew Marvell was in this period of its history.  The plan, hand drawn, has Whitefriargate at the top and the Old Dock Side at the foot.  The Andrew Marvell is not actually named but from the location of the Monument Tavern, next-door-but-one, which is so named, then the rest is obvious.  It has Gaston’s shoe shop, latterly Timpson’s at number 36, and the premises of Henry Petch at 34, with Richardson’s offices at the rear.  Fronting Whitefriargate there is a dram shop flanked to the east by a narrow parlour.  Both appear small when compared to the Monument, unless the two kitchens, which appear to be of the same property, are included in the size of it.  The apparent lack of divisions within the premises such as, bar, smoking room, etc., would seem to indicate that the Andrew Marvell was then being operated as a gin parlour rather than an alehouse.

By 1872, Henry Tadman was operating the house, and the directory of the same date includes an advertisement that is here quoted in full:

“THE ‘ANDREW MARVELL’ 35 WHITEFRIARGATE

(near the Monument Bridge)

NOTICE – HENRY TADMAN (for the last seven years Steward at the Hull Club House), begs to inform his friends and the public generally that he has purchased and entered upon the Proprietorship of the old-established House.

Mr. T. has, at considerable expense, altered both the interior and exterior of the building, in order that “The Andrew Marvell” may possess advantages especially adapted to its excellent situation, but more particularly for the convenience and comfort of his customers.

“The Andrew Marvell” being now FREE for both SPIRITS and BEER, H.T. will be enabled to successfully compete with any other house in the trade.  Wines and Spirits of the best quality will be sold, and at prices, either for large or small quantities, which will bear comparison with any other establishment.

BEERS and STOUTS will be supplied by the well known firms of Bass, Allsopp, Guinness, &c., WINES of the choicest vintages, CIGARS, &c.  Orders promptly and courteously attended to.

Observe the name and address – H. TADMAN,

Wholesale & Family Wine and Spirit Merchant, “Andrew Marvell,”

35 WHITEFRIAGATE, HULL.”

Although there exist many photographic images showing the western end of Whitefriargate in which peripheral views of the Andrew Marvell can clearly be seen, there are none that provide a full-on frontal view.   From the many similar aspects of the façade of number 35, it can be determined that its appearance underwent a radical change, with its front wall being given a coat of white pant and the title board (just seen in the included photo), removed from the gutter line and replaced by a painted title between the first and second floor windows. 

Henry Tadman occupied the house until about 1890, when he was replaced by Estha Chapman.  According to the list compiled for the Hull Incorporation for the Poor (1899), the Andrew Marvell was at that time still a ‘free house’.  Ms. Chapman continued there until about 1910, at which time she was replaced by Simpson Philip Shaw, who made his final appearance in the directories in 1929. 

The license for the Andrew Marvell was withheld and suspended in 1930, possibly as part of the Corporation’s policy of reducing the numbers of pubs in the Old Town.  By 1930, the premises were owned by Hewitt Brothers Ltd., Tower Brewery, of Grimsby.  A date for the house becoming tied to the brewery seems not to have survived.  In a Deed of Conveyance dated 12^th May 1931, Hewitt Brothers sold the redundant property to Harry and Woolf Limmerman for £8,000.  The Limmermans, possibly acting as agents, sold the same to Montague Burton Ltd., the well-known firm of gentlemen’s tailors, for £9,500.  A further deed dated 12^th February 1937, states that Burton’s had been granted permission to clear the sites of 34 and 35 Whitefriargate, in order to build their own premises.  The resulting black marble ‘Art Deco’ structure is still known today as Burton’s Buildings, and has become the virtual gateway to Whitefriargate.  Should any reader of this take a walk down Whitefriargate, think of the old Andrew Marvell as you pass by Burton’s Buildings.

As said at the start of this narrative, it is nothing short of mundane, a public house simply doing what a public house should do, serve its clientele.  Named as it was after one of Hull’s more famous sons, Republican, Member of Parliament, and poet from the time of the English Civil War, Andrew Marvell penned the following, which seems an appropriate conclusion to this section.

“What wondrous life is this I lead!

Ripe apples drop about my head;

The luscious clusters of the vine

Upon my mouth do crush their wine”

Sources

Abstract of Title and other Deeds and documents Burton Group Plc. To whom go my sincere thanks.

*Hull Advertiser                                                              Local Studies Library.

*Trade Directories                                                          Local Studies Library.

