Ferryboat Tavern, Wincolmlee

This was one of the larger Wincolmlee pubs, and was converted from part of a row of dwelling houses and shops. Situated south of Sculcoates Bridge, and almost opposite the end of York Street, it was on the east side of the road where it begins to curve south towards High Flags.

It became a beer-house c.1842 when Thomas Smith was listed as victualler in a sale notice in the local press, and as many boats were used regularly around this area to transfer workers from the Groves on the east-side of the river, to work in the factories on the west, it took the name Ferryboat Tavern.

From c.1873 to 1876 it was known as Tiger No.5, as John Stephenson (landlord of the Tiger No.1 in Waterworks Street) had purchased several inns and given them all the name Tiger and a number. The practice was short-lived however and the pubs soon reverted back to their original names.

The Ferry Boat Inn closed on 17 December 1936 and was later demolished.      

Fishermans Arms, Adelaide Street

Many pubs in the densely populated area of south west Hull served the fishermen when home from their trips at sea. The Fishermans Arms, shown here in the 1950s, was one such pub.

A Hull Brewery beer-house that stood on the corner of Adelaide Street and Goodwin Street, it was established c.1872 by grocer Edward Brammer, latterly no.126 Adelaide Street, and closed in April 1958.

Its licence was transferred to the Duke of Edinburgh, in Drypool enabling it to upgrade from a beer-house to a full ale-house licence.

Full Measure, Walton Street

The Full Measure Inn on Walton Street first opened by John Norton c.1863 when its address was simply ‘Wold Carr’.

It was a long-standing Moors’ & Robson’s house, and the green glazed tile frontage was applied in 1907 during a programme of refurbishment the brewery’s properties, in place of the original wooden facade.

Latterly used as a Taxi office and shown here in the 1970s, it was demolished in 1983 when most of the housing in this area was cleared under compulsory purchase orders.

George Hotel, Whitefriargate

In the book ‘Modern Hull’ printed in 1893, it states a building on this site was formerly the residence of one of Hull’s Elizabethan magnates, and the sculptured keystone of the arches contained the initials and date I.O. 1537. Also that ‘this former building with its thatched roof, orchard, skittle ground and arbours was replaced by a two storied building with large front windows and a tiled roof, and as the marriage of Queen Anne to Prince George of Denmark was the event of the day [late 17th Century] this building was christened The George to commemorate the occasion’.

The building we know as the George pub in the Land of Green Ginger, is in fact the remains of the George Hotel Tap, which stood to the rear of the much larger and grander rebuilt George Hotel at No.66 Whitefriargate shown here. The re-built George Hotel was the last of a long line of inns and taverns that had stood on the site since the 17th Century, and it was the owners at the turn of the 19th Century – the Wooley family – who rebuilt the hotel and tap. The Alehouse registers for 1891 state that the owner Hannah Wooley of Sutton had ‘pulled down the stables which were situated at the end of the yard, and erected a new three-storey building consisting of a large cellar on the ground floor, two large stock rooms on the second floor, and ten bedrooms on the top floor, which are reached from a staircase and passage leading from the main staircase of the Hotel’.

The main building survived until 1932 when the site was taken over and later built upon by the British Home Stores in 1935. In 1936 the tap in Land of Green Ginger was taken over by Moors' & Robson's who bought the lease for £11,000 from J. Motion & Sons Ltd, the last owners of the George Hotel. This later transferred to Hewitt’s of Grimsby.

George & Dragon, High Street

This picture of the George & Dragon dates from c.1905 and shows quite clearly that the building was ‘jettied’ suggesting it was a timber framed property of at least the 15th Century, however the building was only recorded as an inn from the early 18th Century as far as we know.

The George & Dragon was situated at the very south end of High Street, and a small brewery operated from the rear during the 1830s and 1840s, a common feature of many public houses in the town. The pub had a full ale-house licence and closed circa 1909 when £1,108 was paid in compensation to the owners; the building survived until demolition in the early 1920s.

Golden Ball, Chariot Street

The Golden Ball was the epitome of a small purpose-built Victorian beer-house, situated at the corner of Chariot Street (left) and Carlisle Street (right).

