Far Horizons: From Hull to the ends of the world by Robb Robinson
Maritime Historical Studies Centre, Hull, 2010, £20 (pb)
242 pages with numerous colour and blackand-white illustrations
ISBN 978-0-9545029-6-8
Hull has a long history as one of Britain's major port cities and as such has not been neglected as a subject for historical study. Joyce Bellamy, Mike Brown, Ralph Davis, Wendy Childs, Gordon Jackson, David J. Starkey and Donald Woodward, as also Robb Robinson himself, are just a few of the specialists who have written about aspects of Hull's maritime past. An exceptionally vibrant community of local historians in Hull and the East Riding has also ensured a steady flow of research effort.
Nevertheless, the genesis of this book, published as it is with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Hull City Council, as well as the University of Hull, is seemingly a sense that Hull's historic identity is insufficiently appreciated, not least by Hullensians themselves. We can discern here the familiar laudable effort, perhaps more common in former port cities than in thriving present-day port regions like the Humber, to promote heritage as an encouragement to tourism. Certainly Far Horizons is unashamedly steeped in a determination to advertise the many attractions of Hull as a city permeated by its past and present sea connections. Yet the original way in which Robb Robinson has approached his subject means that the awkwardness of such a position is minimized.
The book's underpinning theme, as suggested by its title, is Hull as a city with longstanding, complex, global commercial links. In a substantial first chapter, which skilfully traces Hull's urban and economic development from twelfth-century Wyke to the near present, he argues for its status as a unique port city, though presumably all ports have their own particular features. The book then divides into five geographical sections: the Arctic and Northern Seas, Continental North America, South, and Far South. Looking at the contents list, the reader is already aware of a shift in perception, since Hull's familiar near-European and Baltic business are absent; these are no ‘far horizons’. Given the focus of this study, their absence can be no basis at all for criticism but, assuming that some readers will be new to Hull's history, it would perhaps have been sensible to give some coverage to these trades, as also coastal routes, in the first chapter. Indeed, an oddity of the book is that Robinson offers no explanation in his introduction as to the reasons for its structure and modestly makes little of its distinctive oceanic reach when set in the context of earlier work by other historians.
In fact Far Horizon's prime claim to originality is Robinson's use of short biographies, generally of individuals but sometimes of vessels, to provide examples of the impact that Hull's trade and shipping had on the wider world. In all there are thirty-nine such vignettes. They vary in length, depth of research, period concerned and likely familiarity of subject to readers. Case studies are, of course, not unknown as an approach in historical writing but, in maritime history at least, their use on such a scale is unusual.
It is not possible in the short space of a review to do more than touch on some of those Robinson presents, but an indication of the kind of content can be provided by those in the shortest Far South section. The five here deal with, among other members of the family, the colour manufacturer Llewellyn Longstaff, who was the main financial backer of the British Antarctic Expedition led by Scott; the Colbecks who in the same period explored and charted Antarctica; Ernest Shackleton, who had Hull connections through Longstaff and on whose vessels sailed a number of Hull-based men; the oceanographic expeditions of the Beverly-built William Scoresby, launched in 1925; the long career of Hellyer Steam Fishing Company's 1906 Viola, which remarkably saw action in both the First World War and the Falklands campaign.
There is much painstaking original research reflected in these accounts, as also elsewhere in the book, but the Shackleton chapter, though no less readable and fascinating than the others mentioned, illustrates a problem for the author. How close does the Hull connection have to be to justify inclusion and, where the events concerned are well known, having been told and retold many times, should these be recounted yet again? In most of the cases selected by Robinson, Hull features prominently and the narrative is unfamiliar but there are just a few exceptions. It is nice, for example, to be reminded that Bligh's Bounty was originally the timber trader Bethia, built in Blaydes Yard, but this seems too slight a link to justify the three large pages then devoted to the story of the famous mutiny.
This, however, is perhaps an unfair cavil, in that it takes insufficient account of the anticipated readership for this well-written book, presumably the interested but not necessarily historically informed ‘general public’. Those with more background will still find much that is unfamiliar, and therefore of value, among the biographies, though they may regret the lack of an index. Maritime specialists and non-specialists alike will appreciate the many exceptionally very well reproduced illustrations, which include paintings and historic photographs, supported by more contemporary images, some by Robinson himself.
Although not mentioned in Far Horizons, the website of the same name [http://www.hull.ac.uk/mhsc/FarHorizons/farhorizons.htm] hosted by the University of Hull Maritime Historical Studies Centre gives some taste of the themes and attraction of this enjoyable study, which serves as a reminder that personal histories linked to place are also part of our maritime heritage.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2013.767569
© Sarah Palmer