*Incorporation of the Poor list of licensed premises            Hull City Records Office.

*The latter three sources apply to all three pub histories.

37 & 38 WHITEFRIARGATE      

The earliest reference to this once prestigious coaching inn can be found in the pages of the venerable York Courant newspaper, in an edition dated 3^rd March 1778.  It is an unusual way of commencing the history of an inn, but for those who like all things canine, this might appeal:

“LOST, from the Cross-Keys, Whitefriargate, Hull, a liver colour’d and white POINTER BITCH, delicately made, and answers to the name of FLORA.  She has a short cut on her right upper lip, and her dew claws before cut off, and carries her tail like a fox hound, on her left side is a liver colour’s spot, quite round, and the size of a half crown.  Who ever brings her to Mr. Warton’s, at the Cross Keys, will receive a Crown reward, and reasonable charges.

She was seen following a man with a cart, to Weighton.”

Unfortunately nothing was subsequently reported or announced to say whether Flora was eventually recovered or not.

But to start at the beginning, at Hollar’s 1640 plan once more, and just to reiterate, the plan clearly shows buildings just within the Beverley gatehouse, shown with their gable ends to the street frontage, and possibly of three floors.  As it was Hollar’s primary objective to show the defences of the town, then those buildings in close proximity to the gates would have held some relevance.  In the 1640’s, before the Civil War and the subsequent Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Hull was only permitted by law to have four inns licensed to sell wine.  As three of the four are reasonably easy to identify, the main entrance to the town might possibly have located the fourth, but this is pure conjecture.  Lesser inns and taverns, not so licensed to sell wine could equally have been so situated.  Therefore, the possibility of the site holding licensed premises from before the Civil War is not out of the question.

Confirmation that this house was indeed a coaching inn by the late 18^th century, possibly one of the very first in the town during the run up to the golden age of coach travel, is provided from the pages of the previously quoted newspaper, the York Courant, which on the 5^th May 1778 printed the following notice:

“YORK, HULL, and LEEDS MACHINES

On Monday next, the 11^th May

SET OUT alternately from Mr. WARTON’s and Mr. APPLEYARD’s in Hull, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Morning for York, and alternatively from Mr. Roccoa’s the White Horse, in Coppergate, and Mr. Warren’s, the White Swan, in the Pavement, York, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Mornings for Hull : and every Monday and Friday, at two o’clock in the afternoon from York to Leeds : and from Mr. Cowling’s, the New Inn, Leeds, every Tuesday and Saturday Mornings, at six o’clock, for York ; at eight shillings each Inside Passenger, to and from York to Hull, and five shillings, each Inside Passenger to and from York to Leeds, Outside Passengers, half price.  All Short Passengers at Three Pence per Mile.

The Hull Machine sets out every Monday at Six, Wednesday at Seven, and Friday at Six o’clock in the Morning for York ; and the York Machine sets out every Tuesday at Eleven, Thursday at Seven, and Saturday at Eleven o’clock in the Mornings fir Hull.”

Thomas Warton, as seen from the first notice, was the operator of the Cross Keys Inn, at 37/8 Whitefriargate, and the wording of the second notice clearly states that it was advertising the inaugural running of the first Hull – York – Leeds stagecoach service.  This is an important date in the history of both Hull, and its road links with the rest of Yorkshire and the North of England.  Further evidence of the progress of public road transport in and out of Hull came with the commencement of the working of the Hull to Scarborough Diligence, or slow coach, which was also announced in the pages of the press :

HULL, BEVERLEY, and SCARBOROUGH

DILIGENCE

To carry Three Passengers Inside at Ten Shillings Each

Begins on Tuesday and Friday, the 7^th and 10^th July 1778, and will continue to go every Tuesday and Friday, from Hull to Scarborough, at Five o’clock in the Morning during the Season.  Breakfast at Driffield, and arrives at Hull and Scarborough each day to Dinner ; Allowing each Passenger 14lb. Weight of Luggage, all the above to 6d per stone.

They beg to observe that they will not be answerable for any Money, Plate, Watches, Jewels, or Parcels, above the value of Five Pounds, unless entered as such and paid for accordingly.

The time span of Thomas Wharton’s sojourn at the Cross keys is not known, but the very fact of this inn being chosen, or rather, having the influence and money to acquire two such lucrative and prestigious coach routes is indicative of the prominence of the inn as one of Hull’s principal hostelries at that time.

