28. Trials of Town Life

Across medieval England, from Lands End to the ever-shifting border with Scotland, there lived two million people.  Today that number would fit in Greater Manchester, leaving the rest of the country an uninhabited wasteland.  In the 15th Century though, even London could only muster 40,000 inhabitants while Hull had a population of just 3000.  Not only did all but a few of Hull’s inhabitants resided within the town walls, actually most lived on just a small number of streets leading off the Market Place.  Even back then location matter when it came to property and people were willing to sacrifice space in order to live in a desirable central location. 

With neighbours crammed together it wasn’t surprising that disagreements occurred.  In 1449 two merchants called John Forest and William Riplingham who lived on Vicar Lane fell out.  William had built an extension that caused extra water to run into John’s garden when it rained, while John’s own building works blocked the light into one of William’s rooms.  Luckily Laylandi weren’t to be bred for another four centuries or a peace might never have been reached.  Eventually the warring parties did call a truce and each agreed to put up with their existing inconveniences but hostilities would immediately resume should either man do any more home improvements without permission.

Cases of anti-social behaviour could also be found at the Sheriff’s Court where many cases sound rather familiar.  Fines were often handed out for fly tipping into the street and the river Hull.  There was industrial pollution, with tanners reprimanded for using the town’s dykes to soak their hides.  Butchers regularly obstructed other road users by tethering their horses outside their shops.  Innkeepers were monitored that they kept to specified opening hours and prevented unruly behaviour on their premises.  Wine couldn’t be sold at less then 12 pence a pint, however beer was seen as a staple part of the working man’s diet and like bread its price was regulated to keep it affordable.

Thicker than ales today, beer was seen as a safe and nutritious drink for the common man and an ideal source of energy to power him right through the working day.  After the Black Death as wages rose so did consumption of beer and by the 15th Century the average man was drinking at least 3 pints a day.  Hull’s medieval citizens weren’t miraculously immune to the effect of all this alcohol.  The doorway of the King’s Head Inn, now standing in the quiet and sedate Hull and East Riding Museum, would once have witnessed raised voices and tempers as well as supporting several persons feeling somewhat unsteady on their feet.

Photo: Lowgate/Market Place, Hull

www.historyofhull.blogspot.com

27. Waste and Water

Even on the brightest days, the narrow winding streets of medieval Hull offered plentiful shadows.  Pedestrians had to dodge tethered horses, stray pigs, and open sewers.  Anyone wandering down to the banks of that majestic river the Humber would struggle to appreciate the view with the rotting mess of the town’s rubbish dump at their feet.  It was all far from modern standards of cleanliness but the inhabitants of Hull were certainly not merrily wallowing in filth. 

In 1388 Parliament ordered local governments to keep streets in their area well maintained and free of rubbish and Hull’s ruling aldermen took this duty very seriously.  Each Saturday residents were expected to clean the section of road in front of their property and a rubbish cart was organised to go around town up to three times a week.  Although anything collected was then dumped by the Humber, at least there it was away from people’s homes and could be washed away by the tide.

The open sewers running down the middle of each street were not stagnant pools of muck but filled with running water flowing out into the Humber and were regularly cleaned to prevent blockages.  These sewers certainly didn’t add positively to the town’s ambience, but the alderman knew that for the lack of an alternative it was better then nothing. Care was taken that builders didn’t cut corners by not linking properties to the system.  In 1413 Richard Hanse was granted permission to build a courtyard of houses only if he connected them to the sewer network at his own expense.

Hull’s aldermen also concerned themselves with ensuring a supply of fresh, clean water.  By 1401 the two existing wells in Bishops Lane and Fleshmarket were insufficient for the town’s needs and shipping in additional water was too expensive.  The solution was a dyke 12ft wide and 5ft deep running all the way from Anlaby to Beverley Gate.  From here though the water still had to be physically carried across town to where most people lived down by the High Street.

By the 1440s however the aldermen had seemingly solved this problem by laying a system of lead conduits and pipes within the town walls.  Feeling justifiably proud of this achievement, a grand opening ceremony was held during which wine was sent through the pipes doubtless ensuring the party passed off in a suitably merry manner.  Sadly this visionary system was not without its teething problems so when in 1461 the town needed some ready cash, the decision was taken to dig up the pipes and sell off the valuable lead.

