Water Wars in East Yorkshire

We take for granted, in this country, the availability of clean and safe water. 

It's just there in the tap and on demand. 

This is in stark contrast to many parts of the world where there are significant issues over water supplies in terms of volume and quality and with all of the risks to health that arise. 

Under the emerging threat of climate change we can expect the security and dependability of water supplies to be a catalyst for conflict in many regions. 

This was certainly the state of affairs in England in the Middle Ages and in particular in and between the occupants of settlements close to the Port Town of Kingston Upon Hull. 

There is a Civic Information Display in the village of Cottingham, which sits on the western boundary of Hull, telling the story of pitched battles, often with fatalities, as its population tried to prevent the folk from Hull from accessing their natural water sources or as we call them today- streams and ditches. 

It got to the stage of an Appeal being made to Rome by the Elders of Hull to try to prevent the villagers of Cottingham from either poisoning their neighbours or cutting off freshwater completely. 

The same sort of ill feeling and suspicion persisted in the East Yorkshire area for centuries and in the 1840's this brought about some decisive actions by the Town Council of Beverley, the well to do historic town just to the North of Hull. 

Under a self taxation measure amongst its residents a Committee of Sewers was formed to investigate the condition of the existing foul drainage arrangements. The main conduit for sewage and waste was into the watercourse of Beverley Beck, itself an important area with industrial and ship building employment along its banks. 

However, the Beck flowed out into the River Hull and this led, downstream to the reservoirs and water supplies serving the much larger urban population of the town of the same name. 

A Parliamentary Bill to allow waters to be drawn for the people of Beverley had been vociferously opposed because of the very real possibility of sewage from Beverley entering the large Hull reservoirs at Stoneferry. 

There were justifications for this. 

The Committee found that a reservoir at Potter Hill Bridge had not been cleaned out for at least 30 years and was a major source of mud and filth entering the Beck. The description of "receptacles of the greatest nuisance" accumulated in the water conjurs up all kinds of horrific images of insanitary and unhealthy items. It was proposed that a new reservoir be created and cleaned out at least twice yearly. 

In order to stop the passage of weeds and rubbish an iron gate and grille was installed. 

This saw some quite rapid improvement in the water quality entering the River Hull from the Beck and flowing downstream to what the Beverley folk referred to as "our aquatic neighbours".

The initiation of the Committee of Sewers and the resultant plan for improvements was regarded by the Council as being an example of amazing social progress although cleaning up the foul outfalls was evidently, given their poor upkeep and maintenance, an obligation and not a concession. 

This elitist and self promoting attitude persisted and there were expectations that such an exceedingly kind and neighbourly act was deserving of the lasting gratitude of the people of Hull and that some form of reciprocal benefit was expected. 

To some extent these undertones of social friction continue to the present day between Beverley and Hull although to those who have lived and worked in these places these are completely unfounded. 

Royal Flush

In 1854 the City of Kingston Upon Hull finally came off a Monarchical Blacklist, albeit an unsubstantiated one, and felt the Civic Pride that goes with hosting a Royal Visitor in the personage of Queen Victoria herself and her entourage. 

This marked a period of 215 years of being by-passed, fobbed off and ignored by nine almost successive Rulers (interspersed by the Cromwell Commonwealth years) which for a major Port Town and place of regional and strategic importance will have caused the Elders and the well-to-do of Hull to ask why this was the case. 

Of course the event of 1639 when the citizens of Hull denied access to its Armoury to King Charles the First which effectively marked the beginning of the English Civil War established in the minds of  successive Royal Houses that there was a healthy mistrust of those who claimed the Divine Right over the population in this corner of the country. 

It had not always been that way. 

In 1293 Edward the First on his way back from a campaign in Scotland called to stay at Baynard Castle in Cottingham. Whilst hare coursing along the banks of the River Hull he recognised the merits of the point of convergence with the Humber Estuary. He is said to have questioned local shepherds about the depth, tides and ownership of the shoreline before approaching the Monks of Meaux and initiating a land swop with them so that he could promote the idea of a fortified town and a secure harbour. So was born Kings Town Upon Hull, shortened to Kingston Upon Hull. 

In 1300 Edward returned and pronounced Hull to be a most handsome town. The crossing of the Humber between Barton and Hessle to reach Hull was charged at thirteen shillings. 

In 1332 Edward the Third arrived at the town for an unspecified purpose but then again he was monarch and did not need to justify himself over anything he wanted to do. 

