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| King Edward 1 was in this area twice in 1292, and he became
interested in acquiring Wyke, possibly to secure a port of supply
for his military campaigns against the Scots. In November 1292 he
ordered a valuation of the town, and this was carried out in 1293.
At the end of January, Meaux Abbey granted all of its rights in
Myton to the King, who formally took possession on 19th March 1293.
The principle officer in the town under the King was the "Keeper",
and under him was a bailiff. The first Keeper was John de Husthwaite
(1293-6), followed by Richard Oysel (1296--1307). The town received
a charter in 1299 which made it a borough. The Keeper was still to
be appointed by the King but it was to the burgesses that he gave
his oath to maintain the borough's privileges. The first members of
Parliament to represent the town were returned in 1305. The King
visited his town in 1300, 1303 and possibly 1304. In 1321 he granted
a licence for the town's fortification and the first defences were
constructed in 1321-4, probably in response to the Scots descent
into Yorkshire and the defeat of King Edward at Byland in North
Yorkshire. In 1331 the town was granted the right to elect a mayor.
In 1332 Edward Balliol set out from Hull, Barton on Humber and
Ravenser with 88 ships to claim the Scottish throne. In 1440 Hull
was raised to the status of a corporation and county, with a sheriff
replacing the bailiffs, while the mayor and twelve aldermen were to
act as justices of the peace. The positions of Sheriff and Aldermen
were to last until local government was re-organised in 1974, when
they disappeared. The position of Mayor remained, having been
elevated to Lord Mayor in 1914.
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The Keeper of the town from 1316-1331 was Robert de Hastang, but
owing to ill health in the latter years, Richard de la Pole was
given custody of the town in 1326. Richard's brother William de la
Pole became the town's first mayor in 1331, holding the office until
1336. The de la Poles. later Earls of Sut-folk were a famous Hull
family, but only one more of them was to be mayor of Hull - Sir
Michael de la Pole in 1376. He became the first Earl of Suffolk and
Lord Chancellor of England. The family built a great manor house in
Hull, which stood where the head Post Office does today in Lowgate.
Hull Trinity House was founded in 1369 for charitable work among
seamen and their families, but it later became extremely powerful in
maritime affairs, so that at one time non-members were prohibited
from taking charge of a vessel between Flamborough Head in the north
and Winterton-ness in the south.
In 1447 King Henry VI granted a charter which gave the corporation
the right to elect an Admiral of the Humber. Nowadays this is only a
nominal office, but it is still vested in the Lord Mayor. During the
Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, which was a rebellion against the
anti-Rome policies of Henry VIII, the loyal gentry from the East
Riding fled to Hull. where the Corporation, after some prevariation
decided to hold the town for the King. The rebels laid siege to Hull
on 15th October. On 19th October the town capitulated and the rebels
were allowed to enter the town freely. After a visit by the leader
of the Pilgrimage of Grace, Robert Aske, the main force of the
rebels left the town, leaving behind them 200 men as a garrison
commanded by Sir Robert Constable. and they held the town until
December, when the rebellion was dispersed. In July 1537 Constable
was hanged in chains from Beverlev Gate "as a discouragement to
others". In 1986 Beverley Gate, scene of this gruesome act, was
excavated by archeologists. It is situated at the west end of
Whitefriargate.
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Henry VIII paid two visits to Hull in 1541, when he was greeted
enthusiastically; no doubt most people had memories of Constable's
fate to spur their enthusiasm! As a result of what he had seen of
the town defences he decided to have constructed a castle and
blockhouses on the east side of the River Hull. In 1546 the
commander of the garrison instituted by Henry, Sir Michael Stanhope,
was made Governor of the town. Henry's strengthening of the defences
was to have an important bearing on events a century later. In 1536
the town was implicated in a rebellion against the King on behalf of
the 'old religion' and way of life, in 1642 it was in the forefront
of the rebellion against another King, but this time on behalf of
the new religion way of life.
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