Oh buoy...

Accompanied daughter to Hull History Centre. She was doing some research into the Grade II listed Trinity House Buoy Shed which, well, used to be a store for buoys when Trinity House was responsible for such matters (according to a Heritage and Development Management document "the former buoy shed is a rare surviving example of a largely unaltered building characteristic of port or harbour installation"). The History Centre is a relatively new facility and it's great, nay fantastic, that there's a 'one stop shop', as brainless marketing turds would have it, for the city's archives. It was also almost guaranteed to attract a herd of strange, eccentric and wayward folk. There was no shortage today, including one chap who appeared to be photocopying almost every historical map the centre holds. Then there were the others, whose sole purpose appears to be not to look at any archive material at all but just to announce, very loudly, what they already know of Hull's history. The staff take all this in good spirits. I was especially impressed with the understanding shown to one chap who turned up at the counter with the strange request "I need you to tell me what my father's real surname was" and another who had arrived with a dusty map that he insisted must be loaned to the archive because "folk will be interested in it." No doubt they all thought we were lacking in something too, as we digitally captured some vaguely relevant documents. Hanging about, while daughter did her thing, I learned some new stuff. Oh, and I laughed at P. Larkin's polka dot bow tie. Anyway, here's Hull, 1852:

Open for old business part II...

I was on the radio today and, having said on air that I'd call in to and have a poke about the new Hull History Centre, I thought I better be true to my word. So I slipped in through the back door. Where I more-or-less immediately bumped into someone from the city council's press office that I know and, more-or-less immediately after that, bumped into someone from the University of Hull's press office that I know. The latter very kindly gave me a very personalised tour of the facilities, including the upstairs climate and temperature-controlled store rooms that are designated 'out-of-bounds' to the public. As part of the launch several important documents had been put on display, including the city charter that I've met and blogged about on a previous occasion, and, something I've not seen at close quarters, one of Philip Larkin's original notebooks, complete with scribbles and annotations and very spidery, slightly insane handwriting. Smashing and not quite the low-key walk through towards the general direction of my car that I actually had in mind. Seems like a place that will be very 'people friendly' although, as is quite unfathomably the case with all library-type facilities, several of the most peculiar types were already in residence at the microfish. Also amongst the peculiar in attendance were Hull City Council's cabinet members who, also unfathomably, appeared to be holding a meeting on the premises.

Open for old business...

Hull History Centre - the new £10m pound home for the city's archives - opens for business today. So I expect that lots of old folk will be heading there to look at old stuff and will be helped by the rather eccentric but knowledgable folk that staff the place. It's a far cry from where a lot of this old stuff was held, which I blogged about a couple of years ago when I got my hands on the city charter, and I'm looking forward to sticking my nose in, donning white gloves and grappling with some historical documents at the earliest opportunity. Not least because the local paper highlighted at the weekend that, when some of the land upon which this new centre has been constructed was, back in the 19th century, sold by 'the father of football' Ebenezer Cobb Morley, it was to "someone called Windass". "It is not known," the HDM goes on, "if there is any connection to Hull City hero Dean." Nor, for that matter, whether there's any connection to yours truly. I need to know!

Naturally, being a nosy bleeder, I tried to catch a preview as I trotted past the centre the other day. Staff were, understandably, busy popping dozens of bound volumes on shelves, and I attempted to take a photo thru the glass. What I got was something a tad odd but a little interesting. The reflection is of Hull's Central Fire Station and, to the right, a little bit of me.