There is another factor that needs consideration about the early days of this inn.  Several of the earliest mentions of it in the Hull newspapers use the title Cross Keys AND Turk’s Head Inn, for example, the Hull Packet of 1^st March 1791 states :

TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION

On Wednesday, the second day of March, 1791, at the house of Mrs. Mary Johnson, the Cross Keys and Turk’s Head Inn, Whitefriargate, Hull, between the hours of three and five o’clock in the afternoon ………………

There have been sundry Cross Keys’ as there have been Turk’s Head’s, but the combination of both, which is equally distinct, would seem a trifle excessive.  One possible explanation might be that at some indeterminate time, two inns, next door to each other, and therefore rivals, were joined, either by purchase or other means to form one even more competitive enterprise.  If such was the case, then it is now impossible to say which occupied the respective sites of numbers 37 and 38, although it may be possible to make a calculated guess (see later.)  What is known, is that by the 2^nd March 1791, the inn was tenanted by Mrs. Mary Johnson, whether she had acquired it by her own business acumen, women ‘landlords’ were far from uncommon; or whether she acquired it at the death of Mr. Johnson, is unknown.  Maybe it was he who conjoined the two houses, as none of the York Courants make mention of Mr. Wharton’s inn having the dual nomenclature.  If such was the case, it can easily be imagined the two inns with a central shared arched access to the coach sheds and stabling at the rear of each.

An item that concerned the day to day operation of the inn appeared in the Hull Advertiser on the 7^th February 1795, it is self explanatory :

Several persons having been seized at different times with violent cholic and sickness at the above inn, which has been imputed to some improper management in the cooking, or the vessels in which the victuals were made ready ; after repeated efforts to discover the true cause of such sickness, it has been found to arise from some improper mixture of a poisonous nature in the cheese, which was of the Cheshire kind, and purchased from an eminent factor ; it was not in the least suspected until necessity compelled the trial, and thereby the proof has been fully justified.

MARY JOHNSON, therefore thinks it necessary not only to justify herself from any evil reports arising from the above case, but in this public manner, to inform her friends and customers in general of the events and at the same time, she solicits a continuance of their esteemed favours, assuring them, that they may rely on every exertion in her power to render her inn commodious and agreeable in all respects.

Hull, Jan 24, 1795

The necessity to mention “evil reports” in the above is highly indicative of the oft times vitriolic competitiveness between inns and taverns, who were so willing to promulgate any ill news, or gossip relating to another business.  Such demonstrations, of what can only be described as relish, are included several times in the pages of the press, when on occasion, things went a bit ‘pear shaped’ for one inn or another.

With regard to the trade directories, Mary Johnson appeared in the very first (to all practical purposes) for Hull, the 1791 Battle’s, in which she is included as a victualler.  The same volume also shows that the coaching business at the Cross Keys and Turk’s Head had not been allowed to stagnate.  From here it says, left the York Light Coach, the Scarborough and Bridlington Diligences, and stagecoaches for Beverley; interestingly, the York franchise is not included, and had by then passed to another inn.  However, the viability of the Cross Keys and Turk’s Head was about to be fatally challenged.  The Trinity House (of Hull) had decided to build a purpose-designed inn to accompany the laying and opening of Parliament Street.  This new inn was called the NEPTUNE (currently Boots the Chemist, Whitefriargate), which was opened to business in November 1797.  The opening of the Neptune was a body blow to the survival of the Cross Keys and Turk’s Head, the former being very new, very clean and fashionable, built as it was in the highest Georgian style, the latter, possibly a century and more old, possibly rather grubby in comparison, and quite out of style.  However, the dauntless Mary Johnson was not to be so easily defeated, and she made the inn available for use as an auction house, funeral directors, and other diverse functions.  She was not alone in such inn based occupations, for the lack of a purpose built public function room, necessitated the use of any available large room able to cope with large numbers of people, and inns were the obvious choice.  Here are but a few announcements from the Advertiser’s pages:

Whereas A Commission of Bankrupcy (sic) is awarded and issued forth against James Delmain of the town of KINGSTON UPON HULL    , in the county of the same town, Merchant, Dealer, and Chapman, and being declared bankrupt, is hereby required to surrender himself to the Commissioners in the said Commission named, or the greater part of them, on the 5^th, 6^th, and 22^nd of July next, at eleven in the forenoon, on each day, at Mrs. Johnson’s the Cross Keys Inn, in the town of Kingston upon Hull aforesaid…..

