Hull Woolworths – Store 6

4/5 Whitefriargate, Hull, Yorkshire HU1 2ET

The sixth Woolworths store to open in the UK was in Hull on the 4th November 1910. Hull was chosen because of its docks, freight and fishing industries and factories, all employing lots of people. The premises at number 4 and 5 Whitefriargate, formerly Smith’s Bank, were adapted to make a double-fronted store, the building being in a busy part of the city centre.

Hull Whitefriargate Woolworths 1920s

Source: Historic England Archive

Hull Whitefriargate Woolworths 1930s

Source: 100thbirthday.co.uk

There’s absolutely no information or photos of this store on the internet or in books. All we know is they traded at 4-5 Whitefriargate for 75 years. The store closed on the 7th April 1984 to move to a bigger and more modern store on nearby King Edward Street which will be covered in a future blog post. The Whitefriargate building was taken over by Peacocks, which has since closed.

Hull Whitefriargate Peacocks 2007 (former Woolworths)

Source: Roe, S.

Today the building is occupied by a rather loud looking shop called Boyes. I wouldn’t blame you for just walking past this building without noticing it, but it is actually a Grade II Listing Building – though this beautiful architecture was designed for Smith’s Bank, built in 1829. It was probably a good thing it was listed, otherwise you know Woolworths would have knocked it down and put up their own building!

Hull-Whitefriargate-Boyes-2017-(former-Woolworths)

Source: Brownie Bear

The next store numbers from 7 – 14 have already been covered. You can read them here:

Store 7 – Brixton
Store 8 – Middlesbrough
Store 9 – Woolwich
Store  10 – Bristol
Store 11 – Harlesden
Store 12 – Croydon
Store 13 – Wolverhampton
Store 14 – Swansea