History of Hull: Docks - Episode 4: The Western Dock

The story of Hull's long, skinny dock, Albert Dock, and the wrangling that forced the Hull Dock Company's hand and gave them their first taste of some real competition!
If you're anything like me, viewing historical Ordnance Survey maps side by side with modern satellite views will certainly eat up far too much of your time!
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[@paulcrisp9861]

As a resident of the city I find these videos so wonderfully educational, its amazing how generations of yesteryear shaped Kingston Upon Hull. Keep up the good work. 🙏❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Mar twenty three

[@hughjarse4627]

A lot of ships from all over still get repaired there and still keeps alot of hull lads employed

[@hullhistorynerd]

It's great that the dry dock is still running after all these years as well as the main dock.

[@johnraggett7147]

Greetings From Leipzig. Thank you gain, Mr. Nerd.

[@oldiesoutdoors58]

keep these brilliant videos coming ..... i'm hooked ! ..

[@asc.445]

Superb video. I love your passion for God's own City

[@slw0599]

Even del boy & Rodney have been there.... lovely jubbly! .... another great video from the brilliant hull history nerd..thank you for keeping us entertained.

[@hullhistorynerd]

You're welcome, thankyou!

[@ashleyclough5917]

And not a lot of people know that 👍

[@logotrikes]

That was a treat HN. I don't know how, but this is one I'd missed. Nice one....

[@hullhistorynerd]

Don't fret, it only came out yesterday!

[@logotrikes]

@@hullhistorynerd Haha... Now I see. Silly me, I went looking for St Andrews Dock in your collection too. It seems I'm way too early....

[@hullhistorynerd]

@@logotrikes Definitely, I'm working on the script at the moment!

[@heathermuir669]

Hi luv my dad worked on st. Andrews dock at hull I've company and one Sunday a month he used to be on watch shift so if bake on Saturday then Sunday I used to cycle there with lucky pack up and baking for tea it was the highlight of my month overall around with him every hour to check so I'm not it was like a I've wonderland so beautiful in early sixties a one tin block cost one hundred pounds and big trawler took a thousand blocks before sailing, eh...those were my best days x Heather

[@scotexscarrier8461]

its great that the ship repair dry docks are still utilised Dunstons in albert wright and MMS in Alex, been in both a few times, great vid

[@cryzcryz2345]

Very intersting! Thank you.

[@jasonleary1073]

you have done it again a great video and well presented thank you so much

[@comedyhunter]

Another interesting video, always amazes me how the Victorians dealt with difficulties in engineering so well. Those Boils coming up must have been a right pain. Very professional video as always.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Yes, they really had a very hands on, throw everything at the wall and see what sticks approach to engineering issues! In this case they plugged the leaking areas with concrete that could set in wet conditions, and that seemed to do the trick nicely.

[@superflynye]

Briiliant thank you !

[@bazza5699]

brilliant.. can't wait for st. andrews.. that will be fascinating, not only cos i live in that area, but cos i have memories of it from the 80's onwards..

[@hullhistorynerd]

It's certainly going to be a big one, that's for sure!

[@PeteMaddra]

Another fascinating and well presented video. Thank you.

[@paulmilsom1266]

Nice work as always

[@SimonPJohnson]

Great video and I still can’t remember whether I visited Albert or St Andrew’s Dock in 1976 as part of the University Geography Dept’s introductory tour of Hull and beyond. I remember the laid up trawlers though. Perhaps your next video will jog my memory. The importance of those docks to the Hessle Road community was certainly emphasised during the tour.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Might well have been Albert, it would have been the centre for the trawler fleets by '76. But yes, the next episode in the Docks series might jog some memories!

[@llttf]

Interesting and well produced, as always.

[@jonathanroy7940]

Brilliant ! You even went to Machell Street, which was where some of my 'Metcalf' line lived, Newtons Court was off Machell St. as well. Some lived in number 4. I bet they went to The Bay Horse for a beer. Great E5 next.

[@hullhistorynerd]

The next one is my favourite video that I've done, St Andrew's is such a historic place for Hull I tried to pull out all of the stops!

[@Wedgedoow]

I knew nothing about the immigrants, another good history lesson thanks.

[@mick998r]

Another excellent episode 👏 Thank you.

[@kevincollis2632]

First class as always

[@mtem2253]

Brilliant, really enjoy your presentation of the history and videos. St Andrews is a complex one to cover look forward to it.

[@peaks9634]

looking forward to the st Andrews quay one used to fish in there as a kid

[@hullhistorynerd]

It's going to be an epic for sure!

[@paulwallis8435]

very good video

[@lancemumford3106]

I always enjoy your informative videos. I am looking forward to the next one. Thanks

[@NickB_Yorkshire]

Great stuff. Fascinating & informative as always 👍🏼😁

[@misskittysmith]

Fascinating to see the history of a dock in Hull that's still in use! Great video thankyou.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Usually it's hard to get access to a working dock, luckily the public walkway above the warehouses gives a fantastic view of the place!

[@melvynbuckton6881]

You used to be able to get from the dock office opposite feren's art gallery a day pass to a particular dock. They would give these out as long as you were over 16 and having obtained one I used to cycle all the way around the docks right past the ships loading etc absolutely wonderful.

[@melvynbuckton6881]

I remember using the public walkway you mentioned built on top of the warehouses alongside the dock. I was a teenager at the time and was fascinated because in those days the dock was very very busy and you got a great view of the activities from up high. As this was 60 years ago it's amazing that walkway is still open.