It was another 67 years before Henry the Fourth approached the town having made a landing by ship at the port of Ravenspurn to the east. The Mayor of Hull, John Tutbury, at the news of the visitor ordered that the bridges be raised, the town gates closed and the townsfolk put on notice to arm themselves. This was a point blank refusal to welcome the Royal Party. 

Relations with the House of Tudor were much more amenable by the time of Henry the Sixth and he was warmly welcomed for a 4 day stay in 1448 during which he approved of the fortifications. 

Looming in the years following was the Wars of the Roses that was a series of sporadic battling from 1455 to 1485 between the Houses of Lancaster and York. 

Hull became a bit of a pawn in the power struggle on a couple of occasions in the Wars which emphasised its strategic importance although even to the present day its location on the eastern edge of England has meant a perception of remoteness and separation from the rest of the country. 

In 1464 one of the contenders in what amounted to a Proxy Civil War, Edward the Fourth made a surprise visit to Hull in a bid to secure the town in the knowledge that Henry the Sixth could mount a rival campaign. Edward made sure he came back mob handed in 1471 when he brought an army of 2000 men. It is not clear what actually transpired but it seems that Edward felt that he was not welcome in Hull and so marched past the walls to the nearby town of Beverley. 

The eventual inheritance of the Lancastrian claim by The House of Tudor led to the illustrious and controversial reign of Henry the Eighth. 

In a bit of a fawning and embarrassing action the representatives of the people of Hull persuaded Henry to stay for a few days which was a bit of a deviation from his planned journey from London to York in August 1541. This entailed an official delegation meeting the Royal party at the boarded bridge near Newland and a show of allegiance and loyalty involving a lot of kissing of the Kings White Rod before processing to the Beverley Gate entrance to the town. 

The King stayed for three days at the Manor Hall and his royal coffers were swelled by a gift of £100 (£85000 in todays money). 

Henry the Eighth must have thought he had found a bit of a cash cow as he invited himself back to Hull in the following month. 

In that time he was pretty busy in meddling and mischievous actions. 

His visit coincided with the campaigning by two Citizens for the position of Mayor. Henry put forward his own candidate and the outcome was a foregone conclusion. He also proposed construction of a new castle and blockhouse to modernise the fortifications and a new dyke from Newland to Kingston. 

These political and civil engineering feats were nothing however compared to Henry's penchant for affairs of the heart. 

He had heard that Lord Wake, who was the occupant of Baynard Castle (a host castle for Edward the First in 1293) had a most beautiful wife. He invited himself to dine at the Castle but his intentions were thwarted by the destruction of the place in a momentous fire within a matter of hours of his announcement. The perpetrator was actually Lord Wake himself who had done it out of fear that his wife would be the centre of unwelcome attention from the philandering monarch. 

To his credit the King offered the sum of £2000 (£1.8 million in todays money) for the reconstruction but this was never taken up, naturally to avoid being beholden and therefore susceptible to a sort of indecent proposal scenario. 

So fast forward through history to the arrival at the town walls of the beleagured Charles the First in 1639. 

In a huge tantrum at not being welcomed or admitted to Hull Charles is reputed to have urged the townspeople to "fling the traitor over the wall, throw the rebel in the ditch" referring to his adversary, Sir John Hotham. 

This began the fall from Royal favour of Kingston Upon Hull until 1854 when the long awaited opportunity arose to express loyalty and allegiance to a ruling monarch. 

Cross Party Politics

How far would you go to try to prove something?  

Yes, it would be important to go that extra mile if it were a matter of life or death, similarly if an issue of morality, principle and ethics but what about trying to demonstrate that the Romans could walk across a major UK river......or in the case of Rufus Noel-Buxton a total of three of the major watercourses. 

Over a couple of years in the early 1950's this Labour Member of the House of Lords put himself and his academic credentials to the test in attempts to ford, in this order, The Thames, Humber and Severn rivers. 

His London exploit was from St Thomas's Hospital to Speakers Stairs but in a self professed miscalculation of tide times he could only complete the challenge by swimming the last section. 

His Yorkshire endeavour in August 1953 attracted large crowds on the Banks of the Humber . On the north side the venue was Brough Haven. 

This starting point had strong Roman associations having been an important harbour for supplying the occupying forces in York and farther North as well as, in the opinion of Noel-Buxton being the point to cross on foot, horse or wagon from Ermine Street, a major Roman Road from the South on any onward journey in the service of the Empire. 

The Humber attempt was not without dangers. 

