RESEARCH NOTES (Humber Street history)

After initial research online into Humber Street, I found a PDF titled 'Historic Legacy & Modern Context in the Fruit Market'. This helped gather a few interesting facts about the area such as the architecture, which is a mix of Victorian, Pre-World War II and modern (Humber Street itself being mostly Victorian). According to the document 'The Fruit Market’s tightest cluster of historic buildings is on either side of Humber Street, but especially on the north side.'

From the Hull History Centre website, it discusses the Theatre Royal, which was built by the Wilkinsons in Humber Street, the construction was finished in 1810, designed by Charles Mountain, the younger. However, the theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1859. This would be one of four theatre's in the city to bear the name over time. The site of the theatre had formerly been a circus at the junction between Humber Street and Queen Street.

Paul Gibson's website article, "The lost pubs of Hull", discusses the Shakespeare Hotel which was on the south side of Humber Street which also opened in 1810, and was originally named the Shakespeare Tavern. It was renamed The Shakespeare Hotel in 1840 due to an elevated standing as other important structures were built around it. In a later refurbishment, circa 1890s, six carved heads of Shakespeare were added to the rather plain frontage. On May 9th 1941, the pub was heavily bombed during an air raid and closed its doors from that point.

Various heritage plaques scatter the area around Humber Street such as The Watergate plaque placed on the southern arm of the fourteenth century town wall.

According to an article from the Hull Daily Mail on the 16th of November 2009, the Humber Street Fruit Market closed, the year commemorating it's 200th anniversary.

Quote from the article - 'On Saturday morning, the fruit and vegetable wholesalers moved out of Hull's historic Fruit Market for a new life in Priory Park'.