PAULL VILLAGE HISTORY
The village of Paull in Holderness lies approximately 4.5 miles south-east of Hull on the north bank of the Humber Estuary. Now a sleepy village for weekend pleasure seekers, Paull has a rich and fascinating history. Its entry in the Domesday Book lists it as a 120 acre dependent settlement within the manor of Burstwick. Some of the village's existing buildings are evidence of this history:
PAULL HOLME TOWER
Paull Holme Tower stands alone and isolated in a ruinous state on a minor road running between Paull and Thorngumbald. It is all that remains of a once grand medieval moated manor house. The tower has proved difficult to date, it is believed to be c. mid 15th century and it was probably added to an existing 14th century timber-framed house. The area around this medieval house is believed to be the original siting of Paull village which relocated to its present location in the 16th century. More
HIGH PAULL HOUSE
In 1769 William Constable sold the manor of High Paull to Benjamin Blaydes (the younger), the Hull shipbuilder, for £6,700. A house was built on the land and this became known as High Paull House or Manor. In 1853 the estate was sold to Anthony Bannister, a businessman and entrepreneur, but he did not hold on to it for long and it was sold again in 1861 to the War Department. It now became offices, stores and accommodation for the nearby battery. In 1886 a store was added to the house for use by the Humber Section Coast Battalion Royal Engineers Sub Marine Mining Division. They continued to use it until 1907 when the role of sub marine mining was taken over by the Navy. All the military land/property in Paull was sold at auction in 1961 and the house was demolished in the 1960s. The site is now a car park in-between a playing field and Paull Point Battery. A lodge house at the car park entrance is all that remains of High Paull House. More
PAULL CHURCH
There
has been a church at Paull since 1115AD. Originally the
church was located by the banks of the Humber, but by 1355
this had become ruinous and land was granted to the
parishioners of Paull to build a new one - this new church
still stands and is used as the parish church today. More
PAULL LIGHTHOUSE
Trinity House have used Paull as an aid to shipping since at least 1776 when a beacon was located north-west of the village. In 1831 they paid for the whitewashing of a house at Paull as a marker for ships; and in 1835, as a temporary measure, they rented a room at the Humber Tavern in which they placed a lantern as a guide to ships. Trinity House finally built a lighthouse at Paull in 1836, but it had a short lifespan as it was replaced by two lights at Thorngumbald Clough in 1870. The lighthouse still exists today but it is now a private residence. There was also a coastguard station at Paull, built in the 19th century, it closed around 1920 - there are still coastguard cottages at Paull. More
PAULL POINT BATTERY
Paull was chosen as early as the 14th century to defend the British coastline and in particular the growing port of Hull. These early defences were beacons, stacks of flammable material which were set on fire as a warning that an invading force was on its way. Beacons were used during 1588 when there was a threat of invasion from Spain and in the early 19th century when there was a threat of invasion from France during the Napoleonic wars. However, these were not the only form of defence.
In 1541 Henry VIII visited Hull and ordered new defences to be built there, these included a curtain wall and a castle. Paull was also recognized as a prime location for defensive work and in 1542 a 12 gun battery was built here. Exactly 100 years later Paull was again at the forefront of military activity - having been refused entry to Hull, Charles I inspected his troops at Paull and an earthen battery was built there to stop supplies getting to parliamentarian Hull. This battery didn't last long, only a few months after it was built the parliamentarian ships Lion and Employment bombarded it into surrender.
A long period of peace followed and it wasn't until 1807, during the wars with France, that Paull was needed again to help defend Britain - an earthen battery was again erected here, this time to hold six 24-pounder canons. The battery had barracks for 42 men. When the conflict was over the battery was abandoned and put up for sale in 1819.
By 1859 Britain was again worried about invasion from France and new coastal defences were ordered at Paull, once again this was a battery to house men and guns. Completed in 1864, throughout its service life it was known as Paull Point Battery. It was an irregular pentagon, its largest side of 600ft ran parallel to the Humber; its other two larger sides were 300ft long and all were made up of earthen ramparts taken from the 12ft ditch dug around it. It was armed with nineteen 64-pounder muzzle loader guns. It was a formidable structure intended to stop anyone breaching the shores of Britain. In 1894 the battery was remodeled to take a new design of breech loading guns.
The first decade of the 20th century saw Paull and its battery being used to train volunteer artillery corps. These corps would be responsible for defending Britain in times of war while the regular army was fighting at the front; and these corps would also man coastal defences such as Paull Point Battery.
A Volunteer Camp at Paull
In 1911 a review of coastal defences stated that the battery at Paull would be insufficient to fully protect the coastline of the area. Therefore, new batteries at Stallingborough and Sunk Island were ordered and work on these was stepped up once war broke out in 1914 - once completed the guns at Paull would be dismantled. However, Paull still had a role to play as it would be used as the headquarters for the Humber forces throughout the war. It also housed searchlights to help ward off Zeppelins.
By the outbreak of World War II, the Humber defences had only 8 guns left and with the invasion of France, Britain was worried about its own shores once again. Therefore, the Humber coastal defences were increased, but Paull Point Battery was not re-armed - for the rest of the war it was an ammunition storage depot. The battery no longer had a strategic role to play in defending the British coastline, this was a position it was never to recover - the advances in guided missile technology meant that coastal batteries were no longer needed and on the 31st December 1956 coastal artillery in the British Army was abolished. This was the end for Paull Point Battery. By 1961 it was in private hands. It was sold again in 1984 and is now a military museum known as Paull Fort. More
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