Emily Ingram, PhD Candidate in Education Studies, University of Hull
The working-class communities of Hull have long possessed a significant connection with water. For decades, channels such as the Holderness, Cottingham and Beverley and Barmston drains have served as unlikely spaces for swimming, fishing and leisure, as well as safeguards against the familiar peril of floods. Yet the proximity of underserved communities to these “sinuous” drains has historically rendered them vulnerable to “a perennial source of deadly danger” (Hull Daily Mail, 1895, p3): provoking the development of local legends and damning media narratives centred around themes of tragedy, pollution, and death. Contemporary reports continue to paint the drains as an environmental hazard, with one recent report describing the Beverley and Barmston Drain as “black” and “greasy” (BBC News, 2024).
Whilst the history of drainage and land reclamation in the Hull Valley has been explored somewhat by Historians and Geographers (Sheppard, 1958; Lythe, 1938), there has been very little scholarship with regards to how people interacted with these waterways in their day-to-day lives. This participatory research seeks to build a social history of two drains in Hull, collaborating with local communities, heritage groups and environmental organisations to unveil the complex narratives of danger and leisure that they embody.
Drawing upon a methodology of “learning histories” (McDonagh et al., 2023) – including oral history interviews, community archiving and interactive heritage workshops - it aims to empower participants to create new sites of “mundane heritage” (Atkinson in Graham and Howard et al., 2008, p381) whilst simultaneously building creative learning resources that can be shared across generations. In doing so, the project will evaluate the effectiveness of community-led heritage projects as a force for climate education and action.
References
Atkinson, D. (2008) The heritage of the mundane. In Graham, B.J., Howard, P. (ed(s)). The Ashgate research companion to heritage and identity. Ashgate, 381-395.
BBC News (2024). Wildlife fears as water turns black at nature spot. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj0jm936p35o [Accessed 14 March 2025].
Hull Daily Mail (1895) A disgusting spectacle. Hull Daily Mail, 1 October, 3.
Lythe, S. G. E. (1938) Drainage and Reclamation in Holderness and the River Hull Valley, 1760-1880. Geography, 23(4), 237-249.
McDonagh, B., Brookes, E., Smith, K., Worthen, H., Coulthard, T., Hughes, G., Mottram, S., Skinner, A. & Chamberlain, J. (2023) Learning histories, participatory methods and creative engagement for climate resilience. Journal of Historical Geography, 82, 91-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2023.09.002
Sheppard, J. A. (1958) The draining of the Hull Valley, no.8. East Yorkshire Local History Society.
Conference themes: Interdisciplinary Collaboration; Community Engagement; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion