Queens Dock walls to be unearthed as part of £4.3m regeneration project
HISTORIC: The former Queens Dock, once one of the biggest of its kind
Here’s part of Hull as most of us will have never seen it before.
It’s Queens Dock, now the site of Queens Gardens, from a photograph taken in the 1930s.
And this month, sections of the original dock edge walls will be unearthed for the first time in 60 years as part of a £4.3m city centre project.
The sections of the dock edge were last seen in the 1960s, when the gardens were remodelled to a design created by the renowned architect and town planner, Sir Frederick Gibberd. Work to unearth the old walls will begin next week.
Queens Dock was the largest of its kind in the country when it was constructed in the 1770s.
It was the starting point for some of the first settlers to Western Australia, as well as not so successful voyages, including one to Canada which saw most of the crew killed by a local tribe and the captain kept as a slave for several years.
Councillor Daren Hale, portfolio holder for economic investment and regeneration at Hull City Council, said: "These walls once were greeting docking ships and bidding farewell to those disembarking from Queens Dock, in what we now know as Queens Gardens.
"Our rich maritime history will play an important role in the refurbishment of the gardens, so it’s fantastic that we will be able to uncover and view the historic walls for the first time in so long this month."
PLANS: How Queens Gardens should look on completion of its refurbishment
Queens Gardens is undergoing a £4.3m refurbishment that will see a new perimeter wall built around the boundary of the gardens.
The old dock walls will be incorporated in to the foundations for the new perimeter.
The refurbishment aims to improve accessibility and visitor flows, deliver structural repairs through rebuilding the perimeter walls, introduce bespoke pieces of public art, improve biodiversity, and regenerate a much-loved open space.
The project will make the gardens “fit for purpose”, the council said, “future-proofing” the space and its ability to host large-scale events. The history of the gardens will be incorporated in its design, reconnecting it with the origins as a former dock.
The Queens Gardens refurbishment is being funded by Hull City Council as part of the Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project.