Hedon, Yorkshire, England. Further historical information.

HEDON

HEDON, a parish in the wapentake of Holderness, and liberty of Hedon and St. Peter's; 8 miles E. of Hull, and 2 miles E. of the Humber. The town consists chiefly of one street, in the middle of which is the Market place; it is well paved, and the road in every direction in good condition. The parish comprises an area of 276 acres, and the population which has been increasing progressively for the last twenty years, now amounts to 902, though, in 1801, the numbers were only 592.

The town consists chiefly of one street, in the middle of which is the Market place; it is well paved, and the road in every direction in good condition, The parish comprises an area of 276 acres, and the population which has been increasing progressively for the last twenty years, now amounts to 902, though, in 1801, the numbers were only 592. The government of the town is in the corporation, which consists of a Mayor, nine Aldermen, two Bailiffs, the latter of whom are Magistrates during their term of office, and an indefinite number of Burgesses: the Mayor is annually chosen from the Aldermen, and the Bailiffs from the Burgesses; the Coroner is one of the Aldermen annually chosen, and usually the person who has served the office of Mayor the preceding year; John Taylor, Esq. is the Mayor, and Charles Gibson and Thomas Jackson, Esqrs. are Bailiffs for 1822-3. The Aldermen are, William Iveson, Edward Ombler, William Day, James Iveson, John Taylor, Thomas Dring, Henry Hansley, Robert Clifford, John Soutter, and John Hornby, Esqrs. The Coroner for the years 1822-3, is Henry Harnley, Esq. and Mr. James Iveson, is Town Clerk. There is here a court of record, that holds pleas to an unlimited amount. The court for the Wapentake of Holderness, which is held in the Hall, takes cognizance of pleas under 40s. and the general quarter sessions for the Borough are held in the same place. Sir Thomas Constable, Baronet, of Burton Constable, is lord paramount of the seigniory of Holderness, and the corporation of Hedon is bound by charter to provide within the town a hall and prison for the lords of Holderness. Hedon returns two members to parliament; the present members are, Lieut. Colonel John Baillie, of Devonshire place, Cavendish square, London, and Robert Farrand, Esq. of Fenchurch street, London. This Borough first sent members to parliament in the 23d of Edward I. after which no returns were made till the 1st of Edward VI., since which time the returns have been regular. The right of election is in the burgesses, whose privilege is gained either by descent, or by serving seven years to a freeman resident in the Borough, or by an honorary gift at the discretion of the chief officers for the time. The voters amount to about three hundred. Hedon was anciently a sea port of considerable importance, connected with the river Humber by a navigable creek, but the access from the Humber diminished as the surrounding country became drained and embanked, and was finally choaked up. As Hull increased Hedon declined. In 1774, an act of parliament was obtained for recovering and preserving the haven, and though the scheme failed of entire success for want of a lock to exclude the tides, the trade has progressively increased, and considerable quantities of grain are shipped here for London, and the West Riding of Yorkshire, for which coals, lime, and general merchandise are received in return. Camden speaks of Hedon as having been "formerly a considerable place by reason of merchants and shipping;" and his commentator adds, that "the remains and marks of two churches, besides the one they now have, argues its former populousness, and by consequence a flourishing trade."

