Early in 1860 the Mayor of Hull, Zachariah Pearson, gave 27 acres of land to the Hull Corporation, on condition that they made an immediate start on laying it out as a public park. Initially known as the People’s Park, it was soon renamed Pearson Park in honour of the Mayor’s munificence. It was formally opened in September 1860, and quickly became a popular destination with all the usual attractions of lake, aviary, refreshment rooms and drinking fountain. But a couple of years after opening a less common feature joined the growing list of attractions in the park: a folly in the form of a sham ruin with a rather fascinating provenance.

To step back in time, the Ruins, as the folly in the park became known, had already been a feature in another Hull attraction. Much of the masonry had first been erected as an eye-catcher in Hull’s Zoological Gardens, a short-lived enterprise that operated for two decades before the money ran out. The Zoo opened in 1840 as a ‘place of resort for healthful exercise’ where the mind was to be stimulated by ‘the picturesque and tasteful arrangement of the grounds and architecture’.

In the early years ‘further architectural embellishments’ were added each season to encourage return visits: there was a Swiss chalet for the goats, a Moorish temple to house the elephants, and a ‘Heathen Temple’ which displayed what were then described as ‘curiosities associated with Buddhist mythology’. Supervising the layout was one of the Vice-presidents of the Zoological Gardens, the architect Henry Francis Lockwood. Lockwood (1811-1878) was then practicing in Hull, but would become famous for his later partnership with William Mawson, which produced buildings such as Bradford Town Hall and the mill, village and church in the model village of Saltaire, also in the West Riding.

Whilst the ruin in the Zoological Gardens was a sham, it was not intended to fool anyone, and was marked on the plan of the gardens as ‘Ruins (Artificial)’. But most of the masonry used was genuinely ancient, and had an excellent provenance, for it was purchased at the auction of surplus ‘reliques’ after the great fire at York Minster in May 1840. Material from the Minster was salvaged after the fire and made into small mementoes such as snuff boxes and candlesticks, but there was also also money to be made from the substantial pieces of timber and masonry that could not be reused when the damaged section of the church was rebuilt.

In 1844 the York auctioneer Mr Vaile informed ‘Antiquarians, Connossieurs [sic], Architects, Builders &c’ that he had been directed by the Restoration Committee of York Minster to sell the ‘Ancient and Valuable Reliques’. Present at the auction was Thomas Dalton Hammond, a Hull chemist and druggist and one of the Honorary Secretaries of the Zoological Society, and when bidding began for the masonry he was quick off the mark and snapped up the first lot. This was an ‘Ancient perforated Stone Parapet from the top of the North-West Tower’ at a cost of one guinea, and Hammond then went on to buy a total of 27 lots. His haul included keystones, quatrefoils, carved flowers and carved lion heads, mouldings, marble flooring and his most expensive purchase, at £1.12.0, was ‘Two Canopies, with Buttresses, Crockets, Springer and Finials complete’ which had been part of the South Side of the Nave. These fragments, as well as decorative masonry from other churches, then began the second phase of their lives as a folly in the Zoological Gardens, but sadly no view is known to survive.

Meanwhile, plans had been progressing for another recreational facility for the people of Hull, and Pearson Park, on the land donated by Pearson, had opened in 1860 to a design by Mr J.C. Niven, the Curator of the town’s Botanical Gardens (Kingston upon Hull did not gain city status in 1897). As the park was being developed the Zoological Gardens were struggling to survive, and eventually failed.

The animals were dispersed, and in 1862 the ‘costly and ornamental buildings’ were offered at auction. The Folly Flâneuse would love to know what happened to the ‘large and handsome’ Elephant House, or the ‘exceedingly beautiful’ Menagerie as well as the many other buildings and artefacts. But we do know that the ‘Ancient Church Architecture’ was bought by Alderman Moss of Hull. With civic funds at his disposal he expended £45 on portions of the ruins: according to the sale catalogue these comprised a ‘fine screen’ from York Minster, as well as fragments from Holy Trinity Church in Hull, and a church at Owthorne (possibly St Nicholas near Withernsea which had stood derelict before being restored in 1858). The fragments were then used for the third time as rather fine folly in Pearson Park.

