Queen's Gardens, Hull
Encyclopedia
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They are set out within a 9.75 acres (39,457 m²) area that until 1930 was filled with the waters of Queen's Dock. As the dock was not fully filled in, the gardens are largely below the level of the surrounding streets.
Description
The gardens have a central avenue of trees aligned with the Wilberforce Monument to the east, which is fronted by a pool with fountains. The statue of William WilberforceWilliam Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
atop a large Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
column was moved to this site in 1935 and originally dominated the gardens. However, the construction of Sir Frederick Gibberd
Frederick Gibberd
Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was an English architect and landscape designer.Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, and was educated at the city's King Henry VIII School...
's building for Hull College
Hull College
Hull College is a further education College in Hull, England. The enrollment of around 28,000students makes it one of the largest schools of its type in the United Kingdom...
behind the column in 1962 has reduced its impact.
Most visitors approach the gardens from the west, through a circus of flower gardens at street level around the "Rosebowl" fountain. Slopes and steps lead down from this area into the main area of the sunken gardens. Either side of the central avenue there are broad areas of lawn, interspersed with smaller borders filled with perennials, and another two large fountain pools.
The formal central axis of the gardens is now diminished by post-war planting of Japanese cherry trees in the central avenue, many of which are now over-mature and showing signs of stress. Vistas from the Rosebowl gardens into the main gardens are also blocked by overgrown shrubberies on the slope between the two levels.
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
, the famous fictional character who sailed from Hull in 1651 on the voyage that ended with him castaway on a desert island for over 28 years. The plaque includes the quote, "Had I the sense to return to Hull, I had (i.e. would have) been happy.
The Peace Garden, at the eastern end of the park, was instituted by Hull City Council for the UN's International Year of Peace in 1986. This was led by Alice Tulley, a councillor and a Quaker, with support from the local CND group. Peace events were held there with the mayor in attendance. Since then the Quakers have held a Meeting there each year to commemorate Hiroshima Day. This falls on the Sunday nearest the anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Victoria Square is at western end of the gardens, leading to the Princes Quay
Princes Quay
Princes Quay is a shopping centre in the heart of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The centre is unusual in that it is built on stilts over Prince's Dock after which it is named...
shopping centre and the Ferens Art Gallery
Ferens Art Gallery
The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. Opened in 1927,...
. The gardens are well used, particularly by the local student population.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
" development was completed at the north west corner of the gardens. This incorporates a tall apartment block.
In 2006 it was announced that Hull Citybuild - Hull's Urban Regeneration Company - had been working with Hull City Council
Hull City Council
Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation....
to bring forward "a major public realm design competition" for Queen's Gardens and Queen Victoria Square.