17^th June 1797

Then on the 16^th June 1798:

TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION

At the house of Mrs. Mary Johnson, the Cross Keys Inn, in the town of Kingston upon Hull, on Wednesday 20^th June, 1798, at four o’clock in the afternoon, (if not in the mean time disposed of by Private Contract): ONE undivided MOETTY or one half part of and in all that Capital and Newly erected WIND CORN MILL, with the Wheels, Tackle, Furniture and appurtenances to the same belonging…………

16^th June 1798

One interesting auction that might attract any would be local thespians – actors – was advertised on the 22^nd March 1800:

TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION

By Mr. Hansell,

At the house of Mrs. Johnson, the Cross Keys Inn, Whitefriargate, in Kingston upon Hull, on Monday the 31^st March, between the hours of Three and Four 0’clock in the afternoon;

ALL that large pile of building, situate in Finkle Street, in Kingston upon Hull, now used as the THEATRE ROYAL, with the appurtenances, subject to a lease thereof to Tate Willkinson Esq. at the yearly rent of Fifteen Pounds, and which lease will expire at Christmas, 1866 …..

Yet another a few weeks later, this time from the pages of the Hull Packet newspaper:

Curious to note in the above the representation of the nomenclature, it appears to have been reversed!  And finally, in this little sub-section describing the kind of events held at the inn is this, published by the press on the 26^th April 1800, predating the above by a few weeks, was a meeting called by the Curriers and Shoe-makers of Hull, to consider two letters from Liverpool concerning the damage done to hides and skins while flaying animals.   

Another body blow was delivered to Mrs. Johnson when it was announced in the Advertiser of 27^th February 1801:

 On Sunday afternoon last, Miss Johnson of this place, daughter of Mrs. Johnson of the Cross Keys Inn, Whitefriargate, dropped down while attending divine worship, at the meeting in Lowgate, and instantly expired.  She has been indisposed for a considerable time previous to this event, and was observed to be very unwell at the time of entering the meeting.  The Coroner’s Jury sat on the body on Monday, and brought in a verdict, died by the Visitation of God.

As the inn business at the Cross Keys declined due to the competition from the Neptune, and the rapidly expanding trade at the George Inn, at the other end of the street, in addition to the loss of her daughter, the inevitable was announced in the Advertiser on the 22^nd December 1804:

 MARY JOHNSON desires to return THANKS to the numerous friends and the Public, for the many favours received during her residence in the CROSS KEYS INN, Whitefriargate, Hull, and as she occupies the STABLES, keeps her CARRIAGES, and performs funerals as usual, she solicits the favours of her friends and the Public, assuring them every attention will be paid to their accommodation.
Passengers and Parcels booked for the YORK LIGHT COACH, at her house next door to Mr. Hunt’s, Princes Street, where all orders will be taken in and gratefully received.

N.B. Genteel Board and Lodging. 

The above clearly states that Mary Johnson had quit the innkeeping side of her business, and was trying very hard to hold on to some of her carriage trade.  It was about this time or shortly after that the Elders of the (Hull) Trinity House hammered in the final nail in her business coffin.  According to the history of that establishment, as written by Capt. Story “….the Cross Keys Inn in Whitefriargate, which was being converted into shops [my emphasis].  Widow Johnson who had been tenant at the Cross Keys was allowed to retain eleven stalls and four stall stables as well as the carriage shed.” A gesture that was quite good of them considering that they had already acquired the other twenty-eight stables for their own Neptune Inn, that were behind the now closed Cross Keys Inn, they no doubt did not wish to be seen as too eagerly rubbing their hands with glee at the demise of one of their rival hostelries.  The conversion of the inn to retail outlets was being undertaken by George Pycock, the same builder responsible for the Neptune, and on the 15^th March 1805, the Advertiser carried an advertisement for a large club room which was then available over the new premises, which would easily convert to a “newsroom or any other public meeting room”.  These two items taken together reveal that the inn subsequent to its closure was redeveloped, either by demolition or by a quicker and cheaper re-fronting into two shops.  When old photographs such as the one shown here are viewed, it can be clearly seen that the front of the public house at number 37, and the shop at number 38 were built at the same time, with shared roof lines, shared window levels and designs, they are twins.  Evidence enough for the Cross Keys having occupied two plots rather than one. 

