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© Hull City Council, 2003 |
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Slums cleared for new cityscape |
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The new street and its flanking buildings were planned as working examples of the latest scientific developments. The office accommodation would use the "latest system" of heating. The flats would incorporate a "labour saving kitchen".
The designers of Ferensway even gave thought to the ambience created by its street lighting. "Softly devised lighting" designed to "provide cheerfulness" would light the streets, pontificated Sir Reginald.
What's in a name?
Ferensway is named after one of Hull's greatest benefactors, Thomas Robinson Ferens. A self-made man, Ferens was just 13 years old when he began work on the railways. In 1868 he arrived in Hull, working as a clerk to James Reckitt. Ferens was chairman of Reckitt and Sons Ltd when he died in 1930. During his life he gifted more than £1 million to the city. His funding enabled the formation of the University of Hull. |
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All buildings flanking Ferensway were to adopt the same architectural style, that of the early 18th Century (Neo-Georgian). This dictate further illustrates the desire for planners to distance themselves from what Sir Reginald called the "irritating and unsightly jumble" of older buildings. Ferensway's buildings were to be units in one design, working in harmony with one another.
Scandal and disappointment
Unfortunately, the desire of Hull's city planners were never realised. Ferensway remains an impressive thoroughfare, but has failed to have the national impact civic leaders dreamed of. Quite simply, it never became the north's premier street.
Construction was halted by the Scecond World War and some buildings, such as the Grand Hotel, remained on paper. Its description in Pesvner's Buildings of England, 1995 edition, is especially poignant, "planned to be a great Neo-Georgian boulevard. It still has some empty spaces and 'temporary' shops".
The success of the project, originally envisaged as a landmark in municipal architecture, was also endangered by the reputation of one of its visionaries. 
© Hull City Council, 2003
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Councillor Digby Willoughby committed suicide in 1932, before he could face charges of extortion and questions over certain land deals.
History repeating itself?
However, time is not standing still for Ferensway. Work to redevelop the Ferensway area is already underway. Plans show a glittering transformation of the 40 acre brownfield site, to the west of Ferensway, into a shopping and leisure complex, complete with transport exchange and hotel. According to Hull City Council, these designs are for "the biggest, most ambitious city centre redevelopment in Hull". Is history repeating itself?
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