Why is it called Bond Street?

The origin of BOND STREET

The Town Dock (Queens Dock then Queens Gardens) was opened in 1778 but there was no entrance from the Albion St area to the north west corner of the dock, which was a frustration to people who had to make a long detour to reach the dock or buildings near by. The Dock Company, who owned much land, the prevented the development of any street that would give access to Savile Street (Some times spelt Saville)

Savile Street apparently contained elegant and expensive houses and its lack of through traffic as there was an orchard at its northern end. No doubt the reduced traffic heightened its appeal and value. The Dock Company said that whoever bought their land to built on could not make other entrance into Savile St., which they owned. And who ever bought the land which eventually became Bond Street had to pay a bond of £500 that prohibited them joining their land onto Saville Street.

Enter Edward Story, a Hull builder, (who built Story St) who bought the land just north west of Savile St, on which he built houses. A Richard Baker (Baker St?) arranged that Story could buy the last house on the north west corner of Savile Street and then knock it down and thus join his new street to Savile Street making it a thoroughfare. The Dock Company were furious about this but because Edward Story was insolvent they couldn't 'chase' him legally for any money and eventually they had to give up. Richard Baker named the street Bond Street, after the breaking of the £500 bond. The map of 1791 by Hargrave (coloured by me) makes the situation more easy to understand.

Looking carefully at the F S Smith drawing Bond St seems to turn left at the far (southern end). This would fit with the map. Also there are two side streets. The one on the left (east side) is probably Silvester (Sylvester) St and the one on the right (west side) and from Peck and Son (10 Market Place) 1882 is probably Little Albion St. While Silverster St is straight Little Albion St has a bend and then runs south.

Modified Hargaves map of 1791. The new Town Dock is shown centre right

The land that Story bought is shaded in orange and that of Saville Street , owned by the dock Company, to the south east, is black. The house that Story bought and then knocked down is shaded green. This act made Story's land and that of Savile Street confluent and a through road.

F S Smiths drawing of Bond Street from Albion Street corner. Copyright Hull Museum, used with their permission

The current east side of Bond Street (Commons Licence)

The current west side of Bond Street with the long closed Edwin Davis. (Commons licence)

As the photos show WW II bombing and increases in traffic have caused the current Bond Street to become very different from the original street of F S Smiths drawing.

Many details extracted from the contemporary account by George Pryme Esq (Pryme Street?) and written in Mr J Richardson's manuscripts which were collected by a Mr W Sykes. Reprinted from the Hull and East Yorkshire Times (1915) by Malet Lambert in 1980.