Hull - Punch Hotel

Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a port city. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary.

The town of Wyke on Hull was founded late in the 12th century by the Cistercian monks of Meaux Abbey as a port from which to export their wool. Hull was granted a charter and given its name as Kings Towne on the River Hull in 1299 by King Edward I who needed a northern port to support his wars in Scotland. It had been a market town, trading centre, fishing and whaling centre.

In 1642, shortly before the start of the English Civil War, Hull's governor openly took sides with the parliamentary side and denied King Charles I access to the city and the militarily important arsenal. He was declared a traitor and executed despite being pardoned by Parliament.

Whaling played an important role for the city until the middle of the 19th century. Hull's prosperity extended into the decades before the First World War. The whaling industry, the most important branch of deep-sea fishing, continued to decline after WWII.

During the Second World War, heavy bombing destroyed the port, industrial facilities and much of the city centre. 95% of Hull's buildings were either damaged or destroyed, making Hull the second most heavily bombed major British city after London. Of a population of around 320,000 at the beginning of the war, 192,000 were left homeless by the heavy destruction.

To the rear of the present Punch Hotelis the site of the original Punch of circa 1845. The original Punch Hotel, was built fronting Waterhouse Lane, a section which is now lost beneath the entrance to the Princes Quay shopping complex.

The re-development of the area at the end of the 19th Century, gave an opportunity to present the Punch in a more prominent position. In 1894-95 the old Punch was demolished, and rebuilt in its present form facing the new square. The new pub opened in 1896.

In 1898, the new frontage was criticised for scaring horses riding into the city. In a letter to the Hull Daily Mail, the author said the new figure of Punch, on the front of the hotel had caused the horses to rear up in terror at the statue.