The Hull burgess rolls for 1865-66 list Edward Gallagher at no.23 Chariot Street and in 1867, number 23 Chariot Street was first listed in a trade directory as a beer-house – victualler Mr E. Gallagher – appearing in 1876 with the name Golden Ball for the first time. In 1894 it was tied to Moors’ & Robson’s brewery.

The construction of the final section of Jameson Street commenced early in 1901 and required the demolition of the northern end of Chariot Street, including the site of the Golden Ball and by 1902 it ceased to be listed in any records. The site would now be roughly beneath MacDonalds.

Grapes Hotel, Ferry Lane

The old crossing at Stoneferry ran from Clough Road across the river Hull to Ferry Lane. The River Hull being tidal, was crossed by a ferry at high tides, and as with all ferries there was a pub at one or both sides to accommodate the ferryman and the thirsty traveller.

The ancient ferry was replaced with a new bridge in 1905 and the old Ferry House on the east side of the river (often referred to as the Grapes as its inn-sign was a bunch of grapes) was demolished. In its place a huge new pub was built to the designs of Hull architects Runton & Barry. Following its opening in 1907 the new pub was officially re-named the Grapes Hotel. Its magnificent green tiled frontage (shown here c.1950 as a Henry Wilson/Bass house) is now just a memory, as it too was demolished to make way for two new bridges in 1986.

Grapes Tavern, Chapel Lane

Shown to the left of this 1904 photograph, with its hanging sign and bunch of grapes, is the Grapes Tavern, Church Lane. The Grapes is recorded in trade directories from 1817 and was an ale-house throughout its life.

One of almost 20 pubs called the Grapes in Hull’s history, the building was owned by the Hull Corporation and was early Georgian in origin. It closed on 30 December 1929 when £2,902 was paid in compensation for its closure and stood mostly vacant until it was demolished c.1979. The Combined Courts Centre now occupies the site, and most of this side of the street.

Grapes Tavern, Lime Street

The Grapes Inn stood at the corner of Lime Street and Jenning Street (on the left of the picture) and opened soon after Jenning Street was laid out circa 1800; consequently its first address was Jenning Street.

It was originally known as the Barrack Tavern as much of its early custom would have come from the soldiers based in the Hull Garrison further north in Lime Street, who were for a short time housed in warehouses next to the inn. Although known as the Barrack Tavern, it would have had the most common sign for a public house – a bunch of grapes – hanging outside. Following the closure of the Garrison it became known simply as the Grapes Tavern.

The pub closed around 1960 but fragments of the building remain.

Highland Laddie, High Street

It is likely that an inn had stood on this site for some years prior to its appearance in the 19th Century trade directories. Situated at no.197 High Street – at the very north end – it was listed from 1803 when it was known as the Golden Fleece, victualler John Hewson. From 1826 it became known simply as The Fleece, a name it kept for approximately 80 years until 1907 when it was re-named the Highland Laddie.

The passage to the right of the door of the pub (shown in this picture) led to the yard of the North End Brewery, which had had connections with the Golden Fleece at the end of the 18th Century.

Following a general decline in the area the pub closed at 3pm on the 7 December 1961 and the new Highland Laddie, Southcoates Lane, opened at 6pm the same day taking its licence. The High Street site is now rebuilt and occupied by modern flats.

Hope & Anchor, Cleveland Street

Following the construction of Cleveland Street in the early 19th Century some of the first buildings to have been built along the route were inns and taverns. One of these – the Hope & Anchor, a small ale-house – was recorded from around 1840.

The sign of the Hope & Anchor was common in areas with a strong shipping link, and usually pictured a comforting female figure clasping an anchor.

The original building was completely rebuilt in 1938 and was amalgamated within a new club in the 1970s. This has long been known as Spiders nightclub, and the roof of the 1930s rebuilt pub can still be seen over the roof of the modern facade.

Horse & Jockey, Lower Union Street

Noted as a pub since at least 1814 the Horse & Jockey pub in Lower Union Street continued trading until c.1908, and was demolished in the 1930s.

Lower Union Street ran north from Great Passage Street, and what buildings remained were demolished in the 1950s when Ferensway was extended south to the A63. 

