Hull
Hull is situated where the River Hull flows into the Humber estuary. The town was founded by Cistercian monks from Meaux Abbey in the 12th century. In 1293 Edward I acquired the settlement from Meaux Abbey and laid out the town with new docks. The parish church of Holy Trinity is one of the largest in England and is notable for its early use of bricks.
For hundreds of years Hull was used to export wool to Europe. It also became Britain's busiest deep-sea fishing base. William Wilberforce was born in Hull and his family home has been turned, together with neighbouring houses, into a historical museum with special emphasis on the slave trade.
In the 19th century Hull was kept busy exporting textiles and importing food from Australia and New Zealand.
Primary Sources
(1) Daniel Defoe, A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724)
All the trade at Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, of which I have spoken, is transacted here by the merchants of Hull. All the lead trade of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the butter of the East and North Riding, brought down the Ouse to York: the cheese brought down the Trent from Stafford, Warwick and Cheshire, and the corn from all the counties adjacent, are brought down the Ouse to York: the cheese brought down the Trent from Stafford, Warwick and Cheshire, and the corn from all the counties adjacent, are brought down and shipped off here.