Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull or locally usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands athwart the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea.Hull has a resident population of 258,700 (2008 est.). Renamed Kings town upon Hull by King Edward I in 1299, the town and city of Hull has served as market town, military supply port, hub, fishing and whaling centre,[4] and industrial metropolis.

Hull was an early theatre of battle in the English Civil Wars. Its 18th-century Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, played a key role in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.

The city is unique in the UK in having had a municipally-owned telephone system from 1902, sporting cream, not red, telephone boxes. After suffering heavy damage during the Second World War, Hull weathered a period of post-industrial decline,during which the city gained unfavourable results on measures of social deprivation, education and policing. In recent years the city has embarked on an extensive programme of economic regeneration, reconstruction and urban renewal. The economic crisis since 2008 and the public sector cuts of 2010 have caused some setbacks to these developments.

Hull has been the base for several notable poets, including former University of Hull Librarian Philip Larkin, many of whose poems were set in the city. In summer 2010, Hull is hosting the Larkin 25 Festival. Tourist attractions include the historic Old Town and Museum Quarter, the Marina and The Deep, a city landmark. The redevelopment of one of Hull's main thoroughfares, Ferensway, included the opening of St. Stephen's Hull and the new Hull Truck Theatre. Spectator sporting activities include professional football and two rugby league clubs. The KC Stadium houses the football club and one rugby club.

The local accent differs markedly in its vowels from that of the rest of Yorkshire, and the rhythm of speech bears a similarity to that of Lincolnshire, to which it was briefly linked in the defunct county of Humberside