Monumental

I was in Hull City Centre this morning for our regular family culture infusion when I happened to take a long hard look at the rather grubby and pollution discoloured 110 foot high William Wilberforce Monument at the eastern end of Queens Gardens. 

It is easily overlooked which is staggering given its size but largely due to the rather boring location amongst the modernist buildings of Hull College. 

As a singularly spectacular monument it is of a quality rarely found in UK cities outside of London where of course the great and the good are honoured with appropriate respect, reverence and abundance. 

The description in the Statutory Listing is as follows;

Commemorative monument, standing on the east side of Wilberforce Drive. 1834-8, by W. H. Clark of Leeds; the builders were Messrs Myers and Wilson. 

Millstone Grit and Ashlar. Massive fluted Doric column with square capital, carrying a corniced drum topped by a twelve foot high standing figure. Cubical pedestal with deep moulded plinth and plain cornice carrying on each side a segmental pediment flanked by acroteria with urns at the corners.  On the sides of the pedestal are inscriptions surrounded by wreaths, reading 'Wilberforce'; 'Negro Slavery Abolished, 1 Aug. MCCCXXXIV';

It is a fitting tribute to perhaps the most world renowned son of the city, William Wilberforce (1759-1833). He was born into a prominent Hull family, elected MP for Hull in 1780, and for Yorkshire in 1784. His political stance was independent from the first. 

In 1787 he was persuaded by prominent Abolitionists of Slavery to represent their cause in Parliament. Wilberforce worked ceaselessly  introducing Bills calling for an end to the slave trade and speaking in their support.In 1788 he secured a Select Committee to examine evidence on the inhumane practice. The campaign met with fierce opposition and frequent set-backs before the Abolition Bill at last received royal assent on 25 March 1807. 

However, powerful vested interests and Imperial economic considerations meant that slave ownership continued to exist in Britain's overseas colonies, and Wilberforce continued to strive for the abolition of slavery itself. It was only three days before his death when, on the 26th of July 1833 ,Wilberforce heard that the Bill for the emancipation of all slaves in British colonies had passed its final reading and would become law. He was buried in Westminster Abbey to reflect the magnitude of his acheivements on a global stage.

Conscious of the local connection the town of Kingston upon Hull was quick to honour Wilberforce raising voluntary subscriptions which met the cost of the commission of a monument of £1,250 equating to over £90000 in todays’ money.

Whether by coincidence or intentionally, the date of laying the foundation stone was the same day that slavery was eventually abolished in the British Colonies. 

You would expect the status and prestige associated with the subject of the statue and its impressive scale to assure a permanent siting in a very visible part of Hull city centre. This was the case originally with the monument dominating the convergence of the bustling Princes and Queens Dock Basins . 

It is difficult now to visualise the urban scene nearly 70 years before the construction of the major Civic Scheme of Hull City Hall and the Statue of Queen Victoria. It will have been fairly random and unstructured under the functional but uninspiring  name of Junction Street. King Edward Street and Carr lane as we know them now were later creations giving some focus to this central hub of Hull. 

However with the rapid expansion of Hull in the inter war era the Wilberforce Monument was considered to be hindrance to the function of the city rather than an asset. This was because of the increasing volume of road traffic using the routes through the interchange of Queen Victoria Square. It was, simply, in the way. 

It was decided by Committee as early as 1932 that the monument should be moved to the eastern end of the newly infilled and landscaped public open space that had been the former Queens Dock. There would of course be a cost incurred for dismantling and relocation and at £1500 (more than the 1830’s cost of the monument) some form of goodwill gesture from the business community in Hull would be helpful to subsidise it. 

Robert Tarran, a Councillor but also an entrepreneur involved in many industrial concerns offered the services of one of his companies to undertake the move. There is no actual indication that this was without charge but the offer was seen as generous and some concessions were given over any incurred costs for power and utilities. 

Tarran, well known for his patented designs for prefabricated housing, of which 20,000 units were built nationwide, came under a bit of a cloud in the post war years with alleged dodgy financial accounting although a potential sentence of 9 years hard labour was later quashed on Appeal.

The task of dismantling began in April 1935 and took four months of work. A scaffolding rig and crane were erected around the monument and the operation really caught the attention of the Hull population. 

Members of the public were allowed to go up the scaffolding during both phases to enjoy the view of Hull for a two shilling fee (20p in today's money). 

The disassembling allowed a time capsule of items to be encased in the plinth base including photographs of the old and new locations, newspapers of the day, coinage and some publicity material by the benevolent Tarran Industries.

On the 19th September 1935 the formal Queens Gardens were opened by Herbert Morrison, leader of London County Council at the time and the Wilberforce Monument was rededicated by Mrs Arnold Reckitt, Wilberforce's great granddaughter. The relocation will have saved the monument from wartime destruction or damage which was extensive around its former position on Queen Victoria Square.

In the very fitting words of a current campaign to raise funds to restore and illuminate the tribute to Wilberforce;

Slavery, on a grand scale is in the past but its embers are ever present. Its horrors resurge periodically through the press with the exposure of acts of supreme cruelty. The monument is a tangible reminder of what can be done with determination and good conscience. It is with pride that Hull is linked to this symbolic reminder of the value of every human life.