In 1864 the local historian Sheahan wrote that the Ruins would soon mellow and ‘form a pretty feature’. Publishers agreed and the scene was soon featured on countless picture postcards.

By 1929 the once pristine area around the folly had become overgrown, and a letter to the editor of the Hull Daily Mail suggested that a ‘suitable inscription’ be placed near the Ruins to explain the forgotten history of the stones. But the folly continued to fall out of fashion and favour, and it was cleared when the park was ‘modernised’ in the 1950s to save money on maintenance and staffing. Sadly there was no auction this time, and the Folly Flâneuse has not (yet) discovered what happened to the ancient stones. Pearson Park remains an amenity for the people of Hull.

There’s an excellent history of the Zoological Gardens on the Hull History Centre website here https://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/whats-on/activities/The-Zoo-on-the-Avenue-Booklet.pdf

Thanks to Chris Hand for mentioning the Ruins and setting in motion a most enjoyable piece of research, and to the teams at Hull History Centre and York Minster Archives.

Please scroll down to the comments box if you would like to share any thoughts or further information. Thank you very much for reading.

Grimston Park was rebuilt by the Hon. Colonel Caradoc, later 2nd Baron Howden, from around 1839, transforming a ‘plain country house’ into a ‘splendid chateau’. New offices and estate buildings were also erected, including this ‘object tower’. 

Decimus Burton was the architect given the commission for the substantial remodelling of the existing Carr of York house (then little more than half a century old) in an Italianate style. Burton was given the opportunity to be a little more whimsical when designing the elevated tower, which was under construction in 1842. It is a quirky structure, difficult to categorise, but the door and window surrounds have an Egyptian influence. Howden was a diplomat who had travelled extensively, including a visit to Egypt in 1827, and may have played a part in the design.

The tower’s exotic detail may also have been intended to impress Caradoc’s bride, The Princess Bagration, who grew up in the court of Catherine the Great. She was a socialite who was known as le Bel Ange Nu because of her penchant for sheer muslin dresses.  (Presumably at parties she literally dressed down, as it is hard to see how the swathes in the portrait above caused any titillation). The Hon. Colonel Caradoc and the Princess had been the focus of society gossip for ‘the last ten years’ when their marriage was announced in 1835. In 1829 it was reported that the ‘on dits of Paris assert that le Beau C____k*, le Prince des attachés, is to marry the Princess Bagration’, snidely adding that ‘the lady, it is true, is a grandmother, but she has 18,000l per annum’. The politer press only hinted at her fortune, writing that ‘great wealth and great accomplishment are united in this happy union.’ But the match was not a success, and the couple separated in 1850, soon after the house was completed. Caradoc, by now 2nd Baron Howden, had no wish to live there and soon after sold the estate to Lord Londesborough.

‘Grimston Tower’ was complete by the time the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map was drawn up in 1845-6 and fulfilled a dual role of eye-catcher and belvedere. When the estate was again sold in 1872 it was described as a ‘lofty Flag Tower’ with ‘extensive and charming views’. The original flagpole was itself a curiosity:  a wonderful knobbly, rustic branch now replaced with the usual smooth pole.

Grimston Park Tower is cared for by the Fielden family who have owned the estate since 1872. It was recently restored with the help of a grant from the Country Houses Foundation. The folly stands on private land but can be seen from public roads passing the estate. Requests to visit the tower should be addressed to the Estate Office.

The list of folly towers in Yorkshire that claim a view of York Minster (“on a clear day…”) is endless, but for once it is justified here

There is an excellent account of the history of the gardens and park at Grimston here courtesy of the researchers at the Yorkshire Gardens Trust https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/sites/yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/files/documents/Grimston%20Park_YGT%20Selby%20District%20Historical%20Report.pdf

A Postscript: Researching Decimus Burton revealed that he had a bit of a thing for towers. He was the architect of two lighthouses for the model town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, which he designed for Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood just before he started work at Grimston. The Folly Flâneuse couldn’t resist a trip to the seaside:

*Caradoc aka Caradock.

The portrait of the handsome Colonel Caradoc is in the Phoenix Art Museum http://egallery.phxart.org/view/objects/asitem/items$0040:22673