Six centuries of history and heritage is being marked at Hull Minster this year with a host of special events.
As one of the oldest buildings in the city, Holy Trinity Church – which became a Minster in 2017 during Hull’s year as UK City of Culture – is celebrating not only a major milestone as a place of worship, but also its regeneration over the last few years.
Since 2015 England’s largest parish church has undergone a £7.5m improvement scheme after the building, which dominates Hull Old Town, was added to Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk Register’.
As well as vital repair work to the roof and infrastructure, the area around the front of the Minster, including the grounds of the church, was transformed into Trinity Square in 2017, creating a new public piazza featuring open spaces and mirror pools.
Now the Minster is commemorating 600 years since the church was completed.
Built on the site of an earlier chapel, the foundations were laid in 1285 when King Edward I bought the land from the Monks of Meaux and granted a Royal Charter to the settlement, re-naming it Kings Town upon Hull.
But because the Black Death wiped out more than half of the population of the area, construction faced severe delays, and the church was not finished until 140 years later.
It is believed that the nave was consecrated in 1426, but because of a misreading of the Latin script the church has commemorated the date of 1425, so the 600th anniversary celebrations will run throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Events will include a special VE Day 80th Anniversary Exhibition (6-18 May) and a Beer Festival (8-10 May), while future plans include a Medieval Fair (14 June), Choral Hull Concert (1 July) and Heritage Open Days (12-13 September).
Among facts about the Minster is that it is the oldest brick-built building in the city; anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce was baptised in the church’s font; and during World War One, the church was saved from bombing on 7 June 1915 due to a change in wind direction.
For more details on Hull Minster and its events, visit https://hullminster.org/holy-trinity-600
For all other tourism information about Hull, see www.visithull.org
Photo: Mike Bartlett