There was a strong spring ebb tide but the date and time had been selected as the best to take advantage of a lower water level than normal neap tides but at the same time these would generate more of a current. 

The distance for the crossing was shortened to around one and a quarter miles because of the existence of a 100 yard wide deep water shipping channel and Noel Buxton was to be taken over this in a boat before making an official start from a large sandbank before heading towards Whitton Ness on the Lincolnshire side. 

In terms of equipment all that was carried was a pole with an aluminium base to help him keep his feet and take soundings for any potential traps or snags , a series of white flags to indicate his progress, a lifejacket and a reliable compass. 

A rescue boat was in the area if the forder got into any difficulties.

A main obstacle was negotiating the swift running water in the channels closer to the south bank but unlike his London adventure Noel Buxton did not have to resort to any emergency swimming to get out of a tight spot. 

The whole event was captured by a newsreel cameraman and overhead a helicopter and several planes such was the level of public interest. 

The triumphal landfall was over cloying and heavy mud but the 6 foot 3 inch tall Peer made it look easy. He later gave his account of the exploit and that although at times he was wading through water above his hips the overall going had been good. 

The special knack was to keep moving as any hesitation meant a rapid sinking into the unseen river bed. 

In all Noel Buxton felt that he had indeed demonstrated that in ancient times this was indeed the place to ford the mighty Humber. 

What do the best dressed river crossing Peers wear on such occasions? Of course, grey flannels, an ordinary shirt, a wind cheater and sand shoes. 

Bonfire Night Reminiscence

I often think of Robin Folkard, a friend who died young.

It is mainly out of a feeling of my own mortality that comes with getting old.

My thoughts and memories of Robin were strong today because I was working in the Leeds area and that was where we did a charity bike ride one year. 

Usual thing, no preparation in terms of fitness or nutrition and with a last minute pumping up of  the tyres being the only real bit of bicycle maintenance. Charity Ride or global expedition, we would have probably had the same approach because we both just loved cycling.

In matching team jerseys we set off amongst the thousand or so participants. Coming from the very flat Hull we soon began to struggle on the slightest incline, be it a railway bridge, trunk road flyover or the actually very undulating topography that is encountered when travelling north west out of Leeds city centre. It was sure going to be a tough day for us bog dwellers.

Fortunately there was a large enough contingent of stragglers on shopper bikes, pensioners on trikes and children on two wheeled pink things to keep us company. I do not think that we had bothered to study the route to forewarn us of the difficult bits or even knew how far it was around the circuit which eventually finished back outside the grand Victorian Town Hall.

After a long climb, bisecting the ring road we enjoyed the brief respite of a plummeting descent into Wharfedale accompanied by feet off the pedals and some daft shrieks of elation but abruptly ended by a sheer climb up the other side of the valley. We were keeping pace side by side quite well although it was a bit disorientating being passed by brisk walking pedestrians.

The event was well marshalled and with regular roadside checkpoints providing energy drinks and water. Notwithstanding the physical effort it was also a blisteringly hot day and we were suffering badly. There was some natural shade on the minor roads as they passed under the thick full canopies of trees but the air was so still and the air hot and stifling. It was not a good time to find out that the jerseys, very flash and glossy with sponsor logos were not of breathable material. We would have been better off wearing black dustbin bags. An interesting clinical experiment in fluid loss and the debilitating and wasting effects of dehydration it could have been. 

Our faces, streaming with perspiration gradually took on a well tanned  hue being a combination of airborne dust, insects and a salt crust. With some disappointment and dismay we were informed by a high-viz wearing official that we were about half way around the course. Our legs, lungs and stamina had already decided to give up but we had no option than to carry on. Out of adversity we both found our second wind although this was actually as a direct consequence of reaching the fast downhill return leg to the centre of Leeds.

Some recumbent bikes shot past us with their flagpole masts flapping as they hit a low gravity version of 50mph. Suddenly envigorated by sight of the finishing straight Robin and me snuck into the slipstream of these strange machines. Whether out of fatigue or from the glare of the plate glass shop windows I was convinced that a speed camera had captured us in full flight. This was probably discarded during the processing stage as a technical glich. It was just not possible for two raggedy looking men to attain such speeds and the Crown Prosecution Service would surely implode under the pressure of trying to pursue an action in such a case.

For our charitable endeavours we got a medal on a bright stripey ribbon, a certificate with which to cajole those who had pledged monies to part with it for the good cause and some sunburn. We were silent in the car on the way home but we were both thinking that maybe the Tour de France was that bit more within our sticky mitted grasp. Delusion can be a sympton of sheer exhaustion  amongst us sporty types.

