Paul Gibson’s Hull and East Yorkshire History

Lost pubs of Hull — M to O

Marlborough Hotel, Great Passage Street

The Marlborough Hotel is listed in trade directories from c.1810, when it was known as the Grapes, and its address was Lower Union Street. It was later extended to include the corner property with Great Passage Street.

This c.1926 photograph shows the pub in its re-built state, and it is likely that when it was rebuilt it was re-named the Marlborough – probably c.1884.

It was demolished c.1968 following the compulsory purchase of a large area south of Osborne Street. 

Marrowbone & Cleaver, Fetter Lane

Fetter Lane was a narrow lane that ran off the east side of Market Place, with access to the High Street via Grimsby Lane. It most likely took its name from the fetters (a type of shackle for the feet) that prisoners may have been held in whilst at the ‘House of Correction’. This was a dark, damp and cramped building that stood almost opposite this pub within Fetter Lane from c.1796 until the 1820s, when a combined Gaol and House of Correction was built in Castle Street. From that time the old building was used as a ‘lock-up’ until the formation of the police force in 1836, and was demolished in 1884.

The aptly named Marrowbone & Cleaver pub was described in a newspaper notice of 1817 as: ‘A new built dwelling house, used as a Public House, situate in Fetter Lane, and known by the name of the Marrow Bone and Cleaver’. 

This c.1926 photograph shows the pub with a new frontage that was probably added when the 1887 Market Hall was built opposite. The pub closed in March 1957, and Fetter Lane is now lost beneath the Hull Magistrates Court.

Mechanics Arms, Liddell Street

The Mechanics Arms was one of the first pubs to be established in the streets laid out on land belonging to George Liddell. Built between 1856 and 1863, it was first recorded in the trade directory of 1863 when Martha Turner-Ware was a beer retailer, at No.41 Liddell Street, at the corner of Richmond Terrace.

To the right of this photograph is the Cottingham Drain, which ran under a bridge at this point (the junction between Liddell and Norfolk Street).

The tiled frontage included diamond shaped panels, each containing a depiction of the various mechanics skills. The Mechanics' name was probably a reference to the nearby Rose's iron foundry, situated in Cannon Street.

Originally a Worthingtons pub, with a six-day licence, it received its first full licence in 1962, and was demolished c.1972.

Milton Tavern, New George Street

It would be hard to find pub premises as small as this in modern Hull, but at the time of this c.1926 photograph, pubs of this size would have been commonplace. Converted from a private house around 1860, the Milton Tavern was enlarged with the addition of a smoke room to the rear of the building at the end of the 19th Century. Prior to this, the pub had just one room – the ornately decorated bar with it’s corner door to New George Street.

The Milton's size was not the only reason for its demise, as wide scale ‘slum clearance’ from the 1920s, resulted in most of the property in this area being demolished. The Milton closed c.1928 and its licence was transferred, along with that of its near neighbour the Barrel Tavern also in New George Street, to the new Goodfellowship Inn, on the Cottingham Road.

Monument Tavern, Whitefriargate

The Monument Tavern stood on the north side of Whitefriargate, at No.37, and evidence from deeds suggests that an alehouse or tavern of some description, had stood on this site since the early 18th Century. It may have been known as the Cross Keys and/or Turks Head pre 1778 until c.1817 when it may also have been re-built.

The building shown in this photograph of c.1925 was a rebuilt structure of the early 19th Century, and was listed in the trade directories from the 1820s. At that time it was known as the Old Andrew Marvel, but subsequent owners changed its name to the York Tavern, and then the Wilberforce Wine Vaults, before it became known as the Monument Tavern around 1851. The latter names were both references to the monument erected in honour of the famous Hull MP and abolitionist William Wilberforce.

Note the model of the monument between the first floor windows of the pub, which remained open into the 1960s.

Myton Tavern, Porter Street

The Myton Tavern stood at No.61 Porter Street, and was a Hull Brewery beer-house, which opened during the 1840s. Porter Street would have been numbered sequentially at this time, and the pub was originally designated as No.28 – situated at the junction with Adelaide Street.

The first licensee of the Myton Tavern – Robert Wharam c.1846 – ­ also occupied a small brewery to the rear of the Albert Hotel in Adelaide Street, and may have been related to the Wharam family who ran the Albert Hotel at that time.