This place suffered a severe loss, in the year 1656, by a dreadful conflagration, which burnt down great part of the town, and subsequently several houses in the Market-place shared the same fate; but they are now rebuilt, and though individuals sustained loss, the appearance of the town was considerably improved by the disaster. The church of St. Augustine, of which the archbishop of York is the patron, and the Rev. John Dixon, the vicar, is the only church in this place; of the two others, St. Nicholas and St. James, only the traces of the foundations remain. Upon part of seven acres of land, at Newton, near this town, given by Alan, son of Oubernus, was built in the reign of king John, an hospital, dedicated to the holy Sepulchre, for a prior, and seven brethren, or sisters lepers, but it no longer exists. A handsome chapel for Roman Catholic worship was built here, in 1804; and a Calvinist chapel was built in 1801; there is also a Methodist chapel erected in 1818. The corporation have erected eight houses, appropriated to the maintenance of old burgesses, and three others appropriated to the widows of burgesses, in which they have a small pension, and an annual supply of coals. There are also two schools, one for boys, and the other for girls, the children of burgesses, supported by the voluntary contributions of the representatives of the borough. The weekly market, which is held on the Saturday, is well supplied with provisions of all sorts. The annual fairs, of which there are four, are held on the second of August, the twenty second of September, the seventeenth of November, and the sixth of December; and fortnight markets for cattle, established in 1796, are held every alternate Monday throughout the year, with increasing success; the number of sheep penned in 1821; amounted to 13,738. The Holderness Agricultural Society, the Operations of which have been highly beneficial to this district, hold their quarterly meetings in this place, and have here their annual show of prize cattle. This society is composed of most of the gentlemen, and principal farmers, and breeders of cattle in this fertile and highly cultivated district, and possesses a valuable and select library of the best books which have been written on agriculture, and the sciences with which it is connected. There are also several other societies here, amongst the principal of which may be mentioned, the Friendly Union Benefit Society, with 200 members, and a fund of 1300L; and the Bible Society, which is extensively patronized. There is a great deal of sociality in this small, but interesting town, and the dancing, and card assemblies in the winter, to which all the principal inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood resort, impart to the place a considerable share of gaiety and refinement.

The following is the entire data from Langdale's Topographical Yorkshire Dictionary:

Market, Saturday. Fairs, January 15, August 2, Sept. 22, for horses, &c.; Nov. 7, Dec. 6, for horned cattle, drapery, &c. and every other Monday for horned-cattle and sheep. --Principal Inns, Sun, and Running Horses.

Of this town and its ancient state, Camden makes the following remarks: "the first place we come to on a winding shore is Hedon, which formerly (if we believe fame, that always magnifies) was a very considerable place for merchants and shipping. For my part I have faith enough to believe it, (there being the remains of two churches, besides the one they still have,) notwithstanding it is now so decayed, (partly by its nearness to Hull, and partly because the harbour is blocked up) that it has not the least shew of the grandeur it pretends to have had; which may teach us, that the condition of towns and cities is every jot as unstable as that of man." King John granted to Baldwin, Earl of Abbemarle and Holderness, and to his wife Hawis, free burgage here; so that the burgesses might hold in free burgage by the same customs with York, &c. --Nichols.

In St. Austin, the present church, are the pictures of a king and a bishop, with this inscription, (much the same as that which we meet with at Beverley:)

                           "Als free make I thee,
                      As heart may think or eigh see."
 

At present the town begins to flourish again, and has some hopes of attaining by degrees its former greatness. The old haven near the town, being grown up, there is a new cut made on the south-east, which helps to scour that part of the haven now left, but without any hopes of rendering it so useful as formerly. In the year 1856, a great part of the town was consumed by fire; and not many years since, several houses in the market-place, suffered the same fate but now the greatest part is rebuilt, and the town thereby rendered much more beautiful. The inhabitants have a tradition, that the Danes destroyed this town; and there is a close belonging to it, called Danes field to this day.

The present town of Hedon consists principally of one long street, and is governed by a mayor and nine aldermen, assisted by a recorder, and 2 bailiffs. It sends 2 members to Parliament, a privilege first granted in the 23rd of Edward I. but ceased till the first of Edward VI. from which time it has returned. The right of election is in the burgesses of the borough, whose privileges are gained by descent, by servitude of seven years to a freeman residing only in the borough, or by an honorary gift, at the discretion of the chief officers for the time being. Number of voters about 200, returning officer, the mayor.

Hedon is situated within about a mile and a half of the Humber, and the haven cut from that river extends to within a quarter of a mile of the town; but is navigable only for small craft.