Marfleet is an area of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-eas ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to ...

, England, in the east of the city, near King George Dock. Marfleet was until the late 20th century a small village outside the urban area of Hull – developments including the Hull and Holderness Turnpike (1833), the

Hull and Holderness Railway The Hull and Holderness Railway was a branch line in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that connected the city of Kingston upon Hull with the seaside resort of Withernsea via the town of Hedon and the villages of Keyingham and Patrington. ...

(1854) and the King George Dock (1914), as well as establishments of factories in the area from the late 19th century onwards (notably one by H. H. Fenner & Co., ) caused the development of the area into an

industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban spr ...

. Parts of the former village, including the church still exist, isolated within the predominately industrial landscape.

Geography

Modern Marfleet is an area within the built up area of

on the eastern side of the

River Hull The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops o ...

– it consists of remnants of the former village, including the historic church, surrounded mainly by industrial buildings and port-side warehousing. Approximate boundaries can be represented by the

Holderness Drain Holderness Drain is the main feature of a Land Drainage scheme for the area of Holderness to the east of the River Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Construction began in 1764, and several notable civil engineers were involved with t ...

to the west; the Old Fleet Drain to the east; and the trackbed (now cyclepath) of the former

to the north; to the south is King George Dock and the

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

.Ordnance Survey 1:25000 2006; OpenStreetMap, Retrieved 3 February 2016; historic Six inch Ordnance Survey maps (1855–1950) The A1033 Hull to Hedon road passes directly east–west through the area, and the dock end of the Hull Docks Branch railway reaches King George Dock. Marfleet Avenue runs northwards from the A1033, and to the east the original route of Marfleet Lane passes the old village centre. To the west is Alexandra Dock and the area known as Southcoates, beyond which is

Drypool Drypool (''archaic'' DripoleAlso Dritpole, Dritpol, Dripold, Dripol, Dridpol) is an area within the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. Historically Drypool was a village, manor and later parish on the east bank of the River Hull near the con ...

; to the north is the urban area of Preston Road and its associated estate, and to the north-east the Greatfield housing estate; to the far east is

Salt End Salt End or Saltend is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated on the north bank of the Humber Estuary just outside the Hull eastern boundary on the A1033 road. It forms part of the ci ...

and its chemical works. Marfleet is located on low-lying ground – the area is all below above sea level. Marfleet Ward contains the village as well as part of Southcoates south of the Hull Docks branch, as well as large parts of the Preston Road and Greatfield Estate – it extends as far east as the Old Fleet Drain. The ward's population in 2011 was 13,633.

Marfleet village

The former village has an 'island' like character in the industrial setting is now surrounded – the village was designated as a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in 1994. Older buildings surviving in the area include "The Grange" (18th century farmhouse); cottages and buildings associated with a former brickyard (pre-1850); St Gile's church (1883–84); the Primary School (1892); the Vicarage (1908); and the Church Institute (1914).

History

Marfleet was mentioned in the Domesday Survey, as ''Mereflet'', part of the manor of Mappleton. The etymology of the name is thought to refer to a "pool stream" – the area is low lying and likely to flood, with several drains or streams in the area outfalling onto the Humber. A church at Marfleet dates to at least the early 13th century. It was rebuilt in 1793, repaired 1875, and rebuilt again in 1883–4. Marfleet began a separate parish from

Paull Paull (archaic ''Paul'', ''Pall'', ''Pawle'', ''Pawel'', ''Paulle'', ''Paghel'', ''Paghill'', ''Paghil'', ''Pagula'') is a village and civil parish in Holderness, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, lying on the north bank of the Humber ...

by the 18th century. Land around Marfleet was

enclosed Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

by an act of 1763. Taxes were levied during the medieval period for upkeep of drains and a sluice – work on the outlet of the modern

at Marfleet began 1832. A direct turnpike road between Hull and Hedon was established an act of parliament, and opened 1833 (the turnpike trust discontinued in 1881). Illustated initial of Marfleet church c

The church in the 1840s was a slated roofed brick building with buttresses, with a wooden cupola at the western end. A twelve sided

turf maze Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian English, Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited ...

of the Chartes type once existed in the area, known as the ''Walls of Troy'', near the Humber banks, it was destroyed sometime in the mid 19th century. Other lost features include two non-conformist chapels (19th century), a manor house (in existence in the late 18th century). In 1854 the

and its Marfleet railway station opened. In the mid 19th century Marfleet consisted of a few farms; the railway station; a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel; the church (St Peter's) and its parsonage; and an Inn, the Wheelwright's Arms (later Marfleet New Inn) on the Hull and Hedon Trust turnpike road – at this time the road was or less from the

itself. The village was well outside the urban spread of Hull, with approaching of enclosed fields between it and the furthest extend of urban Hull at

. Marfleet Lane ran roughly north–south through the village, connecting to the turnpike, with the short Church Lane running east to the church; Back Lane also connected to the turnpike west of Marfleet Lane branching from Marfleet Lane near the station; the only other road was Poorhouse Lane, which branched north-east from Church Lane.Ordnance Survey. 1:10560 Sheet 226SE, 227SW, 240, 241 (1852–1853) The turnpike trust was discontinued in 1881, and Marfleet became part of the borough of Hull (

Hullshire Hullshire was a county corporate in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1440 to 1889. Hullshire may refer to the area outside the town of Kingston upon Hull, whilst the entire entity was sometimes referred to as the "Town and County of K ...

