Abstract
WHEN this island first became the home of man the site of the city of Kingston-upon-Hull bore an aspect very different from that which it assumes at present. The North Sea washed a long line of cliffs extending from Hessle to Bridlington, and the Humber, even then a mighty river, ran straight out to sea. Then followed the great Ice age, which left behind it masses of glacial drift, the foundation of the present city. The milder climate which succeeded produced abundant vegetation, which gave rise to the bed of peat which covered the site. A single bronze axe found in it was probably dropped by some visitor from a canoe, and supplies the only record of prehistoric man. Then the water encroached on the land and laid down great deposits of silt along the present valley. The Romans do not appear to have occupied the place, and the first attempt tc embank it is attributed to the Danes, who have left marks of their occupation in the plan of the older parts of the city. In time the place gained increased importance by the absorption of the adjoining villages, and in the fourteenth century the site was surrounded by a wall, of which, and of the old manor and palace of the King, whence the name of the city was derived, only a few stones remain. The later development of the city can be traced in the fine series of reproductions of old maps and drawings which illustrate this useful contribution to local history.
The Evolution of Kingston-upon-Hull, as shown by its Plans.
By Thomas Sheppard. Pp. 203. (Hull: A. Brown and Sons, Ltd., 1911.) Price 3s. 6d. net.
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The Evolution of Kingston-upon-Hull, as shown by its Plans . Nature 87, 549 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/087549a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/087549a0