SUTTON & WAWNE

See right at the bottom of this page for two pictures
and details of
article on Wawne Ferry
ASSORTED IMAGES OF
St James' in Sutton


Some of these images are copyright, but not all.
an early medieval church, St James' is one
of the oldest brick-built churches in England
and is Grade II listed.

St James' on a cold winter's day

St James' and St George !

St James' nave and east window

St James' in 2009 for the Flower Festival

a 1910 postcard view of St James' from Church St, Sutton on Hull

This very accomplished watercolour by Frank Thomas Cambridge was
painted on 3 Sept 2009, and I'm told the scene is set sometime in the 1950-60's.
One correspondant tells me he believes that the 3rd building from the Church is Jubilee Cottage,
which existed within living memory. Indeed, I recall a similar cottage there when I first came to Hull
in the early 70's. The cottage was occupied by members of the
Feeney and Pooley families at various times in the past.

Sutton's War Memorial -
an old pic, prior to 2018 and installation of the new plaques
to the fallen of St Mark's, Wilmington and Stoneferry.  See later photo below.

Two atmospheric drawings of Sutton,
by local artist, the late Ken Cooke.
Drawing 1

Drawing 2

>
A view not obtainable now - the trees have grown so much

Another distant view of Sutton Church,
from Sutton Road railway bridge taken in early spring.
Another view we would not get today, the skyline of trees is far higher now.

The view down Church Street, looking roughly east

The pulpit and High Altar in St James'.
(photo courtesy of the late Terry King, of Osnabruck)

>
The High Altar in St James', and the 1357 tomb of Sir John de Sutton,
just visible on the right. (photo courtesy of the late Terry King, of Osnabruck)

>
The effigy & tomb of Sir John de Sutton, a veteran knight, who died in 1358,
depicted clad in the armour he wore in 1346 at the Battle of Crecy.
The new church was dedicated in 1349, coincidentally the year of the Black Death,
but Sir John's tomb was already finished and in place, all ready for him,
for some 8 years before he died. That's faith for you.

Sir John is the grandfather of Maud de Sutton, who married Baron William Hastings, a Yorkist supporter of Edward IV. He was desended from the original Hastings family, formerly Duc de Eau, and cousins to William the Conqueror, and given their name for their part in the creation of an 'invasion port' at the time of the Norman invasion, Battle of Hastings, etc.  The port was created from the tiny village of Hastings, hence the family name.  Baron William was created knight on the battlefield by the king for his generalship at the Battle of Marston Moor, the last major battle that finally brought Edward IV to the throne of England.

After Edward's untimely death, William also briefly served Plantagenet uspurper Richard III, though apparently not very well in Richard's books. Perhaps Baron William knew too much about the disappearance of the young princes in The Tower, enough to cause Richard to have him summarily executed, almost within minutes of his arrest at a Privy Council meeting, outside on Tower Green.  By his marriage to Maud, he inherited her rights and estates, and that explains how here at Sutton, we used to have a plot of land entitled "Hastings Manor", which was to the east of the church and lay roughly where Church Mount is today. It is denoted as such on old maps as recent as Victorian times.

Baron William left a long Hastings family legacy, and most folks today who can trace one of their many lines into the Hastings family, spread far and wide all over England by Victorian times, can count a little bit of Sutton on Hull and this man's DNA in their veins. 

>
Another famous grave in Sutton churchyard, the tomb of the Liddell family.
We have quality photos on DVD at the Museum of ALL 2,000 or so graves in the churchyard, plus all of the wall plaques in place prior to 2014

>
A sight not often seen in Sutton these days;
EYMS preserved AEC Regent III, with a Beverley Bar roof, no644
appears to be on a quick wedding duty from Hornsea!
(photo courtesy of the late Terry King, of Osnabruck)

One of the two 'Humber Stones' ... outside the gates of the Memorial Garden.
A meeting place for young lovers since Adam was a lad.
No-one knows for sure how long they've been here, or from whence they came.

They're thought to have been used for centuries as "burial, or coffin stones", placed for pallbearers to briefly rest a coffin as a procession formed up to enter the church.

I've been told they were anciently used as stepping stones at a nearby
wooden landing stage down in the surrounding marshes from the ancient times
when the many winter courses of the River Hull effectively turned Sutton into an island,
not unlike the Somerset Levels or Lincolnshire Fens are today.

The War Memorial and Garden after the 2018 service, when the new plaques were unveiled. The garden has also been paved with suitable paving, so improving access and comfort for all visitors, but particularly for wheelchair users. 

Two new commemorative plaques have also been inlaid into the paving to the front of the memorial, one of them to Lt John (Jack) Harrison MC VC, (East Yorkshire Rgt),
killed in action at Oppy Wood in 1917.  Jack Harrison was born down Lime Street, in the area of the former Sutton Parish when it extended down to the Groves.  Before joining the army in 1914, he had been a teacher at Lime St School, and also an accomplished Rugby League player who played for Hull.F.C.

R.I.P.

* * *

WAWNE FERRY

a couple of old photos

The old ferry at Wawne, now but a distant memory to most folks, connected to Thearne Lane, and so came out on the main Beverley road, A1079, at Woodmansey. The 800-year old ferry closed to motor transport in the 1960's, though I recall still seeing signs well into the 1970s at Woodmansey on the main road warning motorists that the Thearne Ferry was now closed. They called it Thearne Ferry on that side of the river. .. well, they were in a different country, see.

There is a paperback booklet out on the story of Wawne Ferry for historians, by local writer, Martin Limon. 'A Passage over the River Hull: the Story of Wawne Ferry', and was available from the Beverley Bookshop, Browns in Hull, or direct from Martin himself.

Also, Issue 75 of the magazine, 'Down Your Way', contains a short article on Wawne Ferry by Martin, and the article also appears on The Thearne Website . It is all a most interesting read, and contains a great deal of information that will be new to most people.

Back to Gallery Lists