Hull Facts: Largest To Smallest

There are plenty of "facts about Hull" pages available on the Weird Wide Web, telling you interesting stuff you may already know about our great city. So in the Weird Retro spirit of giving a different twist on things, here is presented the biggest and also not only the best of Hull, but the country, and maybe the world. Oh and at least one example of the smallest. I bet you can guess what that one will be.

Holy Trinity is the largest parish Church in the country: At the very epicentre of Hull's old town,the church dates back to about 1300, and is considered of major architectural importance. It has been known as the largest parish church in the country, but in 2017, when there are plans to give the Holy Trinity the honourific title of Minster. As the Archbishop of York declared in November 2014, "There are cathedrals that are not anywhere near as good as this church." And that, "It is amazing. It is a building that is testament to the non-withdrawing character of Hull. It has stood through two world wars, the loss of the fishing industry and times of deep recession." Making the Holy Trinity both a cultural and spiritual hub of Hull's transformation into the 2017 city of culture.

Hull's Fair is the largest travelling fair in Europe: Hull was granted a charter to hold a fair by king Edward I in 1278, and it has grown ever since. It has moved around the city over the centuries, and only landed in it's present location on Walton Street in 1888. From that point on, it expanded exponentially, doubling in size by 1906. Making it at that point that largest fair in the British Isles. It has since gone on to be regarded as the largest travelling fair in Europe, with attractions and stalls coming to Hull in mid-October from all over Britain and Europe. Hull Fair is not only the biggest, but also one of the oldest running fairs in the country. It has commenced on the 11th of October, or the nearest Friday to it, since it was enshrined after a outcry by the masses in 1751. The people of Hull thought that they would lose the fair, when the government changed the calender, from starting the new year on 25th of March to the 1st of January.

The Deep is the largest "aquarium" in the country: Well apart from the boast of being the world's only and the world's first "submarium", which no-one understands or cares what that even means, The Deep is one of the biggest aquariums in the country. A great piece of jutting architecture, standing proud on Sammy's Point, at the confluence of the rivers Hull and Humber. Both The Deep and the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth have large tanks of equal size. At a massive 2,500,000 litres, or 550,000 gallons, in old money. I looked up "submarium", one online dictionary said it was, "an aquarium with many sea creatures". Which made me wonder what you'd call an aquarium without many sea creatures.

The Humber Ports is the largest in the country: UK’s largest ports complex, handling one million passengers and 90 million tonnes of cargo. The Humber estuary, on which it stands, is the second largest plain estuary in the UK, and the largest coastal plain estuary on the east coast of Britain. The Humber has one of the largest petroleum ports in Europe, processing, handling and distributing around 20 million tonnes of fuel products every year. Not only is the port complex the biggest, but the Humber Ports complex is the busiest in the UK and have the fourth largest share of world tonnage in Northern Europe. Confirming Hull's place as one of the greatest nautical cities in the country. Although I still don't know anyone, who knows anyone that actually owes a boat that is berthed in the Hull Marina.

Mr. Chu China Palace is the largest Chinese restaurant in the country: The official website of the restaurant on St. Andrews Quay proudly states, "Mr Chu China Palace is the largest Chinese restaurant in the UK". And having myself lived in Asia and travelled the world for almost a decade, I have only seen restaurants on the scale of Mr. Chu's in Asia. A great place, for a immersive experience of being in Asia. The architecture outside and the décor inside speak of an authentic experience for diners. And in addition with the panoramic views of the Humber river, you could imagine you were sitting on the banks of the Yangtze.

The mosaic above BHS is the biggest in the the country: Couldn't find anything to confirm or dispute this one. So we'll take that one. There are biggest mosaics, but the key here is they are either ancient Roman or not made of ceramic. Toast mosaics don't count! It's definitely not the biggest in the world, that honour goes to Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural (Hanoi Ceramic Road), in Vietnam, measuring some 4km long. The BHS mosaic is an immense piece of modern art to be proud of, featuring a "three ships" nautical theme. It was built in 1963, as part of the new Co-Op building, and was designed by artist Alan Boyson. The face of the mural, which is fixed to a 66ft x 64ft concrete screen, is composed of 4224 foot square slabs, each made up of 225 tiny glass cubes. Boyson also designed a fish mural for the building, which is currently housed in the derelict part of the building.

The window in The George Hotel on has the smallest window in the country: Wikipedia (and we all believe everything we read on there) claims it as the "world's smallest". Though the plaque next to the window, modestly states it is only England's smallest window. Assuming whoever made the plaque, is aware of smaller one in the rest of the UK. The fact is that the small slit window in the side wall of The George Hotel pub was a viewing slot for checking if stagecoaches were outside, waiting to be let into the courtyard of the hotel, that stood next to where the pub does now. It could well however be the smallest window in the world, by area. As the only other window with that claim, is a little square window in Siena, Italy. And though it's hard to judge without comparing them by physical surface area of glass they have. The jury is still out on the Wikipedia claim, but we'll take the "largest in the country".

Join the One Hull Of A City facebook group, and spread the word!

Pattie Butties: The Food Of Kings, Made By Slappers! - Unique to the city of Hull, the humble yet glorious pattie. The inspirational snack food for generations of Hullies.

Made In Hull: TV & Films Based In Hull - Hull is being hailed as the place to come for film-crews, as part of the push as the 2017 city of culture. I look back at films and TV shows based in Hull.