18. The Weighhouse

Since 1275 when Edward I had introduced a regular tax on wool exports, there had been an on-going battle between those whose job it was to collect custom duties and those traders who wished to avoid paying them.  In Hull’s early days many did manage to ship goods without paying duty, resulting in stringent rules being introduced to try and combat this.  No ship, for instance, was to leave harbour unless fully loaded with no room left for any untaxed items to be sneakily added later. 

Following this, many moved their profitable illegal activities to less populated areas along the Humber.  In 1365 John de Selby, William Wele and two others sailed from Paull to smuggle ten sacks of wool worth £40 over to Flanders, a cargo that was likely worth more then the ship carrying it.  Others were even more devious.  Peter de Grymesby left Hull with his vessel fully loaded as per the rules and with duty correctly paid.  However stashes of wool were later discovered in the beds and storage chests belonging to the crew.  Peter declared that he knew nothing about it.  He had hired the best men for the voyage who had such team working skills that they had managed to load all the extra wool whilst his back was briefly turned.

By the fifteenth century, Hull’s customs officials had gained a new weapon.  The weighhouse was situated on the High Street, just south of Chapel Lane Staith.  Locals knew it as the woolhouse even though a variety of goods passed through it.  It was an imposing structure constructed across several building plots.  There was an inner courtyard, the floor of which was covered with damp reeds to prevent dust as cargos were moved about.  By the entrance was an arcade for merchants to dry off whilst making deals and exchanging gossip.  Backing onto the river at the rear were two wharfs and between them a tower.

The first floor of this tower housed the customs office, offering officials an excellent view of the people and goods moving around below.  Now only citizens of Hull could enjoy the privilege of having their goods weighed in their own warehouse, and then only with the permission of the mayor.  All other cargoes had to go to the woolhouse to be weighed and assessed for duty.  Goods then had to be loaded immediately onto ships by the official porters, unless the weather was bad in which case they had to be stored in the weighhouse until it improved.  For all of these services a fee was charged with the profits making a welcome contribution to the town’s coffers.

Photo: Chapel Lane Staith Hull, near the former site of the weighhouse.

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17. Hull on the Map

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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16. The Friars of Hull

As straightforward Yorkshire folk the medieval inhabitants of Hull didn’t mess around when it came to naming streets.  Close by Beverley gate was the religious house belonging to the order of the Carmelite Friars, commonly called the White Friars as they wore a white cloak over their brown habits.  The street where they lived therefore became known as Whitefriargate, with gate being an Old Norse or Viking word for road.  Similarly Blackfriargate, off the southern end of High Street, was home to the Augustian Friars whose uniform was a black habit.

Friary buildings formed a notable presence in medieval Hull.  The Augustinians could boast an impressive six storey gothic tower while the large site of the Carmelites included a church, houses, orchards and gardens.  These properties where administered by trustees as the friars did not own anything themselves.  Like monks they renounced worldly goods to live a life of poverty following strict rules.  The Carmelites of Hull were instructed to value silence and refrain from eating meat.  Living as they did in a fishing port, the friars were fortunate that in reality they only had to follow the laxer definition of vegetarianism and could still enjoy a fish supper. 

Friars were reliant on the charity of others to maintain their buildings and obtain their daily bread and in return they prayed for the giver’s soul.  During the early years of the town, King Edward I himself gifted the Carmelites 13 shillings to pay for three days food.  Some particularly wealthy local patrons enjoyed the privilege of being given an external resting place.  Several were buried at the Augustinian Friary in superior quality coffins made from the finest Baltic oak.

The religious life of a friar was not one of isolation and solitary reflection as in a monastery.  Friars placed themselves at the centre of their local earthly community and went out and about on the streets of Hull to hear confessions or teach.  They gave lively sermons warning of the dangers of sin, attracting peoples’ attention with a passionate and vivid style that contrasted with the staid preaching usually heard in church.

Rather than join a specific house, friars joined an order then moved around the country.  Augustinians departing Hull might be sent to the order’s house in Grimsby or that in the scholarly atmosphere of Oxford.  Each move offered new challenges and a chance for personal development.  Life as a friar was an appealing career path, an opportunity to do good by bringing spiritual direction to those around you.  By 1340, around a century after the first English friaries had been established, there were 190 houses across England housing around 5000 friars.

Photo: Blackfriargate, Hull, looking from the High Street.

