Glimpse of city's past as medieval wall uncovered

3 hours ago

Eleanor MaslinEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — Part of Hull's town walls have been uncovered for the first time in 250 years

Hull City Council Part of a medieval brick wall can be seen in a trench dug beneath a road. It is made of red bricks - though they look brown due to the soil. The surviving wall is quite low, though it builds up to a higher part, with about 14 layers of brick. The trench is protected by temporary wooden structures on either side, with green metal poles braced between them. — Part of Hull's town walls have been uncovered for the first time in 250 years

A section of Hull's medieval walls have been uncovered for the first time in 250 years.

The wall, which was built in the late 14th Century, was found under Guildhall Road during utility works.

A team of archaeologists is now collecting as much information as possible about the structure, before it is covered up again.

Peter Connelly, manager at Humber Field Archaeology, said: "Revealing even just a small glimpse of this medieval past is an important chapter in Hull's story."

Hull City Council A man in jeans, black boots, a blue fleece, yellow hi-vis vest and white helmet is standing on bricks at the bottom of a trench, with his head at ground level. Wooden panels can be seen in front of him and blue barriers can be seen at road level. — Peter Connelly says the walls are part of Hull's "rich history"

The walls defended the city's Old Town and were "probably" the biggest brick-built structure in England at the time they were completed, according to Connelly.

There were four main gates, interval towers and several smaller entrances.

However, from the 1770s, they were demolished to make way for the expansion of Hull and construction of docks.

Sections of the walls have been uncovered before and part of Beverley Gate – where King Charles I was denied entry to the town during the build-up to the English Civil War – is on permanent display.

Connelly said it was "quite engaging" to see a new part of the structure.

"Even just getting little insights into this important chapter of Hull's medieval past is a lovely thing to see," he added.

"This is the first time this part of the wall has been seen for over 250 years."

The roadworks are being carried out by Hull City Council and Vital Energi, a renewable energy provider.

Although the wall will be covered up again, Connelly said he hoped future generations might uncover it again when they had "better equipment than us to analyse the past".

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