In the trade directory of 1810/11, under the name of Jane Smith, victualler, the title of the Cross Keys was resurrected in Whitefriargate, and in the 1814/15 directory the numerical address was also included – number 37.  The old Cross Keys and Turk’s Head was now reduced by half its previous size, on possibly the self same plot of land the Cross Keys section had always occupied.  What is more, it can be said that it was a site that will still hold fond memories for some people today, when it was known under its final name – The MONUMENT TAVERN.

37 Whitefriargate

The new building that contained the licensed premises was, as just mentioned, first occupied by Jane Smith who used the old (and trusted?) title for the house.  This survived until the installation of a new tenant, John Fisher, who according to the 1822 directory had the name changed to the OLD ANDREW MARVELL.  A familiar name as the house at number 35 was also called after the Republican poet and Member of Parliament.  This then was the house which by its adoption of the same title as that at number 35, seemingly demanded two distinct prefixes, the ORIGINAL at 35 and the OLD at 37, not that either actually were so!  However, within ten years number 37 had changed titles yet again to become the YORK ARMS or YORK TAVERN, which change happened during the tenancy of J. Colley as per the 1831 directory.  The York retained this title for a few years during the occupancies of John Jameson (1834) and William Lansdown (1838).  In the year 1835, the Wilberforce Monument (presently standing in front of Hull College, Queens Gardens) was built at the western end of what became Monument Bridge, and as the bridge was named after the column that supported monumental statue of William Wilberforce, the Great Emancipationist, so number 37 similarly became the WILBERFORCE WINE VAULTS (1846), spending a brief period being known as the PRINCE ALBERT (1842), and finally the MONUMENT TAVERN by the time of the 1851 directory.   By this title it remained known until its own ‘LAST ORDERS’ more than a century later.  Ex-patrons of the Monument Tavern will be familiar with its singular sign, which was a miniature copy of the Wilberforce Monument.  Some will remember it placed on the right of the fascia, others on the left, the truth is simple – it was not fixed – and was moved from time to time as the few existing photographs prove. 

The photographs also show the narrowness of the frontage, a mere 17 feet from boundary to boundary (suggesting that the old Cross Keys & Turk’s Head had a frontage of 34 feet).  An architect’s plan (Freeman Son & Gaskell) commissioned by the Hull Brewery, to which the house was tied, survives in the Hull City Records at ref: DMP 29/73/1.1.  It is dated February 1907, and shows that the ground floor at that time comprised of a front window flanked each side by a doorway.  The western entrance led via a small lobby into a narrow passageway that continued as far as the Smoke Room at the far end of the building, and also past the stairwell which had access to the yard; the other entrance, the eastern one, also similarly led into a small lobby, thence into the Bar Room.  Between the two lobbies there was the very small Snug Room, which was lit by the main front window, and was partitioned off from the Bar, probably by a frosted glass partition.  The Bar was long and narrow, with the serving area on one’s left as one entered from the lobby.  Cellar space is depicted as being under the Bar.  At the far end of the Bar Room was further access to the yard, which also provided some light to the Smoke Room via a window overlooking it.  A bay window also lit the Smoke Room at its far – northern – side, where admittance to the urinals was afforded.  Rumour and tradition have it that there were common urinals between the Monument and the Old Dock Tavern or Empress.  I have but one witness statement to offer on this, of which, more later.  A second set of plans from the same file in the Hull City Records Office dated January 1937, again for the Hull Brewery shows that the basic layout of the Monument changed little, and that alterations were but minor.  They show that the Snug Room between the tow lobbies had been removed to extend the Bar space right through to the front window, and that still accessed by the eastern entrance only.  The small yard to the rear has been converted into an open urinal.  The total length of the refurbished Bar was 28 feet, while its breadth, including the serving area was 12 feet 6 inches, without the serving area, there was only 7 feet for customers.  Access to the Smoke Room remained via the western entrance, it now had a kitchen over it, and in the main yard at the rear there was a wash-house with a loft over it, which was common to the western rear of the Empress, which now fronts Alfred Gelder Street.

In the mid 1990’s, was recorded a conversation of reminiscences about the Monument Tavern between Joe McGarry aged 80 years, ex merchant seaman/engine room, and his son, Mick.  This is a direct transcript:

Can you remember what kind of floor covering was in the bar?
            Yes, it was sawdust and wood. 

That was in the Bar?
            Yes, right the way through 

There was a special characteristic?
            Yes that’s right, you could go in at Whitefriargate and come out at the back of the Empress.