[@ThePorkypete51]

There has been many occasion where a ship's Master upon his first time visiting Albert Dock has questioned the need for tugs and why they have been ordered on his behalf by the dockmaster or the ships agent for his relatively small, coastal vessel. Then, as Bill Alexander points out, once the Master has seen first hand the difficulty of rounding the bullnose, swinging in the basin and backing down the narrow dock - stern first, with moored vessels either side that they realise that the assistance of a tug is probably for the best. 😃

[@hullhistorynerd]

I can well imagine, It's certainly not the ideal shape or position! Again, the Hull Dock Company not engaging in forethought with their planning needs. That said, it's still open, which is something!

[@Trek001]

You: "Hi, I'm Hull History Nerd" Us: "OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR HAS RETURNED!" Edit: You may be interested to know that the orange hulled vessels were not just laid up, they were actually under arrest and only had a single person aboard to keep watch, This happened in a few ports in the UK - the one that was detained in Great Yarmouth did not step ashore for almost three years because otherwise the ship would have been auctioned

[@hullhistorynerd]

That is interesting, I didn't know that! Blimey, that's quite the predicament!

[@Trek001]

@@hullhistorynerd Aye, it was Used to be a regular feature as you passed by them on Clive Sully Way - when they got released, two of them in Hull had to have repairs made before they were allowed to leave dock

[@ronm3245]

Those big orange ships are for offshore petroleum facility construction and repair. The company filed for bankruptcy a few years ago. I think overall that is a good thing.

[@WILD35]

Very interesting video can you still walk around that Dock 😊

[@hullhistorynerd]

You can! It's quite the sight from the top of the warehouses!

[@ronm3245]

We're gonna walk around the dock tonight. We're gonna walk, walk, walk 'til broad daylight.🎵

[@daystatesniper01]

Superb content as usual my good man ,have you considered doing a video on The Gaul and Arctic Corsair

[@hullhistorynerd]

I'll be doing the next docks episode on St Andrew's and the fishing industry, so those will, I'm sure, be popping up in the episode!

[@daystatesniper01]

@@hullhistorynerd Excelleny !! will look forward as always my good man !

[@mailtolesleymc]

..another great video ,just watched two tonight ,this one and Victoria dock , looking at those plans it's fascinating to imagine Queens dock in it's relatively inland location , ...not sure if you've produced one yet of that dock and it's later in filling ...

[@hullhistorynerd]

I've done the episodes starting chronologically; episode 1: the old harbour is a potted history of Hull as a port right up until the 18th century, whilst episode 2: The Town Docks covers the building, life and demise of Queen's Dock, Humber Dock, Princes Dock and Railway Dock! Those two episodes are two of my personal favourites, so I hope you enjoy them! And yes, the location of Queen's Dock proved to be...a bit of an issue...

[@MikeSmith-bi3ik]

Please do a series on the pubs

[@hullhistorynerd]

Not a subject that's on my to do list yet, but I'm sure sone of the older pubs in the old town would be very interesting to look at!

[@MikeSmith-bi3ik]

@@hullhistorynerd would be awesome

[@jamiewhite6853]

really enjoying these vids so far. great knowledge from the nerd explained with expert enthusiasm. who would ever read so many books on such topics? i wonder if the narrator would ever consider subtitles as his accent is a bit thick and heavy?! lol. joking aside, i anticipate moving from east anglia to hull soon and have found these vids excellent. thank you :)

[@hullhistorynerd]

I am engaging in a long running project to manually sort out the subtitles as there are obviously accessibility issues. Even worse when I say "stone" and the subtitles say "stern"...

[@jamiewhite6853]

@@hullhistorynerd stone and stern! Was only joking about subtitles as you know. Again, interesting and engaging episodes so far. Thanks again .

[@jamiewhite6853]

@@hullhistorynerd And often Hull is presented as 'whole'!

[@owenstafford67]

Great video! Would you ever consider making a video about the tribes of East Yorkshire through time ie Stone Age and beyond Viking raiding?

[@hullhistorynerd]

I'm sure it's something that's going to crop up as I focus on some Old Yorkshire episodes in the future!

[@thesudricmerman3318]

Will you be talking about Goole dock in the future

[@hullhistorynerd]

Not in the immediate future, but it does get more than a passing mention in the Hull and Selby Railway part 1 video!

[@lipsee100]

Hey Nerd,,Why do,nt you do a vid on the Vapour baths down Beverly rd,,I do,nt know if there are still in use..But in the early 80s I use to partake.. They where brillant,, there was a guy who serve tea and toast,, I think it was really old ,,and very traditional...it would make a great vid,, cheers

[@hullhistorynerd]

I'd never even heard of that until now! I'll have to go look that one up!

[@timwebster8122]

Im looking for the Film Berth 24. Made by BTFs in the 1950s for some reason Everytime it gets posted on KZbin it is taken down

[@melvynbuckton6881]

Some company will own the rights to it so it cannot be broadcast for free on KZbin

[@paulwallis8435]

will you be doing a video about burstwick castle bro ?

[@hullhistorynerd]

At some point I certainly will! It's been on my to-do list ever since I did the video on Skipsea Castle and realised how important Burstwick was!

[@Slothsport]

Can I ask where the pic at 6.03 of an Ella class trawler in dry dock is from? Do you have a link to it? I think my father is in it.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Most of the photos are sourced from Lord Line images, might be worth checking out their website and getting in touch to see if they have any info about them!

[@billybraquemard1]

A bit less "music"while you're talking would be appreciated.

[@hullhistorynerd]

When I first started editing these videos I did try, but the silence behind the voice a) highlighted the background noise picked up by my microphone, which sounded terrible, and b) lacked drama. Adding music created a dynamism that I liked a lot more than the silence; it's a trick used constantly on TV documentaries for much the same reason.

[@billybraquemard1]

@@hullhistorynerd So long as you keep in mind that not everybody has good hearing and separating voice from added noise can be difficult. Personally I'd prefer silence but I appreciate tastes differ.