Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HULL (THE)

HULL (THE), a river of E. R. Yorkshire. It rises on the E side of the Wolds, 5½ miles NNE of Great Driffield; runs about 23 miles southward, past the eastern vicinity of Beverley, to the Humber at Hull; traverses, for the most part, a very flat and low country, with remarkably small gradient; drains most of the territory between the wolds and the sea; was formerly noted for overflowing the lands in the lower part of its basin, and covering them with stagnant water; was rendered innocuous by means of much cutting and embanking; is now navigable up to Frodingham bridge, and connected by canals with Beverley and Great Driffield; and abounds with trout of peculiar excellence, and large size. The heavy expense long incurred in protecting the town of Hull from inundations by the Hull and the Humber, is quaintly described as follows by Taylor, the water poet, who visited the town in 1622:-

It yearly. costs five hundred pounds besides,
To fence the towne from Hull and Humber's tydes,
For stakes, for bavins, timber, stones, and piles.
All which are brought by water many miles;
For workmen's labour, and a world of things,
Which on the towne excessive charges brings.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a river"   (ADL Feature Type: "rivers")
Administrative units: Yorkshire AncC
Place names: HULL     |     HULL THE     |     THE HULL
Place: Kingston upon Hull

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