Enjoying good trade throughout its life, it was noted for the large clock that can be seen above the curved corner. Following large-scale slum clearance in the area during the 1930s, the pub was left isolated, only to be closed after sustaining damage following an air raid on 8 May 1941. Before closure, the Myton Tavern was known as ‘Freddie Fox's’, another West Hull pub that retained the name of a popular licensee from the 1930s.

The licence was held in suspension until 1951, when it was transferred to the new Mayberry pub, Maybury Road. 

Nags Head, Holderness Road

Established in the late 18th Century – possibly as the Summergangs New Inn – but known as the Nag’s Head by 1810, this pub was sold that year as part of the estate of bankrupts Thomas Railey and James Hunt. They were brewers at the George Yard brewery in the Old Town, and other pubs of theirs sold at that time, were the Sir Ralph Abercromby, High Street; Kings Arms, Witham, and ‘Opening of the Dock’, Blanket Row.

Worthington’s purchased all the freehold licensed property in 1922, from William Smith ex-brewer of the Victoria Brewery in Green Lane. It may have been re-built as we see it in this photograph at that time. The £70,000 he paid, included the pubs known as Nag’s Head, Holderness Road; Kingston Arms; Druids Arms; Buck Inn, Beverley; Highland Laddie; Station Hotel, Howden; Number One; Moulders Arms, Beverley; Crown Inn, Paull; Newbegin Arms; Four in Hand; Blue Bell, Ellerby; and the Kings Head (Nafferton).

The pub closed 1986, and was demolished in 1987 during clearance works for the construction of Mount Pleasant.

Neptune Inn, Neptune Street

The Neptune Inn, at No.49 Neptune Street, was first recorded c.1817, and later owned by brewers Kendall & Gruby, until they were taken over by Worthington & Co in 1892. The cheery local – known affectionately as Little Neppy’ – closed in 1979, but was not demolished until 1985.

Kendall & Gruby formed a partnership in 1876 when they took over the South Myton Brewery and re-named it the Exchange Brewery, the brewery was alongside the Portland Arms at No.138 Porter Street. In 1892 Worthingtons bought the brewery, and the estate of 24 pubs was broken up, they included Railway Tavern, Paragon Street; Queen’s Head, Walker Street; South Myton Tavern, Clifton Terrace, Day Street; Shipwrights Arms, Marvel Street; Reefer, Posterngate; Crown & Cushion, Land of Green Ginger; Neptune Tavern, Neptune Street; Oriental; Cromwell Hotel, Walmsley Street; Plumbers Arms, Dagger Lane; Juno, Church Street; The Queen, Charlotte Street; Norwood Arms, Woods Lane; Mason’s Arms, Walker Street; Red Lion, Gibson Street; Linnet & Lark, Moxon Street; Dog & Gun, Garden Street, Earl Cardigan, Fish Street, Alexandra and the Albert Hall, Midland Street .

There is a reference in the Hull Archives to this pub being owned by the Hull & Barnsley Railway Co.

Newbegin Arms, Green Lane

The Newbegin Arms, on the corner of Green Lane and Trevor Street, was first recorded in the 1870s. Latterly a Worthington’s house it had at one time belonged to the Victoria Brewery, just over the road at the north end of Green Lane. Receiving its first full licence in 1962, the pub was demolished following closure just two years later in 1964.

North Bridge Hotel, Witham

An inn of some sort had stood on this site since the end of the 18th Century, a popular position near the bridge over the River Hull. Possibly known as the Jolly Sailors (c.1803), it was certainly named as the Holderness Tavern from c.1805, when it appeared in a newspaper advertisement in that year.

The opening of the new North Bridgein 1931 ­–­ further north than the original – left the inn somewhat isolated, and in 1941 it was damaged in a bombing raids that narrowly missed the new North Bridge itself. The official date of closure was 9 May 1941, and in 1959 the licence was transferred to the new Mermaid pub, Bethune Avenue.

Norwood Arms, Osborne Street

Charles Morgan Norwood, a local shipping magnate, was elected as one of two Liberal MPs for Hull in 1865. A staunch temperance man, it is unlikely that a public house would be named in his honour, and more likely as a side-swipe at his temperance leanings.

A typical Victorian conversion of a former shop, No.2 Osborne Street had been a butcher's shop in 1863, but by the mid-1860s it was recorded as a beer-house known as the Norwood Arms.

The Norwood suffered from very stiff competition in the area, and following severe damage during the Second World War, its licence was placed in suspension in 1942. It was later surrendered to grant a full licence to the Dairycoates Inn, Hessle Road in 1957.