King Edward VII, Prospect Street

The Blue Bell, in Prospect Street was a late 18th Century inn that changed its name in 1876 to the Prospect Inn. In 1902 it became the King Edward VII, a Darley’s house that was re-fronted cin 1923 in the style we see here.

Shown here in the 1930s it closed on 31 March 1941, and was quickly demolished following damage in the Blitz.The site was then taken By Woolworth's, which it remained until very recently.

The licence was placed in suspension until 14 October 1957, when new premises retaining the same name were built at the Junction of Anne Street and Anlaby Road. This remains a pub today having been re-named several times – I think it’s Diva’s at the moment.

King William IV, Bond Street

The Bond Street we know today is very different from the original Bond Street, which occupied only the west side of the present dual carriageway, and had a dog-leg entry from Savile Street in the south. In the centre of the block of property on the north side of the dog-leg entry stood the King William IV pub.

First known as the White Horse, one of its earliest victuallers was Charles Murgatroyd in 1803. During its life the pub had several name changes and was also known as the King, the King’s Head and the King William.

One can only imagine how the original building would have looked, as this 1950s photograph shows the pub prior to its closure and demolition in 1957, for the redevelopment of Bond Street as a dual-carriageway.

Its licence was transferred in 1957 – with that of the pub latterly known as the Tally Ho' that stood opposite the King William IV – to the new Viking pub on Shannon Road.

Leicester Hotel, Mytongate

The building that housed the Leicester Hotel was originally built as a private house, by Edward Barker c.1791, and must have become a hotel not long after.

Its first address was no.7 Fish Street and may have been altered c.1830 in the style we see in this 1970s photograph. Initially known as the Commercial Tavern it changed to the Leicester Hotel in 1867.

A Moors’ & Robson’s pub from 1899, it closed 1967 and was demolished in 1979, and the site is now part of Trinity Court Flats.

Lily Hotel, Hessle Road

In the 1840s Thomas Wheatley, ginger beer and soda water manufacturer, was living at no.1 Neptune Street, his business was inherited and enlarged by his son William during the 1870s when it took in the adjoining no.101 Hessle Road. The former premises were re-developed, and he opened a beer-house on the site naming it the Lily Hotel c.1874, with William as victualler.

The Lily Hotel occupied the corner of Neptune Street and also fronted the Hessle Road. It received its first full licence on 2 March 1953, when it took the suspended licence of the Windsor, Waterworks Street, which closed after damage during the blitz of May 1941.

The Lily was a Bass house at closure and was demolished c.1969-70 along with the nearby Rose Tavern and Foundry Arms.

Lion Inn, Francis Street

Built circa 1825 the Lion was first mentioned in a trade directory of 1863 as the Lion Tavern, run by beer retailer Mr R. Beecroft. The Lion had been extended from its original corner plot to take in other properties on Francis Street East, following its conversion from a private house to a beer-house. It also had a ‘bake-house’ to its rear along Christopher Street, shown on the left of this picture. Bake-house was a term used to describe the brewing area of an inn rather than a bakery, and these buildings can be seen in this Hull Brewery photograph of circa 1925 (note the carved Lion over the door).

Following the demolition of the surrounding property during the 1930s and 1940s the Lion Inn stood isolated along with its neighbour opposite – the Seedcrushers Arms. Following closure in 1949 its licence was transferred to the Kingston Hotel, Trinity House Lane and the Lion was demolished in the 1950s for the construction of the Clover Dairies warehouse and factory. 

Lord Londesborough, Waterworks Street

The demolition underway in the background of this c.1899 photograph was clearance work in preparation for the construction of King Edward Street. Rather inconveniently, the new street was to cut straight through the smoke room of the Lord Londesborough, an old pub that had stood on this site since the 1790s.

Originally known as the Anchor, and later the Paul Pry, it was re-named the Lord Londesborough c.1863 in honour of the colonel (honorary) of the First East Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers. At the same time (1864) the Hull Rifle Corps were given permission to name the street, which had held their Rifle Barracks, as Londesborough Street.

The street leading off to the right is the entrance to Savile Street, and on the left is Waterworks Street – re-named as part of Paragon Street in the 1950s.