So you were using it right through the war right up to about 1959/60, so as far as we can tell it closed around 1968.  I was certainly in it in 1967/68.  Can you remember if there was a juke-box in there at that time?
            There was no juke-box in there when I was in there.

 So, can you remember the furniture, you know the tables that kind of thing?
            Oh, aye, they was like a kind of mixed pattern, there was a kind of long table like this with chairs round it, then there was a couple of round tables and that, it was kind of mixed furniture.

Britannia metal tables, with a wooden top?
            Nar, nar, they was all wood

They was all wood there wasn’t the metal?
            Nar, nar, the couple of round ones had the metal

They was the Britannia metal and the wood on the top?
            That’s right, yer.

When was the busiest time? was it during the lunch time or on a night-time?
            Oh, during the day time because that busy with seamen coming in and out it was clarsed(sic) with the Shipping Office was the Monument.

Yer, I mean there was Burton’s wasn’t there, above that and that’s where they used to go and sit for their EDH [Efficient Deck Hand Certificate] Tickets.  It was above that and so they would be in there when, after, in the morning session and they’d be in there.  And it wasn’t that busy on a night-time?
            No, no.

Where was the cellar, was the cellar underneath the pub or was it ?
            It was underneath the pub, they used to enter it from Whitefriargate itself.

The wooden cellar top was in Whitefriargate?
            That’s right, yer.

So like a lot of pubs down there the delivery was at the front?
            Yer.     

Do you know what was the colour of the exterior paint work.?
            It was    green and cream.

That’s right cos it was Hull Brewery colours wasn’t it?
so it was the old terra-cotta work at the front, with green and white and brown wood-work.
And what was the colour of the inside paint-work, can you remember?
            It was like cream and brown, you couldn’t really tell because of all the nicotine of the smoke.

Do you remember any of the licensees?
            Nar, nar

You’ve mentioned that seamen used to use the pub, can you remember any special characters that actually used it?
            They’s the characters that used it, I sailed with these guys.  There was the “Yorkshire Yank”. 

Do you know why they called him that?
            Yer, it was because he’d been to America and he’d -- down to America.  All these characters I’m going to mention here now had stid(sic) down in ships in different parts of the world and they fetched back a bit of the slang with them, therefore that’s how it came to be the Yorkshire Yank.

And who else was there?
            Bow-legged Trevor, he was a seaman like yer see, The Shore Bo’swain, Dungaree-Mike, he done nothing out of his dungarees that how he came to name the -- .  Then there was Bagpipe-Scotty, all these names are the characters that I’ve sailed with and they are actually the truth.  Bagpipe-Scotty was used to take the bagpipes with him, it didn’t matter what watch he was on he’d play the pipes.

Did he used to play them in the pub as well?
            No, not really, because he always used to like his bevy on a night.  Then there was another  --  called GodBlessyer Chris. every time we said cheers he would say “Godblessyer my child”, that’s what he used to say.  And then there was Wheelbarra Harry which was a character, he was always on about his wheelbarrow, somebody pinching his wheelbarrow when he was at sea, and he was a trimmer,  he used to trim the coal out of the ‘Tween decks. 

So, with all these characters around what year would that be?
            Oh, that would be during the war and just after the war they was knocking around, and then, the Bowstreet Runner, that was Richie, he used to go when there was a crowd of us in there waiting to ship out, he used to come from Posterngate and tell ya what ships was sailing and who was the live-wires in and that.  He never used to do many trips at sea but he used to rely on bumming round the seamen.  There was One-way Rogers, he would sign on and he would skin out where ever he was Australia, New Zealand and everything.  We met up with him the last time I was down in Australia, we met up with him in Adelaide, and he’d lost an arm.  And we said how’d you get that then, “Oh” he said, “I was with a live wire, a Swede when I was on the beaches in Adelaide and he kept me for about six weeks in beer and what ‘ave you, like grub and what ‘ave you, and he was coming to the last part of his goodness and I dipped him,” and he said “he got hold of me and chopped me arm off.” 

So is there anybody else you can remember from that time?
            Well, Big Cock Lloyd, who I sailed a lot with, he was a right character, he’d skinned out from all over the world, he used to come home, he used to come into the Kingston and the Monument when he used to come home with his pay day.  He had a little saying with him, he used to come in no matter who was there “Decorate the balcony” and who ever was there got treated and he used to put his pay day over to the landlord and say “When that’s gone that me I’m out” 

So there’d be a lot of ‘em ‘ould do that.
            All these characters that I’ve mentioned now they were really, really characters, as I say they’d skinned out, they’d bummed their way all around the world and what have you and that’s how they got their names, they really was characters, they used to go on the bum like but when they’d when they’d got any money they’d never forget yer.  Then there was the woman, Eva Smith, now she was the one, she really was, and she knew all the seamen that did a long trip and if you got paid off in Hull , and if you went down Posterngate and if you didn’t drop her off a couple of bob in she would show you up and everything. 