Picture: Close up from map by John Speede, circa 1610, showing the location of Hull’s freshwater dyke.

www.historyofhull.blogspot.com

26. Beating the Bounds

Stand by the ruins of Beverley Gate today looking to the northwest and before you is a sea of concrete stretching all the way to Cottingham.  For someone standing on the same spot during the Middle Ages, the view would have been somewhat different; a vista of open green fields disturbed only by some windmills and a few scattered buildings.  Though they lived in town, the people of Hull were still connected to this countryside.  Burgesses could graze their cattle, sheep or horses on the common land just outside the town walls.  Myton farm, owed by the de la Poles, was often rented out to Hull merchants like John de Dymelton who took it over in 1388.

Each April on Rogation Day, people all across England would gather together to beat the bounds of their parish.  Led by their priest, they would walk slowly in procession around the boundary of their village praying for plentiful crops in the months ahead as well as clarifying for the benefit of any envious neighbours exactly what land was theirs.  The inhabitants of Hull were keen to continue this traditional custom, so much so that they kept a number of temporary wooden bridges in storage.  Each Rogation Day these were then placed over the ditches and dykes surrounding the town, enabling people to progress around the walls and keep their feet dry.

On this walk they would have that seen that signs of urban life had escaped the confines of the town walls in a few places.  One was the archery butts.  Edward III had passed the first law requiring men to practise archery in 1363 and subsequent kings reinforced this, particularly when the country was under threat.  By the 1460s it was compulsory for towns to provide places to practice; usually a large cleared area that had earthen work mounds with targets on top at one end.  Males between the ages of 16 and 60 were expected to spend their spare time on Sundays and holidays here practising their shooting skills rather then wasting it in frivolous and pointless pastimes like football.

Just outside Myton Gate was the site of a brickworks.  Established early on in Hull’s existence, its bricks helped build the town’s churches, friaries and houses.  They were also used by nearby villages, including during the building of St James’ Church in Sutton.  As late as 1430 these works were producing 105,000 bricks a year however by 1450 they had closed; cheap imports from the great manufacturing centre of Beverley having made them unprofitable.  What remained was something familiar to any urban dweller today; a brownfield site, strewn with rubbish and ripe for redevelopment. 

Picture: Section from map of Hull by John Speede, circa 1610.

www.historyofhull.blogspot.com

25. Feeling at Home

Were a citizen of 15th Century Hull to be transported into its old town today, they would be confronted by a mass of mostly unfamiliar buildings.  Gradually though they would realise that the layout of the streets themselves hadn’t much altered: surely this wide road must be the marketplace – oh yes as there’s Holy Trinity now with a tower too!  I remember its nave being completed but there was no money at that time for a tower – And up there’s St Mary’s as well although its changed a bit. – Now does Silver Street here still lead down to Whitefriargate? – Is the Carmelite Friary still there?

Apart from the two churches, the only other surviving medieval building for the visitor to see is at number 5 Scale Lane which dates from around 1450.  Such homes were usually built around a timber frame with bricks being used for the ground floor, and wattle, mud and lime for the overhanging upper floors.  Situated just off the High Street, it was in a prime location favoured by merchants and likely boasted the latest in modern conveniences: a chimney rather than an inefficient central hearth; metal and ceramic tableware rather then wooden; and glazed windows, although the glass was considered part of the furniture so would be taken by each set of inhabitants when they moved.

Whatever comforts houses offered they were far from safe.  The opportunities for accidents, particularly for young children, were unfortunately plentiful.  Danger came from open fires, vessels of boiling water, and inadequate sleeping arrangements.  Plus there was the ever-present threat of disease.  Given this it was not unknown for parents to give two sons the same treasured family name so it stood a greater chance of continuing.  The mercantile Fisher family did, although fortunately both their boys survived.  Just as fortunately one son moved away so they could conveniently be known as Robert of Hull and Robert of Beverley.

Merchant families were not huge, maybe four to six people, although equally part of the household were any servants.  Around a sixth of Hull families had servants, usually just one or two but the most successful merchants had more, such as William de Sneynton who employed eight.  For young people entering service brought independence, training, and a chance to save money ready for marriage.  Young women in particular also migrated from the countryside into town to find employment in the textile trades.  Consequently Hull had a rather youthful population and one were there was ten women to every nine men, so women may have saved money for married life but they had their work cut out finding a decent husband.

Photo: Number 5, Scale Lane, Hull.

www.historyofhull.blogspot.com