Image: plan of Hull manor from H. Colvin, History of the King’s Works, iv/2 (Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office courtesy of the Open Government License Agreement).
Acquired: 1539
Henry visited Hull in a rare northern “progress” in 1540. He stayed five days and planned for additional expansion to the manor. Three “plats” and one perspective view of this royal manor design in Hull survive in drawings by master mason John Rogers, made ca. 1540 and now preserved in the British Library (in the Cotton Augustus manuscript collection). Rogers was employed to work on Hull’s military defenses and the king wanted the house modified as well. Alterations included a T-shaped staircase similar to the one at Bridewell Palace in London, and rooms on the upper floor arranged in suites to accommodate both the king’s and the queen’s households. It is not known if the proposed alterations were ever carried out, though apparently some work was undertaken to fortify the house for defense, with the addition of a rounded bastion projecting from one portion. Nothing remains of the works today.