Into the Unknown: Exploring the un-catalogued records of the Humber Ports

The best part about exploring an un-catalogued collection for the first time is that you never know what you are going to find next. The downside is also that you never know what you are going to find next. The Records of the Humber Ports can be divided into two parts: a catalogued part and an un-catalogued part. We cannot provide access to the collection without a comprehensive catalogue, so it is very inaccessible in its present state.  My task over the next fourteen months will therefore be to bring the catalogue into line with modern professional standards while incorporating this additional material.

To this end I have spent the last couple of weeks creating a box list for this material. This is essential for planning just how this collection is to be processed, and for providing me with an idea of the scale of the challenge I have in store. It is time consuming work, but the excitement of exploring the collection for the first time more than makes up for this. 

Box listing in progress: photograph and technical drawing of the original Hull Docks grab dredger.

The vast majority of the un-catalogued papers consist of the records of the Humber Conservancy Commissioners and Board, and a large proportion of this is made up of papers from the Conservancy Engineer’s Office. We therefore have a great deal of material relating to navigational aids (e.g. buoys, lanterns, and lightships) and improvements to the Humber; a mass of correspondence, charts, and technical drawings. We are particularly lucky to have a fairly comprehensive set of correspondence files from the Engineer’s Office.

Blueprint of new Conservancy lightship showing optical apparatus. 1919.

There is however still a fair amount of material related to the Humber Ports, including maps, plans, and illustrations. This includes records from the Hull Docks Company, the North Eastern Railway (later the London and North Eastern Railway), and the Aire and Calder Navigation. However, I have to admit that I was expecting to find more. In particular, I was hoping to find more records from the original dock company. This does illustrate the fundamental importance of cataloguing.

Illustration from a souvenir guide from the opening of King George Dock in 1914

I hope to share more highlights from the collection as the project progresses, so keep an eye on this blog for future updates.

The box listing is just a first step on the road to producing a comprehensive catalogue for the entire collection. The next step will be to begin sorting and arranging some of the key record groups identified from this work.

Robert Astin, Project Archivist

World Press Freedom Day at Hull History Centre

The 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day, an international day of awareness instigated by the UN in 1993. It is held to raise awareness of free press issues and the duty of governments to uphold Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (relating to the right to freedom of expression). The 3 May was chosen as it marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles issued by African newspaper journalists in 1991.

Each year UNESCO marks the day by organizing a conference of media professionals, press freedom organisations and UN agencies to discuss press freedom issues, solutions and challenges. The first was held in London in 1998 on ‘Press Freedom is a Cornerstone of Human Rights’. This year the UNESCO conference is being held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

We thought we would take this opportunity to give you a taster of some of our collections that champion the principles of free speech and civil rights.

A recently catalogued example comes from the records of former University of Hull graduate, Chris Mullin. A retired Labour MP, author and journalist, he joined the Labour Party in 1967, in part as a reaction against the Vietnam War. After university, he worked as a journalist and foreign correspondent in Asia, during which time he met and interviewed the Dalai Lama. He visited and reported on human rights issues in Vietnam, Laos, Tibet, Cambodia and China. He was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, and editor of the socialist journal Tribune. Throughout his political career he was not afraid to speak out against even members of his own party in pursuit of truth and justice, he also served as Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee. He pursued a successful campaign to prove that there had been a miscarriage of justice in the case of the Birmingham Six. He was also outspoken on the British Governments position on various international issues including military support for the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Throughout his career Mullin campaigned for a free press, without the influence of media barons and conglomerates.

Photograph showing Mullin and Arthur Scargill with others at a Tribune rally, 1983 [U DMU/1/61]

Another of the collections held at Hull History Centre records the activities of pressure group Liberty (formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties). The very foundation of the organisation was predicated on the use of media, press and their own publications to raise public awareness of infringements to civil liberties. Within the collection there are many files relating to issues of freedom of speech and censorship.