The Bonfire Night phone call with the news that Robin had died after a short illness had  a massive impact on all who knew him. Lesley and the two boys asked me to look after Robins treasured bikes and I was and remain honoured to do this in his memory. They sit in my garage keeping my own cycles company and from time to time I wheel them out to get some warmth of the sun. 

Robin, after our cycling exploit showed another of his many skills by producing a wonderfully evocative water colour of the starting line of a bike race and that has pride of place in my living room and is a constant reminder of his great intelligence, wit and compassion. 

The Dogger Bank Incident 1904

In the October of 1904 a Russian Fleet of warships was cruising southwards in the North Sea en route to battle stations in the Far East where their country was at war with Japan. 

Although many thousands of miles from the theatre of operations there were rumours and a lot of speculation of a surprise attack by Japanese Torpedo Boats who were said to be on station near to the Danish Coast. 

Although a far fetched ideas given the distances involved for a Japanese Naval Force to be in European waters the commander of the Russian Fleet, Admiral Rojdestvensky had received orders from his Government to be particularly vigilant even on this first leg of the long journey. 

Intelligence reports gave details that Japanese Torpedo Boats often sailed under a mizzenhead light so that from a distance they could take on the guise of an ordinary fishing vessel. 

The area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank was an important fishing ground for the activities of the Trawlers based in the English Port City of Kingston Upon Hull. 

Around the 21st of October there was a large collection of Hull Trawlers with their nets down deep in that vicinity as the Russian Fleet began to pass through. 

The Hull vessels were all displaying the correct navigational and identifying lights. 

As part of a service signal between the Trawlers a green coloured rocket was propelled skywards and this immediately attracted the suspicions of the inexperienced, excitable and already on-edge crew of the ironclad, Kniaz Swaroff. 

The Swaroff then discovered, close by, a vessel which they claimed was in complete darkness  and when picked out in a strong searchlight from the deck of the warship it was taken to be a torpedo boat. Fire was directed at the target. 

In manouevring to attack the Swaroff narrowly missed colliding with another small boat and this time the searchlight did identify the vessel as, without doubt, an unthreatening trawler. 

An order was immediately issued by Admiral Rojdestvensky to cease firing but by now the panic stricken Russian crews were firing wildly and indiscriminately at any thing seen to be moving on the ocean. Several ships in the fleet joined in. 

One Russian warship was reputed to have fired 500 shells but thankfully the gunnery was so innacurate that no hits were recorded. There were incidents of friendly fire causing damage within the Russian fleet and with some casualties reported. 

When the hysteria and mayhem eventually ceased the Hull Trawlers had suffered two deaths (one later from shock), six wounded, one vessel sunk and six others with shell fire damage. 

The Russians persisted in their claims after the event that there had been clandestine armed ships hiding within the pattern of working Hull Trawlers. 

Although Rojdestvensky was commended for calling off the action and thereby avoiding even more tragic consequences for the fishermen he made a rapid escape with the Russian Fleet towards the Straits of Dover leaving the British to mount their own rescue and salvage operation. 

The incident almost brought about a major conflict between Britain and Russia but the two countries agreed in 1905 for the International Commission in the Hague to investigate and produce a report on the Dogger Bank Incident. The official outcome was conciliatory towards the perpetrators even with the catalogue of chaos that had taken place against harmless, and unarmed fishing boats.

The fudging of the Commission meant that there was no escalation to war. 

The Russians paid compensation of £66000 to the fishermen and a Memorial Statue erected in 1906 still occupies a prominent position on Hessle Road, Hull where many of the generations of trawlermen lived. 

Hop, Skipsea and Jump

The road running west from the East Yorkshire village of Skipsea takes a few sharp turns, dips down to pass an often flooded low lying meadow and then climbs gently to enter Skipsea Brough, a tiny cluster of houses and a large man-made earthwork mound. 

This is what remains of the ancient Skipsea Castle. 

In the far distant era of Britons and Saxons the 70 foot high upturned pudding bowl of ground was known as Albemarle Hill and was marked by a succession of Motte and Bailey wooden defences and structures.  

In the years following the Norman Invasion of England the site was gifted by William the Conqueror to one of his loyal followers and one who had fought alongside him at the Battle of Hastings- Drogo de la Beuvriere.. 

He was a Flemish soldier of fortune and with the royal endorsement as Lord of Holderness he built a castle out of beach gathered sea cobbles, a material that still features today in some of the traditional cottages in this part of Yorkshire. 