) in 1882. In 1885 the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company was formed with the aim of operating steam tram service from Drypool terminating at Marfleet – the company was acquired by the

Hull Corporation (Kingston upon) Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of (Kingston upon) Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation and fou ...

in 1899, and by the early 1900s an electric tram service was running along Hedon Road to Marfleet. The situation was little changed by the first decade of the 20th century – a leather works (''Providence Leather Works'') had been established by H. H. Fenner & Co., (built , the company also built some housing for workers) and a railway line branching from the Holderness line for a new dock had been built west of the village;Ordnance Survey. 1:10560 Sheet 226, 227, 240NE, 241NW (1888–90, 1908–09, 1925–26) in 1906 the ''Hull Joint Dock Act'' was passed allowing the construction of a new large dock east of Alexandra Dock jointly by the North Eastern Railway and the

Hull and Barnsley Railway Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in aff ...

– this was opened as the King George Dock in 1914. The works had included reclamation of land at the Humber foreshore, extended the river frontage much further south, essentially to the line of earlier low water mark on the Humber Bank, colinear with the 1880s Alexandra Dock development. Following the construction of the new dock there was extensive development around Marfleet, including extensive railway sidings for the dock; there was also new housing around Frodsham Street and Ceylon Street, west and south of the village; additionally Back Lane had been straightened or widened, and renamed Marfleet Avenue; other developments included a brickworks, church institute, school, and other factory works.

A Jewish cemetery had been established off Delhi Street in 1858. The site was extended northwards in 1903. In 1923 another Jewish cemetery was established directly south of the Anglican church. The current church of Saint Giles was built 1884 to the design of J.T. Webster. It is of stone in an Early English style, with a slate roof. The church became a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1994, together with its churchyard wall and gate. Marfleet Primary School was established by the school board in 1892. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the area, specifically the docks, was bombed during the

Hull Blitz The Hull Blitz was the bombing campaign that targeted the English port city of Kingston upon Hull by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Large-scale attacks took place on several nights throughout March 1941, resulting in ove ...

– Fenner's factory was destroyed in 1941, and rebuilding began 1947. By 1950 and more housing had been built – on Marfleet Avenue, and along Hedon Road (the former turnpike) – most of the development had taken place to the south-west of the church; to the east the landscape was still essentially rural. To the north-west the urban spread of Hull had encroached on the village – Preston Road and its associated estate had begun development in the 1920s east of Southcoates – by 1938 the new estate had reached the north-western side of the Holderness railway line, and a new straight section of Marfleet Lane had been built connecting Preston Road to Marfleet Avenue via a flyover bridge crossing the railway.Ordnance Survey. 1:10560 Sheet 226, 227, 240NE, 241NW (1925–26, 1938, 1948–50) Prefab housing was built along Hedon Road east of Marfleet after the

. In the decade after the end of that war several large factories were established to the east, north of Hedon Road, including a typewriter works ( Imperial Typewriters, est.1954, closed ); a Cod Liver Oil factory (British Cod Liver Oil Producers Ltd., later

Seven Seas The "Seven Seas" is a figurative term for all the seas of the known world. The phrase is used in reference to sailors and pirates in the arts and popular culture and can be associated with the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Seven Seas east of Afr ...

, est.1935, closed ); and, to the far east, adjacent west of the Old Fleet an Engineering works ( Priestmans, est. , closed )Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1951–55 and

Humbrol Humbrol Limited is a British brand and former manufacturer of paints, solvents, and other accessories for scale model kits and toys. In the past, Humbrol produced under its own brand and the Airfix, Sky Marks, Young Scientist, 1st Gear, High ...

(est. 1947, closed 2006). In 1961 Fenners opened a new research facility, and in 1971 added a new factory for conveyor belts. Marfleet railway station closed to passengers in 1964, and for all services in 1972. As of 2014 the station house is a private house, and some of the station's platforms are still extant along the current cycle path. The pattern of industrial and warehousing usage east of the village continued up to the end of the 20th century, with some further infill industrial or warehousing development, so that most of the area was in industrial use by 2000. In 2005 planning permission was granted for an estate of 95 houses between Marfleet Avenue and Lane. (Built as 'Acasta Way'.Ordnance Survey OpenData 2016)

Geography

Marfleet village

History

References

Sources

External links