God's Own County

Maritime activity around Hull and the Humber estuary combine to produce one of our seven man made wonders of the county. It is no wonder that Hull is the European city of culture 2017. The fishing industry, the docks and boat building are all human endeavors worthy of inclusion in our list. So we have combined them to form just one of our seven wonders.

The maritime museum contains many man made artifacts of Hulls links to the sea. Even the Victorian building itself has round windows reminiscent of portholes or gun holes up near the roof.

The great fishing industry was built by man and decimated by Iceland and the European Community. There are still many mementos of this great industry and a lot of cod and haddock delivered to some of my favourite fish and chip shops.

When you take a large ferry out of King George dock to the continent you must go through a sea lock that demonstrates the power and majesty of water coupled with the ingenuity of man. The large and weighty car ferries have only inches clearance at either side of the lock but these massive ships are lifted and lowered by the water with seemingly little effort.

Tourism linked to the maritime past is now a growth industry for Hull. The Deep is very attractive as a spectacular marine aquariums. To see 3500 fish just go over the footbridge from Hull Marina. (Sorry fish are not man made until they are fried).

This fishing boat was built as a side trawler about 50 years ago. It is probably still in use in Africa were it was fishing in 2008.

Also See 7

Castles

Canals

Battles

Dry Stone Walls

Ruined Abbeys

All the posts on seven Wonders of Yorkshire

Photo Credits
Hull Maritime Museum by Phil Beard CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
old hessle docks by leondz CC BY-ND 2.0
Hull Barrier by Neil T CC BY-SA 2.0 ‘Another view of the Hull Barrier. It’s a huge structure because tall ships have to pass under it – most of the bridges on the river either swing open or lift up to allow them through’
The Deep by drgillybean CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Boston Wayfarer LT508 Sidetrawl at Hull / Hessle c.1965 by Sheffield Tiger CC BY 2.0 ‘Boston Wayfarer at Hull. Built 1965 at Hessle for W.H.Kerr & Co Bostons,she was sold in 1981 to South Africa and reregistered L404, according to reports was still fishing in 2008’

For another in our series of the ‘7 man made wonders of Yorkshire’ we float between the river Aire and the Leeds Liverpool canal. Beside the River Aire is one half of the enormous edifice of Salt’s Mill at Saltaire and 100 yards away across the Leeds Liverpool canal sits the other more significant half of the former Victorian Mill.

Facts about the Old Salts Mill

It was built in 1853 by Titus Salt hence the name! It formed part of a groundbreaking model village which included houses, churches, meeting halls and other community buildings but no public houses or licensed premises. Titus Salt and his Mill provided better working conditions for mill employees than most other textile factories and he was an exemplar of the paternal Victorian mill owner.

When it was first built it was Europe’s largest factory employing 3000 workers. One of its largest rooms was on the sixth floor and it even has stone flagged flooring. Measuring 600 feet in length, the room, known as The Shed, was where hundreds of workers turned out miles of cloth each day on large weaving machines.

Modern Uses of Salts Mill

The Mill by the river was converted into a large office block for NHS North Bradford Primary Care Trust marketing and administration – well why use a hospital as a base.

After the textile industry declined the Mill became redundant by the 1980s. Pace electronics built a good electronics business in the mill at Saltaire. The largest part of the mill complex was bought by the late Jonathan Silver and his vision saw it transform into a cultural and commercial complex. There are several shopping zones and even a place for Early Musical instruments but the major coup was setting up the 1853 Gallery and capturing the work and imaginbation in the David Hockney Gallery.

Also See 7

Castles

Canals

Battles

Dry Stone Walls

Ruined Abbeys

All the posts on seven Wonders of Yorkshire

Credits
Saltaire by alexliivet CC BY 2.0
Saltaire Village
Welcome to Saltaire BD18
David Hockney Bradford Tree Painter

Economic prosperity through the ages has relied on movement of goods and Yorkshire has been blessed with good transport links. The Romans built a good road network and we still retain the A1 to this day.
Rail and air links moved us into and from the industrial revolution but when man made our rivers navigable and augmented them with canals we were ‘hot to move forward’.

Are Acts of Parliament Man Made?

It makes you wonder but in delving into the history of Yorkshire rivers and canals I came across some old Acts of Parliament.
Act 1. In 1699 an act was passed creating the Aire-Calder Navigation and allowing a toll based on tonnage to be taken. By 1704 improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to Wakefield. This involved the construction of 16 locks.