Right, so what kind of atmosphere did the place have, was it rowdy, was it dangerous?
            Like every thing else, for a seamen’s pub it was pretty good like, because as I say there was a lot of hard cases that used it.  No doubt there were one or two fights in there but there it is.  It was a well known seamen’s pub, but rowdy, no.

 Can you remember the inside of the pub then, was there mirrors and brass fittings.
            Oh, yer there was all that there. 

Was it a coal fire in there?
            Now then I think there was there was a coal fire in the back room, if I can just remember rightly, yes there was. 

And was there brass rails in the bar?
            Oh aye, the spittoons like, the bar rails  and the bar feet rails  and the sawdust that that, you know, that’s right. 

Did it have a reputation for gambling and gangs or criminal activities.
            No, no, no,

Was there any ladies of the night?
            Ladies of the night, the old bags, they used the other one, the Paragon . 

Can you remember anything else, no matter how trivial about the Monument?
            Well there was nothing really, because, Oh aye, when you was born, I took my shipmates there with the pram to show you off and that and everything and they all came out and filled the pram up with pound notes and that. 

So that was in 1945, when a pound note was worth something, so it just shows the generosity of the seamen.  So it was only merchant seamen that used that pub, trawler men never cottoned on to that, did they?
            No, no, no.

Joe McGarry aged 80 ex Merchant seaman Engine Room

 From this it is plain that even though Joe used the Monument for many years, a true regular, some aspects of the place were not firmly fixed in memory, which is not unusual for such places, after all, who checks out the décor when there is a bar maid to talk to?  What is interesting are the names of Joe’s friends, those merchant seamen who during World War Two, kept Britain fed and supplied, and who often were assaulted for not being in uniform.  Of all those he mentions, one stands out, the outrageous and notorious Eva Smith.  Many are the stories of her verbal threats, made the worse for being yelled in a busy street, until such time as the odd tanner was given her, and it is said that the old town landlords went in dread of her entering their establishments for fear of the disruption she might cause, to the extent that they left her drinks outside in case she happened by (an early case of Girl Power, if ever there was one).

 There remains but one small matter to conclude the history of the Monument, the date of its closure.  I am aware that it finally closed for business in 1969, but the precise date has eluded all attempts to find it, so, if ANY PERSON can provide a verifiable closure date for this public house, I would be extremely grateful, Please email HERE    The building its self survived, at least its street frontage above the ground floor survived, until the 1980’s, nothing now is evident of its existence or its passing. 

39 Whitefriargate 

Next door but one to the MONUMENT TAVERN, at number 39, stood what would eventually become the BURNS’ HEAD (the use of correct punctuation regarding the location of the apostrophe, is questionable.  The common usage seems to have been before the S, but grammatically, it should be after the S, I have used both!!).  Determining the antecedents of this house, lacking any other means of investigation, requires using the trade directories in reverse order, tracing backwards in time, the licensees.  By such methodology, and using the 1822 directory as a staring point, it can be seen that the house was then titled the NEWCASTLE TAVERN, and was occupied by Thomas Cooper.  The 1817 directory fails to provide a title for the house, but lists John Watson as the victualler of number 39.  Similarly the 1814-15 lists Daniel Oxtoby as victualler at the same address.  Oxtoby also appears in the 1810-11 directory, but again, there is no title of the house mentioned.  In the 1803 directory, Oxtoby is listed at the Royal Oak, Posterngate, now sadly renamed the QUAYSIDE.  The 1803 provides a wonderful array of house titles, but unfortunately, it lacks the numerical addresses that would make the volume so much more useful.  This is as far back as it is possible to get by using the directories even though it is a temptation to use Clayton’s 1803 directory, and try to establish some sort of a connection.  Requests for copies of deeds relating to the history of the property from its present owners have proved fruitless, which is a shame, as they could have shed a good deal of light on the early years of this house.   