Press cutting re censorship of appeals to help Spanish civilians [U DCL/4/4]

The Campaign for Academic Freedom and Democracy CAFD), formed in 1970 by a ground of left-wing academics including John Saville, is also amongst our collections. Since its inception, CAFD has championed the rights to academic freedom and free speech. As well as advising on individual cases, the organisation promotes is work through the use of media and publicity work to highlight cases of injustice.

  

Minutes from AGM of CAFD [U DAF/1/1]

If you would like further information about any of these collections please see our online catalogue for details.

Claire Weatherall, Assistant Archivist (HUA)

2017 Quarterly Update from the History Centre

Over the past three months our City of Culture blog here at the History Centre has explored the theme ‘Made in Hull’, a theme chosen by the City of Culture team to launch the 2017 year of celebrations. With the advent of April, we have moved into the second quarter of 2017, which is dedicated to the theme ‘Roots and Routes’. As a result, our History Centre City of Culture blog now changes focus. From April to June we embark on a ‘Roots and Routes’ blog series.

This quarter’s theme is all about travelling, migration and settlement. Our blogs in this series will cover themes such parades around the city’s public spaces, as well as immigration and movement through the city resulting from the Second World War. We will be exploring 19^th century cases of settlement heard by the Quarter Sessions magistrates in the city. And, because of Hull’s important maritime heritage, we won’t be focusing solely on land. The ways in which the citizens of Hull have traversed the waves will be explored as we look at 19^th century whaling journeys, and the many ways in which we have attempted to bridge the River Humber over the last millennium.

Postcard showing New Riverside Quay and the River Humber, late 19th cent. [L RH]

To kick off this quarter we are playing host to an exhibition of paintings exploring the Old Town area of the city. This fabulous series of paintings, titled ‘A family’s Journey through Hull’s Old Town’, have been created by Cottingham based artist Shirley Goodsell. The exhibition is free to all and will run from 5^th-27^th April.

Postcard showing Whitefriargate, the entrance to Hull's Old Town, pre-1900 [L RH]

The quarter will conclude with another exhibition, this time a photographic display, compiled by Alec Gill and titled ‘Hessle Roaders’. This will again be free to all and will run from 1^st-29^th June.

Postcard showing Hessle Road, 1906 [L RH]

In other news, our History Makers programme for the quarter kicked off on 1^st April with a great turnout to the ‘Science in the Archives’ session, which took a whistle-stop tour around the city’s scientific discoveries. The ‘Full Steam Ahead’ session, on 6^th May, will look at Hull’s railway history as we build train stations and steam engines to transport us around the city. Whilst the final History Makers of the quarter, ‘Fish and Ships’, will be a celebration of our fishing past.

Just a few hints to keep you intrigued, for more information you will have to read our ‘Roots and Routes’ posts…

History Centre Team

From Dock Company to Humber Ports

Robert in our map room looking at a Humber Conservancy plan

This week marks the beginning of a project which will see the records of the Humber Ports of the British Transport Docks Board, later known as Associated British Ports, fully catalogued and made available to the public for the first time.

To enable us to catalogue the collection we have secured funding from the National Cataloguing Grants Programme for Archives which has allowed us to employ a Project Archivist for 15 months to work on the collection. 

On Monday we welcomed Robert to our team and he will be keeping you up to date on how the project is progressing.

The importance of these records
After the creation of the Hull Dock Board in 1774 Hull’s dock network expanded rapidly and these records allow us to build a comprehensive picture of the workings of the various organisations at work in the Humber region during this period and how they combined to make the area a maritime success. 

Important for the understanding of the history and development of Hull and the wider Humber region, this collection, which covers the period 1772-1982, includes records relating to:

• The Hull Dock Company
• The Humber Conservancy Commissioners and Board
• The ports of Goole, Grimsby and Immingham
• The Aire and Calder Navigation
• The Dock and Harbour Authorities Association
• Hull and Barnsley Railway
• Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
• North Eastern Railway/London & North Eastern Railway/Waterways and Ports

Carol Tanner
Access and Collections Manager