Barge traffic at Hull Docks

A Broader Outlook: NarrowBoat, Summer 2026

Christopher M Jones

Chris M. Jones highlights various aspects of traffic and trade in and around the docks of Kingston-upon-Hull in East Yorkshire

This busy dock scene was taken at Humber Dock in the early years of the century. This was the second dock built in the port and was opened on 30th June 1809 after six years of construction. The large steel screw steamer dominating the middle distance is named Hull, and it was built for the Hull, Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway & Dock Co of Hull in 1898 at South Shields. In front is one of the company’s wooden lighters, complete with the captain’s pushbike on its aft deck. Like the other craft clustered around, it has its hatches open to receive Hull’s cargo. The craft on the right foreground is of interest due to its raised centre section which appears to be a specially constructed part of the hold. It has a short towing mast protruding above the far side of its hatches and conventional holds fore and aft of this structure. Also, its fore- and aft-cabins have tall Leeds & Liverpool Canal short boat-style square-section wooden chimneys painted in th…