Joseph Hirst Explained

Joseph Henry Hirst (1863–1945) was a leading architect of the post-Victorian era based in Kingston upon Hull.

Life

He was born in 1863 in South Milford, Yorkshire, the son of William Hirst (1833-1918) and Mary Ann Carr (1839-1883). He married Hannah Whitehead (1852-1951) in 1890 in St Charles Catholic Church, Hull. They had the following children:

• Captain Joseph Francis Xavier Hirst MC (1891-1978)
• William Leo Hirst (1896-1983)
• Irene Mary Hirst (1900-1973)

During the Second World War his home in Hymers Avenue, Hull was damaged in an air raid. He moved to Selby where he died aged 82.^[1]

Career

He started his career as a surveyor under Colonel William H. Wellsted.

He was appointed first City Architect for Kingston upon Hull on 1 January 1900, and he retained this until retirement on 1 July 1926^[2] and was "the man who more than any other designed the face of the modern city".^[3] He was responsible for some of Hull's best-known buildings, among them the City Hall, swimming baths, schools and housing estates.^[4]

Buildings designed by Joseph Hirst

• East Hull Baths, Holderness Road, Hull 1897-98
• Crematorium, Hedon Road Cemetery, Hull 1899-1901
• Council Houses, Steynburg Street and Rustenburg Street, Hull 1902-03
• Trinity Market Hall, North Church Side, Hull 1902-04
• Police Station, 20 Parliament Street, Hull 1902-04
• Empress Hotel, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull 1903
• Lodge, East Park, Hull 1903
• Fountain House, Fountain Road, Hull 1904
• Public Baths, Beverley Road, Hull 1905
• Carnegie Library, Anlaby Road, Hull 1905
• City Hall, Hull 1903-09^[5]
• Pickering Almshouses, Hessle Road, Hull 1909
• Sewage Pumping Station, Hessle Road, Hull 1909
• Lodge, West Park, Hull 1910
• Southcoates Lane School, Hull 1910-11
• Sidmouth Street School, Hull 1911-12
• Chapel, Northern Cemetery, Hull 1912
• Museum of Fisheries and Shipping, Hull 1912
• School for Fishermen, Boulevard, Hull 1914
• Newland School for Girls, Cottingham Road, Hull 1914
• Central Fire Station, Worship Street, Hull 1927^[6]
• Residences on Hymers Avenue, Hull, near Hymers College^[7]

Publications

• (1913) The block houses of Kingston-upon-Hull and who went there: A glimpse of catholic life in the penal times and a missing page of local history. Hull: A. Brown & Sons.
• (1916) The Armorial Bearings of Kingston Upon Hull. Hull: A. Brown & Sons.

External links

• Hirst's 1911 census record
• Reminiscence of the War, largely relating to his son, who served in France as a 2nd Lieutenant with the East Yorkshire Regiment
• Individual and family records at Hull Local History Centre.

Notes and References

1. News: . Built City Hall . Hull Daily Mail . England . 15 May 1945 . 22 July 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
2. News: . City Architect Retires . Hull Daily Mail . England . 24 March 1926 . 22 July 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
3. Web site: History - Trinity Market . 13 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130724155032/http://trinitymarket.co.uk/history.html . 24 July 2013 . dead .
4. Web site: Undercover shopping a mainstay of city history | This is Hull and East Riding . www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk . 2 February 2022 . https://archive.today/20130913192138/http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Undercover-shopping-mainstay-city-history/story-14164460-detail/story.html%23axzz2enmPl0nj . 13 September 2013 . dead.
5. Book: Neave . David . Neave . Susan . 2010 . Pevsner Architectural Guides. Hull . Yale University Press . 65 . 9780300141726.
6. News: . Hull’s Fire Station . Hull Daily Mail . England . 7 April 1927 . 22 July 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
7. Web site: 5 bedroom house for sale in Hymers Avenue, HULL, HU3 1LN, HU3 . Rightmove.co.uk . 2018-04-21.