Inhabitants of Hull in the latter half of the 14th Century lived in a port that was one of the centres of the wool trade and was
blessed with the royal prefix ‘Kyngeston’. The designers of the contemporary Gough Map
though seemingly took great pains to draw the nearby town of Beverley in its proper
place before realising that Hull could no longer fit in its rightful spot on the
west bank of the river Hull. It was then
squeezed in on the east bank in the hope that no one would notice.
In defence of those who produced the Gough Map, it does show
a remarkably recognisable outline of England, although Scotland and Wales are vague
blobs of uncertainty. Included were 600
settlements of varying sizes plus a network of roads and rivers. Certainly Hull was important but it was still
a small town of 3000 people centred on just a few streets and not even a
century old. Meanwhile Beverley was an
ancient town dating back till at least the 10th century with almost
twice the population plus the popular shrine of St John.
Following the map from Beverley you could take the road to
Bridlington, perhaps to visit its priory, or alternatively head to York via
Market Weighton. Bustling York had a
population of 14500, a great Minster and numerous religious
foundations. Its annual mystery plays
retelling stories from the bible were legendary and attracted an audience from
far and wide. It held three large fairs a
year offering produce including exciting exotic foodstuffs like almonds,
liquorice and spices.
Missing from the map are the roads laid out from Hull early
in the 14th Century to Beverley, Anlaby, Hessle, and east to Bilton
through Holderness. More important roads
are also absent however, such the Fosse Way, a major route from Exeter to
Lincoln laid out by the Romans. Most of
England’s roads were patched up Roman roads or basic cartways. In fine weather you could travel 40 miles a
day on horse or 30 miles on foot but when rain inevitably came most roads became
impassable. Those into Hull were built
on low-lying ground so frequently flooded and maintaining them was a constant
struggle.
Although rivers were essential for moving bulky goods like
wool and timber, Hull’s merchants valued roads for local trade and transporting
smaller loads. Consequently many left
money in their will for repairs, such as John Tutbury who in 1433 left £10 to
spend on any ‘ruinous and dangerous roads within thirty miles’. Such bequests were viewed as charity
benefiting not only fellow merchants but all looking to travel whether pilgrim,
friar, or small farmer.
Image: Section of the Gough Map taken from http://www.goughmap.org/map/, where
the full map can be viewed and searched.
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