New lease of life for gateway to the city
Georgian properties in a Hull street are being restored with the help of lottery funding
HERITAGE: Beverley Road used to be a prosperous gateway into Hull and home to eminent figures. However, in more recent times the once prized postcode has fallen into decline.
But Beverley Road has now been given a new lease of life through a Hull City Council-led project supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund grants.
BEVERLEY ROAD used to be a prosperous gateway into Hull and home to eminent figures.
However, in more recent times the once prized postcode has fallen into decline.
Many of the fine Georgian frontages have a distinctly neglected look, and the buildings have had a mix of uses, some more suitable and sympathetic than others, since the merchant classes fled to the suburbs.
But Beverley Road has now been given a new lease of life through a Hull City Council-led project supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund grants.
Property by property, its reputation and aesthetic appeal will be revitalised, and as Hull Civic Society’s John Scotney points out, Beverley Road was originally a prestigious address.
He said: “It was quite an upmarket area for the elite of the city – some of the surviving residences still have coach-houses.”
Although there was bomb damage during the Hull Blitz which accelerated the clearing of certain sites, Mr Scotney believes decline set in far sooner than the post-war years.
As transport links improved, the wealthy began to move further out of the polluted city.
The fate of the grand villas was sub-division and the rise of less discerning landlords and transient tenants.
Eventually, the condition of many of these surviving buildings deteriorated.
Now lottery cash is reviving Beverley Road and despite current circumstances, the road is busier than in recent years.
The lottery grant was £1.6m, and with additional funding from Hull Council and the private sector, the total went up to £2.7m. Last year was the fifth and final year of funding, and the money has now been allocated and the remaining work is under way.
A mix of residential and commercial property owners have been given grants to pay for sympathetic restoration of their buildings, and there have also been six ‘boundary treatment’ areas that have also been given new railings and fencing.
One of the flagship projects among the 20 individual restorations are two Grade II listed villas built in the 1820s.
Empty for many years, a new owner has been secured and once renovated, they will become a 19-bedroom property.
Stepney Station, now a community centre, has also been spruced up with homage paid to its rail heritage.
Participation among people living and running businesses on Beverley Road has exceeded expectations, and many landlords and householders came on board once they became aware of the benefits of taking up funding, which covers costs of up to 70 per cent of their work, enabling them to afford specialist restorations.
Project manager Gill Osgerby said: “People are already talking about Beverley Road again – it was a bit of a forgotten street, but it’s so beautiful and was once very prosperous. There is a real diversity of building types and uses. We want people to visit and spend more time here so they put it back on the map.”
It was quite an upmarket area for the elite of the city. Hull Civic Society’s John Scotney on Beverley Road.