During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Hull grew rapidly: from a town of around 46,000 people in 1831, to one of just under 58,000 in 1851, and to a population of over 199,000 in 1891. This put considerable pressure on the authorities to develop those facilities required by such a growing population. Like many other places, this required extending into the surrounding areas especially for new housing, industrial sites, parks and cemeteries. In addition, for Hull there was always the need to secure an adequate fresh water supply, a consideration which had caused the creation of the original county.
The demands for more land in order to accommodate the growing city would inevitably put pressure on surrounding communities within the East Riding of Yorkshire. Many of these districts and communities were fearful of a loss of identity and being swallowed up within a greater Hull. This resulted in campaigns against these extensions organised by local councils and parishes.
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Boundary Extensions
No changes since 1447 when county was established.
1832: Parliamentary borough established. The Old Town area plus the parishes of Sculcoates and Drypool, the liberties of Myton and Trippett, a southern part of Sutton and the extra parochial district of Garrison Side.
1836: Municipal Borough created under the Municipal Corporations Act and made the boundaries the same as that of the Parliamentary Borough. This was confirmed by the boundary commissioners in 1837. The borough thus grew from 90 acres to some 3,600 acres.
1868: Parliamentary Borough extended to include Beetonville and Dairycoates, two new areas to the west of Hull, but not the municipal borough.
1882: Municipal borough extended to the same as the Parliamentary borough. This included the Newington area from the parish of Kirk Ella and North Ferriby as well as Newland from Cottingham Parish and Stoneferry from Sutton Parish.
1897: Area north of Hull added from Cottingham Parish and a small area around Spring Bank added to the municipal borough
1929: In the west, parts of Cottingham, Hessle and Anlaby parishes were added to the municipal borough, part of Bilton in the east and most of Sutton Parish, including the village of Sutton.
1935: Areas that included West and North Hull Estates added from Cottingham Parish.
1953: A petition by Haltemprice Urban District Council for a Charter of Incorporation led to Hull City Council seeking a boundary review.
1955: Small part of Bilton added.
1970s and 2014: Major boundary review requested but no changes made.
Hull and Humberside
A further complication in the story of Hull’s boundary extensions is the position of Humberside County Council. Coming into its powers in 1974, after several years of discussion and planning, Humberside would take on a number of functions from the former City and County of Kingston upon Hull until its demise in 1996. Care needs to be taken when consulting many of the reports as they may be part of the ongoing debate about the position of Humberside in the local government of the area.