Such a building and on an elevated site will have dominated the landscape and served as a very strong symbol to the locals of the power of the invaders. 

As well as the grant of the title of Tenant in Chief in 1086 and lands which encompassed dozens of Manors in 156 locations in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and as far south as Suffolk and Leicestershire the opportunist Drogo was given the hand in marriage of the Lady Eleanor reputed to be young and beautiful and a niece of William the Conqueror himself. 

It is likely that there was quite a difference in ages between the two newly weds as well as a huge contrast between an uncouth warrior nobleman and an educated and genteel lady of the Norman Court. 

Whatever transpired in that cobbled walled fortress led to the tragedy of Eleanor dying before her time. The death was at first unexplained, possibly an accidental poisoning, but the consensus was that she had been murdered by her husband. 

At the news of this heinous crime William the Conqueror made a swift dash from York to Skipsea intent on exacting revenge on his former ally and supporter. However, Drogo had made his escape down the nearby Cleeton Lane to a North Sea Port at Hyde which was lost to the incessant coastal erosion of Holderness some time in the Middle Ages. From there he caught a boat to seek refuge from the wrath of the King in his Flemish ancestral home. There remains some mystery over his fate as he seems to have disappeared from the records in that year, 1087.

There is not a lot to see from the road through Skipsea Brough but many reports have been forthcoming about ghostly goings on in that vicinity and in particular the White Lady of Skipsea Castle. 

This is indeed thought to be the tormented spirit of the murdered Eleanor who,at certain seasons of the year and more frequently over the Christmas period, emerges with a stealthy abruptness from a hedge or bush. 

In the past she has been known to walk alongside cyclists or horse drawn vehicles no matter how fast they might be travelling. 

In some circumstances of the haunting Eleanor is seen to be headless causing horses to become disturbed and agitated. 

Finding my thrill without climbing anything

I can only imagine the scale of human effort and logistics that mean that on a whim, the merest fanciful thought or just one of those tummy rumbling moments I can find and buy Blueberries at any time on an all year round basis. 

I have become increasingly aware of the global production of what is now one of my favourite fruits in noticing the shifting pattern of "country of origin" on the cellophane wrapper of my usual £2 punnet purchase from my local supermarkets. 

It is possible to track the season and harvest that keeps me in Blueberries from growers in Eastern Europe, fringing the Mediterranean, into East Africa, across South America, up into North America and even from my own doorstep in the United Kingdom. 

Of course the small, blackish bluey matt , tightly formed berries have been around for centuries if not, from their  origins in the wild, millenia but they have only really become mainstream in my own lifetime. 

Commonly an ingredient in jams, yoghurts and used in baking their availability in raw and unwashed state for snack consumption is a relatively modern phenomena. 

In botanic terms the plant is a perennial flowerer and of the genus vaccinum. 

There are many different varieties arising from natural selection as well as those developed and engineered to improve taste, texture and yield. 

In an increasingly health conscious market the humble blueberry can truly be described as a "superfood". As well as having one of the highest antioxidant levels it displays properties that are proven to help the human condition, can contribute in other physiological ways and may have other far reaching benefits to health. 

In no particular order or provenance these include a low calorific value, a potential to slow ageing and susceptibility to cancer, improve brain function, inhibit cholesterol and lower blood pressure, repair muscle damage, prevent heart disease and assist in the urinary tract. #

I just like the sharp taste so any of the foregoing are a bonus. 

In the last year my blueberries have been sourced by the big retailers where I shop from Poland, Spain, Kenya, Dubai, Peru and the South of England representing a remarkably wide geographical spread which must to me indicate a fairly sturdy plant in terms of being able to cope with an equally wide range of climates. 

There are favoured soil conditions with best growth in a highly acidic soil, well aerated and drained. 

As well as the main supermarket suppliers the Blueberry is also grown for home markets in a number of other parts of the world. The largest producer, by some margin, is the United States followed by its neighbour, Canada and then Poland, Germany, Mexico, France, Scandinavia, other more distant parts of the former Communist Eastern Bloc and with emerging sources in South America and India. 

In the northern hemisphere the harvest period is mid July, in the North Americas from mid June to mid August, Mexico is from October to February and in Australia due to its size and climatic range it is possible for a blueberry harvest to be going on somewhere from July to the following April. 

This is only the beginning of the journey to reach my cereal bowl, mingle in my fruit salad and to be found in every bite through that midweek muffin down at the coffee shop. 

I am thankful to all of those who make this possible.