Stoneferry

River Hull at Stoneferry Bridges looking north (1983)

Stoneferry (archaic Stone-Ferry, or Stone ferry) in is a suburb of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was formerly a small hamlet on the east bank of the River Hull, the site of a ferry, and, after 1905, a bridge. The area is primarily industrial, and is situated on the east bank of the river, as well as close by areas on the west bank.

Stoneferry Road (A1033 section) travels south through Stoneferry and Wilmington towards the centre of Hull. Ferry Lane (eastern end of the A1165) runs east for a short distance from Stoneferry bridge to meet Stoneferry Road.

History

A river crossing at Stoneferry is recorded as early as 1269, being referred to as 'Stanfordrak',^{[note 1]} the name Stoneferry began to be used in the 14th century.^[5]

The hamlet originally formed part of the parish of Wawne;^[6] it later became part of the parish of Sutton on Hull.^[7]

In 1845 a water works was constructed at Stoneferry on the west bank of the river to meet the demands of the town of Hull;^[8] a public baths was also built on the site.^{[note 2]} Previously supplies had come from chalk springs near Anlaby. the advice had been sought of Thomas Wicksteed, the engineer, who thought they could not provide sufficient volume, and suggested that water should be taken from the river Hull,^[9] at ebb,^{[note 3]} when it was thought the flow of the river would be sufficient to render the water fresh.^[10] Initial analyses suggested that the water quality would be very good,^[11] but this was found not to be the case, with complaints of poor quality water, with the water being muddy and brackish.^{[9][note 4]}

A cholera outbreak occurred in 1849,^[10] and sources of a better supply were sought; Thomas Wickstead and others had maintained further water could not be got from the springs near Anlaby. It was William Warden, a local resident of Hessle who claimed that an artesian well in the area would give sufficient supply;^{[note 5]} in the 1860s boreholes were sunk, and the Springhead Pumping Station established; the water from the boreholes was used to supply the Stoneferry water works and water no longer taken from the river; the water supply problem was solved.^[9] The initial cost of the Stoneferry waterworks was £58,000 (with two 60 hp steam engines), this eventually rose to £92,808 with two further engines of 170 and 220 hp, and additional water treatment facilities.^[12] Around 1891 the pumping station at Stoneferry ceased to be used to pump water to Hull;^[9] by 1910 the works was in disuse.^[13]

During the latter part of the 19th century the area between Hull and Stoneferry began to be developed industrially, and in 1882 Stoneferry became part of the municipal borough of Kingston upon Hull; the industrialisation continued leading to a completely industrial landscape along the river Hull banks and in Stoneferry itself by the 20th century.^[7]

Beyond the original hamlet urban development began in the late 19th and early 20th century, in particular from the south-western end of Leads Road as well as elsewhere in the area.^[14] Further housing development took place in the mid 20th century between Stoneferry Road and the Foredyke stream, and between the Fordyke and the Hull and Hornsea railway line, as well as along Sutton Road to the north of Stoneferry.^[15] The development along Sutton Road was demolished in the 1970s, and replaced by the Sutton Fields industrial estate. In the 1990s a small housing estate was built between Stoneferry Road and the former Foredyke drain, north of the Stoneferry railway branch. As of 2012 the area is a mixture of mostly industrial usage, as well as housing, and green spaces.^[16] In 2011 the area 'Rockford Fields', remnant of the pastureland of Sutton Ings was designated as a local nature reserve.^[17]

Industry

The Isis Oil Mills (Cargil plc), and Reckitt's chimney (August 2008)

By the 1850s there was a whiting and oil mill in Stoneferry,^[7] by 1910 development was continuous along the river Hull banks, consisting of mills for seed oils, whiting, and associated industries such as paint and pigment works, as well as a cement works immediately south of Ferry lane.^[18]

