The Carnegie Heritage Centre in Hull is publishing a new trail of the city centre as part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. The ‘Hull Firsts Trail’, developed by volunteers at the Centre, is a walking tour based on ‘firsts’ for the city, such as Amy Johnson, Sir John Hall and eighteen other unique people and places. The project was made possible by a National Lottery grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Liz Shepherd, Chair of the Carnegie Heritage Centre, said: “In this special year for Hull, we wanted to do a project which everyone at the centre could be involved in, and which would celebrate the uniqueness of the city. The National Lottery grant has allowed us to develop this walking trail of Hull, which will help residents and visitors alike to explore our city and find out more about its history”.
Dave Renwick, Head of HLF Yorkshire and the Humber said: “The ongoing City of Culture celebrations have put Hull in the spotlight, and we are delighted that National Lottery players’ money can support projects like this, which place the city’s fascinating and diverse heritage at the heart of the cultural programme.”
The trail was researched and devised by over 20 volunteers at the Centre, over a period of six months. Alan Deighton, a volunteer who contributed to the project, said: “Working on the trail really brought home to me what an important contribution Hull people have made to national and international life."
In addition to the printed version of the trail there is an accompanying website which will allow users to complete the trail using their phone or tablet, and includes additional ‘Hull Firsts’ - www.carnegiehull.co.uk\hull-firsts.
Rosie Millard, Chair of Hull UK City of Culture 2017, said: “The Carnegie Heritage Centre is one of the most important institutions in Hull. Staffed entirely by volunteers, the Centre acts as a repository for the city's memories and history and has a remarkable collection of pristine archive including maps, letters and pictures from Hull's past. The Centre's Hull Firsts heritage trail is an important way of bringing these memories and these archives back to life as visitors and residents alike will be able to retrace moments from history exactly where they happened. It's just one of the many acts of representation and re-evaluation across Hull during 2017 and will provide an important legacy for people in future years to the history of this great city."
The ‘Hull Firsts Trail’ will be launched at the Carnegie Heritage Centre on 25 July at 12 noon, and the public are invited to attend. The trail will be available from the Carnegie Heritage Centre, the Hull 2017 Information Pod in the Interchange, museums, galleries and other outlets in the city.