Act 2. The promoters of the Leeds – Liverpool canal applied to Parliament to carry out the work of linking Liverpool with Leeds and Bradford by canal. In 1770 an Act was passed which allowed the building of a canal between Leeds Bridge and North Lady’s Walk in Liverpool and empowered the raising of £260,000 in shares.

Thus two waterway improvements were enabled by act of parliament but were man made transportation facilities built on skilled water engineering.

Coast to Coast by Water

Aire Calder navigation & Leeds Liverpool Canal – I know a bit of the canal runs through that other funny county and the Aire Calder navigation is largely rivers. Never-the-less the man made actions helped Yorkshire achieve strong trading links with the world during the industrial revolution.
It was and is still possible to get from the North Sea to the Irish Sea the first Coast to Coast

The navigation carries a fairly large number of sand-barges and tankers hence the need for such large locks. Lemonroyd is the last lock on the Leeds Arm,lowering boats onto the River Aire towards Castleford.
Coal, limestone and iron ore was carried in boats called Tom Puddings which were lashed together in long trains and pulled along by a tug.

Photo Credits
Leeds Liverpool Canal at Gargrave by Andrew Middleton CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
2010-06-03 040 Leeds-Liverpool Canal, Keighley by martyn jenkins CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Aire and Calder Navigation, above Lemonroyd Lock by Tim Green aka atoach CC BY 2.0
Leeds, Aire & Calder navigation by razmal8 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Leeds Bridges and waterside apartments.

The canal is now a mecca for tourists and holiday makers. The spur off to Skipton castle bustles with pleasure craft. The tow paths make good walking and unfortunately easy cycling.

Also See 7

Castles

Canals

Battles

Dry Stone Walls

Ruined Abbeys

All the posts on seven Wonders of Yorkshire

What is it about York that makes it such a wonder? Which part of York would feature in any list of seven man made wonders of Yorkshire?
These questions are too hard to fathom so York, with its own seven wonders and more, tops or nominations as one holistic ‘wonder’ city.

York’s Own Seven Man Made Wonders

The Walls are a wonder to wander around.
The Minster is exceptional in age and beauty and even has seven craftsman made, stained glass wonder windows.
The selection of Old Churches around the City includes several that have been re-purposed where necessary.
The Railway Station is a Victorian master piece. There must be seven wonders of Railwayana as well as the main station.
The Museums and historic visitor attractions are generally of excellent quality worthy of lists on their own.
The Viking relics and Yorvic are examples of how York has protected and embellished it’s architectural heritage
The Snickleways with pubs at either end and in the middle. Need I say more?

Some of the older residents of York have had their faces commemorated by the stone masons of the City in the gargoyles that you can see on buildings and in the Yorkshire museum.
It can be fun for the kids to find the carvings and associate them with their teachers, neighbours or family members. I may be up there with the many ghosts that are talked about by York’s wondering minstrels.

The bridges are an essential part of York. The crossing point on the Ouse was one of the main reasons the Romans chose York as a northern base for their empire. This photo was taken from Kings Reach where the road and pub often flood after rain in the dales.
The bridges now allow the boat hire companies to ply a colourful trade for tourists.

Clifford Tower is generally photographed with dancing daffodils in the foreground but the none man made sky was too good a picture to avoid.
On ghost walks Cliffords Tower is the centre of many gory tales.

This section of the wall is near Peasholme and shows part of the construction that is covered with embankments of soil elsewhere on the walls. The walls do not extend quite all the way around the city but you can walk any gaps or use the Bars (gates) to access the centre.

If you are still in doubt about Yorks place at the top of our seven man made wonders I suggest you try to count the pieces of glass in the Rose Window shown above by ‘Rose Window in York Minster by countrygirlatheart’CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 who says
‘The York ‘Rose Window’ is one of the most dramatic and famous in Northern England, appearing almost modern yet in fact a composition designed in 16th century to celebrate the marriage in 1486 of King Henry 7th and Elizabeth of York. This marriage finally brought to an end the ‘Wars of the Roses’ that had divided British feudal nobility in war between 1450 and 1485, thus linking the House of Lancaster to the House of York and bringing about peace. (Henry 8th was son of this union). The central sunburst motif was added by William Peckitt of York in the late 18th century, it being the badge of the House of York.’

More pictures of York Railway Station

Also See 7

Castles

Canals

Battles

Dry Stone Walls

Ruined Abbeys

All the posts on seven Wonders of Yorkshire