As previously mentioned, in the 1822, the victualler is listed as Thomas Cooper, who remained at the premises until about 1826 (without more concrete evidence, it is impossible to provide a more accurate date), when in 1826, the licensee, Samuel Duncum (was he a Scot?) is listed as occupier; this same entry also records the name change to the BURNS’ HEAD.  There then followed John Dennis in the 1834 directory until and including the 1851, thereafter in the 1855, Samuel Smith has taken on the premises; then Henry March 1867; and William Stathers 1872 – 6.

At some time in the mid 19^th century, the house acquired its familiar ostentatious façade, Possibly dating from the 1870’s, it is of a typical gin palace design according to the guidelines in the English Heritage booklet on the subject.  It states that gin palaces “were designed to attract attention by rich ornament, elaborate lettering, and eye-catching features such as towers, gables, or statuary.”  (Pubs Understanding Listing, English Heritage 1994).  So from this it might have been William Stathers who altered the face of the building to that which we can largely still see today.  The ground floor fascia contained a doorway at either end, both of which were flanked by Corinthian pilasters.  The upper floors, as can be seen from the illustration, contain a rich mix of assorted classical features, mouldings, and decorations.  The niche where once stood the carved bust of Robert Burns, possibly gilded, is still clearly visible today between the first floor windows, and early photographs, taken in perspective, show him leaning slightly forwards over the street.  I cannot help wondering what happened to him.

There does exist a ground plan (and elevations) of the entire premises, held within the Hull City Archives, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their kind permission to reproduce it herein, and which can be viewed in a new window by clicking HERE.  

 The document is titled “Plans for re-building the Burn’s Head Tavern, Whitefriargate, for Mr. Wm. Bingley.”  The plan of the ground floor show that by entering via the western doorway, this led down a narrow passageway to the Smoke Room, which had a fireplace on the left, and a large window on the right, which looked out onto an exterior passage on the other side of the building.  The other doorway, the eastern one, opened directly into the Dram Shop, which contained a curved bar serving area on the left.  A door at the far end of the Dram Shop opened to an exterior passage from which there was access to the Bar Parlour, the staircase to the upper rooms and a second entrance to the aforementioned Smoke Room.  The same passage also accessed the external urinals and W.C., behind which was the bottling store.  On the opposite side of the yard was a wash house, coal shed, and a further W.C.  The cellar, which was accessed via the stairwell was, according to written instructions on the plan, “to be kept free from inundation, the Corporation being held free from all liability.”  This was a usual codicil felt necessary due to he high water table, which frequently led to cellars flooding at times of high tides, a phenomenon precluding any real chance of there ever having existed within the Old Town, so called secret tunnels, where ever it was they were said to have led to. 

 Confirmation of the tenancy of William Bingley is provided in the 1885 directory. And while no known description of the interior survives, there was however a fairly standardised formula for such establishments.  Amongst these were a mahogany bar shelf, a proliferation of ornamented tile-work, engraved glass screens and partitions, ornamental mirrors especially behind the bar, and polished brass fittings particularly for the light fittings, which at that time would have been gas.  Robert Davies followed as licensee according to the 1892 and 1895 directories, and the Kingston upon Hull Incorporation for the Poor List of Licensed Houses Within the Docks, June 1899, the Burns’ Head was occupied by Charles E. Ernest, owned by G. M. Sykes, and tied to the Bass Brewery.

 The new century saw the usual change of names over the door, but the end came in 1923, when the house had its license suspended, and its door closed to the drinking public for the last time.  Little else seems known about this house, one can only assume that it, together with the other two houses in this narrative, led lives within the law, little or no gambling, whoring (as prostitution was generally referred to), or unruly behaviour, as such failings were well reported in the press, and to date, none have been discovered.  Not perhaps a satisfactory conclusion for those wanting scandal and outrage, for such more wanton histories, other houses need to be explored, they did exist, I know this for certain, as I have the evidence, but that is another story.  The reasoning behind the selection of these three houses was their proximity to each other, and their location at the entrance to one of Hull’s best known, and most historic thoroughfares.  I hope this selection proves to be popular, and should more similar be requested via EMAIL, then we shall see, for along Whitefriargate alone, there were another five known houses, and a further five less certain, all with their own story, some more interesting than others, some more detailed than others, all were to be included in the full work of Last Orders Please, which as elsewhere explained, had to be curtailed to the mere index of the whole.   

Richard Hayton

 N.B. It goes without saying, that if any reader can contribute further information about ANY of the above public houses, then PLEASE feel free to email me at the above link.