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15. The Black Death

Medieval merchants brought some lovely goods into Hull, not least wine from southern France, along with some less delightful items, like those pungent relatives garlic and onions.  They also brought news, which in 1348 consisted of unwelcome tidings of a terrible new disease.  Victims apparently grew disgusting, foul smelling black boils or buboes in their armpits and groin before falling into a fever from which few recovered.

As the months passed this plague came ever closer, moving through Italy, then France, then Flanders.  Finally in June the Black Death arrived in England.  It came ashore in Dorset before spreading north leaving a trail of destroyed lives in its wake.  Everybody lost someone, be it parent, child, spouse or friend.  At least a third of the population died and densely populated towns like Hull lost up to half their inhabitants.  Daily life was affected for years after.  For Hull this meant work on completing and improving its city wall slowed dramatically and it wasn’t finished until 1356.

Those yet to fall ill eagerly attended Mass to offer prayers begging that they and their families be spared, as well as to acquire holy bread which was said to have preventative properties.  Those already sick were plied with concoctions of herbs but usually to no avail.  Most died within a few days of falling ill, giving people little chance to prepare for a good Christian death.

Most crucial was making your final confession, but priests were hard to find as they too were dying.  At Barrow, on the south bank of the river Humber, three new priests had to be appointed just in one year.  Things were so bad that that one bishop decreed that if necessary men may confess to each other or even, if absolutely desperate, to a woman.

After death your soul went to purgatory, a staging post from where it might go to heaven or to hell.  How long it lingered there and its final destination depended on how many people prayed for you.  The prayers of your family, while undoubtedly heartfelt, could only go so far.  Plus the Black Death showed that they could all too easily die along with you.

It became increasingly popular to leave money in your will to religious institutions to pay for priests to say prayers specifically for your soul.  Well off families established their own dedicated chapels and Holy Trinity church had twelve such chantry chapels, including one belonging to the de la Poles.  Being especially wealthy, the de la Poles also established a Cathusian monastery and hospital, known as the Charterhouse, whose inhabitants said even more prayers for departed family members.

Photo: St Mary’s Church, Hull. 

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14. Hull's Churches

An average, law-abiding citizen of medieval Hull had little contact with national government beyond paying occasional taxes.  Instead the most important institution in their lives was the church.  Everyone was baptised within a few weeks of their birth becoming a member of their local parish church, which in Hull meant either Holy Trinity or the smaller St Mary’s.  Then throughout their life the church would prepare them for what was to come after, universally acknowledged to be either heaven or hell.

Many priests worked hard to ensure that their parishioners truly understood their faith and stood the best chance of enduring a pleasant rather then painful eternity.  In the 1350s Archbishop Thoresby of York commissioned the ‘Lay Folks Catechism’ that covered the foundations of Christianity including the Ten Commandants and Seven Sacraments.  Written in concise, accessible English and containing memorable ditties, this book was then used by priests across Yorkshire to teach their flocks.

People were expected to attend confession and mass, said in Latin, at least once a year at Easter.  Ideally of course they should do so more often.  Priests in Hull were granted special permission by the Pope to offer Masses before daybreak to encourage sailors to come to church before setting off on dangerous voyages.  The church had its own system of courts that dealt with actions deemed immoral or unchristian.  These same courts also dealt with more prosaic matters including regulation of marriages and resolving disputes over wills.

Hull’s churches were situated in the heart of the town close by the market place, a location that was really rather practical.  Their clocks were invaluable when determining when markets should open, so much so that the town contributed to their maintenance.  And what better place to store that important business document then the secure, brick built Holy Trinity?  Eager to find out if Edward III and Edward Balliol had managed to recapture Berwick?  Attend church on a Sunday and the priest would give you the latest national news along with his sermon.

Parishioners themselves were responsible for the upkeep of the nave of their church and many took great pride in making improvements.  Whilst on his travels Thomas Gotsman spotted a charming feature in one church; angels that ascended and descended during mass.  Impressed he left £10 in his will to recreate the same in Holy Trinity.  Walls were covered in colourful paintings retelling popular bible stories and tiles on the floor of Holy Trinity depicted birds, flowers and heraldic lions.  During a bustle of busy day church could offer a place to rest protected from the elements amidst rather pleasant surroundings.

Photo: View of Holy Trinity church from North Church Side showing transept built in the 14th Century. 

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