Immediately west of Hull Minster is Trinity Square, an area much-changed before and during 2017, Hull’s initial City of Culture year. Now that all the re-surfacing is complete and the various displays across 2017 gone the area is open-plan paved with some public seating around the perimeter and incorporating an ingenious device whereby eight shallow pools of water, constantly drained and replenished, exist across the Square and add interest to the area without being a deep-water hazard. Trinity Square has had many uses and changes across modern times but until 1855 was Holy Trinity church’s main graveyard. With Holy Trinity being a chapel of ease until 1661 burials, being a source of income for the mother church, should have taken place in the graveyard of Hessle church. However, with the growth of Hull as a port and town Holy Trinity, although remaining a chapel of ease, was granted burial rights in the 15th century. In 1855 then Trinity Square would have been a forest of headstones, although, of course, not everyone buried had a headstone. In fact since 1783 most parish burials had taken place in the detached burial ground beside Castle Street, so in 1855 Trinity Square was probably a rather shabby hotchpotch of old headstones. Evan so giving what we know of Hull’s population rise up to the late 18th century Trinity Square must have been saturated with human remains and the grave-digger(s) would have constantly been unearthing earlier burials. Given this situation some churches allocated some part of the interior to a charnal-house where unearthed bones were deposited. It is not known if this happened at Holy Trinity but at St. Mary’s, Beverley the room remains (without the bones).
(To be continued).