Published by the East Yorkshire Local History Society in 1979, 46 pages. A5 size booklet (S7878PE)
This booklet provides a fascinating history of the strikes in Hull, that took place in 1911. Chapters include: Hull in 1911, The Seamen's Strike, The Growth of Unskilled Workers' Action, The Railwaymen's Dispute, and The Beginnings of Women's Trade Unionism in Hull.
From the opening page: In 1911, as now, Hull was the only large urban area in East Yorkshire. Its population was for the most part either directly or indirectly dependent for its livelihood upon the town's large dock complex. The years immediately before the Great War were commercially successful for the city, although not all the population shared in this prosperity.
Prosperity was reflected by the substantial development and redesigning of the city's physical environment. A suburban belt of terraced, middle-class housing arose, inside which the city centre was remodelled. The work was organised by the New Street Committee and City Improvement Conunittee, largely inspired by Sir Alfred Gelder. The slums and disorder of the Victorian city centre gave way to broad, straight thoroughfares and improved shopping facilities, shifting the focal point of the city away from the Market Place. The corporation itself erected several new buildings, including the Central library, the City Hall and the Guildhall. Cultural amenities were likewise improved: an art gallery and a museum were both opened in 1900. Another notable feature of municipal activity in the period was its successful public service undertakings, water, electricity, gas, tramways and telephones, all of which provided rate-relief.
The basis of prosperity was trade. Hull was the largest port on the Humber and third largest in the country. It served not only a substantial coasting trade, but oversea routes as well. An extensive system of inland waterways linked the port to inland industrial centres in Lancashire, the West Riding, and the East Midlands. There were strong, traditional trade links with northern Europe, but in the late 19th century successful efforts had been made to foster trade with the Americas, southern Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the Far East and Australasia. The 682 acres of dockland were for the most part owned by the two railway companies which served the city and the county: the North Eastern Railway Company and the Hull and Barnsley Railway Company. The docks were the deepest on the East Coast, and could be approached at any state of tide. Specialist services such as cold storage, graving docks and mechanical bunkering facilities had, moreover, been developed. Considerable sums had been expended on mechanising cargo handling - by the use of cranes and hoists - and in the extension of berths: Riverside Quay was opened in 1908 to relieve congestion, in 1911 the city council began to improve facilities in the Old Harbour, and then in 1914 King George V dock was opened.
The industrial structure of Hull was thus determined directly by the town's position as a principal port...
Condition of the pamphlet is generally very good. The covers have one or two minor scuffs but are clean and tidy, the staple spine is intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.
| Condition | New |