Old Black Horse, Carr Lane

Almost as old as Carr Lane itself, the Black Horse had stood on the south side of the street since at least 1790. In the Hull Trade Directory of 1791 Timothy Reeves, a brewer and victualler is listed at the Black Horse Inn. Reeves probably brewed on the site of the Black Horse.

The original building would have appeared very similar to the original White Horse, on the opposite side of the street, but the grand building shown in this c.1926 photograph is a later rebuild of the 19th Century.

To the left of the Black Horse can be seen the edge of the Grosvenor Hotel. Both buildings suffered severe damage following bombing on the 24 November 1941, and were subsequently demolished. Following the air-raid there was a special removal of its licence to a former shop at No.6 Porter Street – a building which had been occupied by various businesses in its time, including in 1930 the Tetrarch Cycle and Gramophone Co. Ltd and 1936 Miss Florence Kirkwood Gown specialist, but strangely enough the building had, during the 1870s, been refreshment rooms. With the transfer of the licence the new pub also took on the name of the Black Horse, and was a Hull Brewery pub when it closed in 1962. The licence was then transferred to the newly built Spotted Dog, Inglemire Lane.

Old Greenland Fishery, Wincolmlee

Converted from housing in the early 1820s, the Greenland Fishery was recorded in a trade directory of 1823 as No.27 Church Street, situated just north of the entrance to York Street. Its name was a reference to the Arctic whaling ships, many of which were built and sailed from the Greenland Yards in the area. Church Street was later taken in as part of Wincolmlee at the end of the 19th Century. The ‘Old’ was added later (c.1882), to distinguish it from another pub of that name in Bridge Street, although the Bridge Street pub in truth had probably been established earlier.

The corner door shown in this c.1926 picture, led to the Bar and the next door to the Smoke Room, which is marked on a sign in the window. Houses can be seen to the extreme right of the picture and the roof-line of the former Wincolmlee Primitive Methodist Chapel, now long demolished.

The pub closed in 1933, and its licence was transferred with that of the Railway Inn, Hedon Road, to the new Endyke Hotel, Endike Lane. 

Ordnance Arms, Great Union Street

The Ordnance Arms opened c.1810, and was originally a much smaller property than the one shown in this c.1926 photograph. Bought by the brewer William Glossop in the late 19th Century, it was enlarged to take in the shop next door.

In the impressive new frontage Glossop included his initials and the date of rebuilding, which was probably 1884 but is partly obscured in this photograph. Following the extension of Clarence Street to join Holderness Road, in 1889, the new Ordnance Arms was one of a trio of inns at the busiest junction in Drypool, and no doubt enjoyed excellent trade.

The Ordnance Arms suffered an almost direct hit on 9 May 1941, during one of Hull's worst nights of bombing, and the burnt-out remains were demolished soon after. The licence was then suspended until 4 March 1957, when it was surrendered for the granting of a full licence to the Star of the West, West Street.

Oriental Hotel, Hedon Road

The Oriental Hotel stood on the north side of Hedon Road, opposite the original entrance to the Alexandra Dock. The original pub – shown in this photograph of c.1910 – stood at the corner of Woodhouse Street, and received its first licence in 1881, when the Brotherton Tavern, High Street closed down.

The Oriental Hotel was rebuilt in 1898-99 (Works committee minutes) as we see it here. ‘Oriental’ was probably a reference to the varied nationalities of its customers, many of whom would have been foreign seamen fresh from ship.

It continued to enjoy excellent trade until the Second World War, when German bombers scored an accidental hit whilst attempting to bomb the docks, resulting in its immediate closure on the 8 May 1941. The bland 1950s pub that replaced the old hotel, opened 6 February 1958, but gave no clue to the nature of the building that it replaced. Built on the opposite (south) side of the road, the new pub was also demolished c.2000, in preparation for the present dual-carriageway.

Oxford Hotel, North Street

North Street was laid-out from the west side of Prospect Street, during the late 18th Century.

Thomas Wardell was one of the earliest victuallers of a beer-house at No.2 North Street, and was mentioned in trade directories from the 1830s. This later became known as the Oxford Inn, originally of three bays, the property was later extended west over vacant land, creating an extra bar.

To the right of the pub in this c.1926 photograph, were the premises of Bladon's the drapers, whose main entrance was in Prospect Street. Following closure in 1936 the licence of the Oxford was transferred, along with that of the Three Tuns in Great Passage Street, for the granting of a full licence to a new pub known as the Three Tuns on Boothferry Road, which has just re-opened following a long closure.

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