Exhibition telling story of Hull’s lost twin city to go on display at Hull History Centre

The original Hull and Ravenser Odd charters, dating back to 1299, will be on display for the first time outside of London at Hull History Centre.

Ravenser Odd was a short-lived medieval town on an island in the Humber. Both Ravenser Odd and its neighbour, Hull, gained their charters from Edward I on the same day – April 1^st 1299.

To mark the 725^th anniversary, the exhibition ‘Hull/Ravenser Odd: twin cities, sunken pasts’ displays the charters, on loan from The National Archives, along with items from the collection at Hull History Centre, to bring the unknown story to the forefront.

The exhibition is on display from Tuesday 26 March 2024 and will run until Thursday 30 May 2024.

Martin Taylor, City Archivist, said: “To have the Ravenser Odd charts on loan from The National Archives is a real coup for Hull and visitors to the exhibition.

“The story of Ravenser Odd will come to life for the first time in this new exhibition.

“On display at Hull History Centre, you will learn about the sinking of Ravenser Odd and the implications it had.”

A comic, aimed at children and young people, that brings the archival documents on display to life to engage young people with the history and folklore of their community has also been commissioned by Hull Maritime.

The comic will be created by local artist Gareth Sleightholme and will be the third in a series of comics produced as part of the Hull Maritime project. ‘1362: A Spurn Oddity’ will follow imaginary local school children as they discover the forgotten history of the birth and death of Ravenser Odd. The free comic will be available at the exhibition and in local schools, encouraging children to see themselves as part of the ongoing history of Hull and the Humber area.

The exhibition and associated activities are underpinned by research by Dr Kathryn Maude (The National Archives) and Dr Emily Robinson (University of Sussex). They will give a talk about the history and folklore of Ravenser Odd on Tuesday 9 April, at 12.30pm, at Hull History Centre. On Wednesday 10 April, at 6.30pm, Phil Mathison (local historian) and Dr Steve Simmons (University of Hull) will speak about their search for traces of the island. Both talks are free and open to all.