In 1884 the Hull based company Reckitt & Sons established a factory at Morley Street to manufacture synthetic Ultramarine.^[19] This later became part of Reckitt & Colmann, and was later sold to Yule Catto becoming Holliday Pigments.^[20][21] In 2003 it had a capacity of about 9000t p.a.^[19] The factory's 141m chimney, the tallest structure in Hull, known as Reckitt's chimney was used to discharge Sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere,^[19] a Flue gas desulphurisation plant was installed at the beginning of the 21st century, making the chimney practically obsolete.^[22] The plant closed in 2007 due to restructuring.^[23]

The cement works was established in 1889 as Hull Portland Cement Co., with rotary kilns first installed in 1903, after several changes of ownership it became part of Earles cement in 1911. Production ended in 1927 due to restructuring at Earles,^[24] and the site was used for aggregate storage with wharfside rail mounted cranes, until being redeveloped into a retail trade park Medina Park at the turn of the 21st century.

In 1912 the large Isis Oil Mills was built for Wray, Sanderson & Co.^{[note 6]} (now a listed building).^[25]

A short branch off the Hull and Hornsea Railway was built (c. 1920s) which connected to Stoneferry goods station (53°46′08″N 0°19′33″W / 53.7688°N 0.3259°W / 53.7688; -0.3259 (Stoneferry Goods Station)), as well as the Premier Oil and Cake Mills north of Ferry lane. The line had completely closed by the 1970s.^[26]

To the north of the traditionally industrialised area the 243 acres (98 ha) Sutton Fields Industrial Estate was established by the City Council in the 1970s.^[27]

Bridges

Stoneferry Bridges, and control tower (February 2009)

A bridge at Stoneferry was proposed in the 18th century, but was opposed in Parliament by interested parties in Beverley due to concerns of it blocking the navigable river.^[28] In 1905 a swing bridge was built, constructed by the Motherwell Bridge Company.^[29][30] The bridge included fittings for a tram tracks – a tramway from Hull to Stoneferry had been partially built but never completed.^{[1][note 7]}

The 1905 swing bridge was replaced by a pair of 'Shadoof' type bascule lifting bridges, authorised in 1987 and built about 15 yards (14 m) north of the earlier bridge between 1988 and 1991.^[31][32][33]

Geology

There is an outcropping bed of harder rock or other agglomerate in the river bed (which is usually clay, silt and till on the river Hull) near Stoneferry.^[34][35]

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stoneferry, Kingston upon Hull.

Images

• Vicky Turner (29 August 2008), "Stoneferry Bridge", gallery.nen.gov.uk (National Education Network) , aerial southwards view of Stoneferry Bridge, also shows former Sissons Paint works.
• John Ward (1798–1849), "Stoneferry, Hull with a Sloop Rigged Keel", www.bbc.co.uk (BBC, courtesy of Ferens Art Gallery), retrieved 12 August 2011 , Pre 1850 image of the river Hull at Stoneferry
• David Jessop, "The First Stoneferry Bridge", David Jessop's Forgotten Hull 

History

• Paul Gibson (June 2002), "The Pubs of the Stoneferry Area", www.paul-gibson.com, retrieved 12 August 2011 
• George Poulson (1841), "Sutton : Stoneferry", The history and antiquities of the seigniory of Holderness 2, Thomas Topping (Hull), W. Pickering (London), pp. 340–341 
• Thomas Blashill , Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club (1903), Evidences Relating to the Eastern Part of the City of Kingston-upon-Hull, A. Brown & Sons, pp. 32–39 

Video

• "Kingston Rowing Club at Practice (1902)", www.youtube.com (British Film Institute : The Mitchell & Kenyon Collection), 1902 , Rowing club on the banks of the river Hull at Stoneferry
• "Holliday Pigments (Hull)", www.youtube.com , Corporate video for former Holliday Pigments factory

Coordinates: 53°46′05″N 0°19′19″W / 53.768°N 0.322°W / 53.768; -0.322