1) Febbos' thread on famous Hully-gullies prompted this thought: Does anyone remember 'Roland', aka 'Itchy Coo'? He was always there, at every public occasion - parade, celebration, Hull Fair. Skinny guy in black trilby, long black coat, neckerchief, thick and a tad unkempt hair. Used to get excited by the crowd and twirl his walking stick. Very well-spoken and possibly from a 'good' family. 2) The other is this: has anyone got photographs of Hull pubs, interior or exterior views, present or long-demolished? I'm after tile-work, such as in the Polar Bear or the White Hart (on Alfred Gelder Street). P.S. You can PM me...
Yes I remember him used to see him in Hessle quite a lot when we were kids. Turns out he was related somehow to my brothers wife.
Yes I remember him, and a very colourful well dressed guy of his time. The trilby ,cravat, and the cane twerling always at the Fair.
Go on www.paul-gibson.com there loads of stuff on pubs on there plus you can contact him direct and he knows everything about hull history, I've got a couple of his books on hull.
Yeah - cheers...know about Paul Gibson (but didn't have his site address) and have found some of his pub photos.
Theres also : http://www.lordline.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=44 http://old-hull.weebly.com/public-houses.html http://wwwoldhull.piczo.com/oldpubs?cr=4
I don't know the answer to that one, however I can message him and see if he has any info or pics on "itchy coo"
You guys are great - being very helpful. But, if it's going to fill up the board, PM me? Thanks a lot anyway...massive thanks.
No, mate! That's not what I was implying. It's just that my Tour de France thread ran for three weeks and, probably, pissed off a few posters.
With regards to the 'skinny bloke with the black trilby'. He was also known as "Mad Bullah" but his real name was Roland Yen. He had a Caravan somewhere near Dunswell I believe and used to walk from there to town and back almost every day. Word had it that he had a wife and 6 kids but nobody ever saw them whilst other rumours said that he had won the football pools and that's why he never worked. The only job I ever saw him do was once a year at Hull Fair where he acted as spruiker for a side show featuring Goliath the Pig". Nice bloke who always raised his hat to the ladies and would say "how-do" to everyone. Another 'character' who was well known in those early post-war days was an old ex-prostitute called Eva Smith who walked round town with her dog called "B@st@rd" (that's what she called it and it would answer to the name too). The old guys used to say that she would lift her skirt for a pint in her 'hay day' but in her older years she would abuse anybody and everybody and I have seen grown men cross to the other side of the road rather than front her. The authorities would take her into delapole every now and then for a clean up and dry out. Another "Nutter" (shame to use that word but that's what everyone called him) was a bloke who would walk through the shoppers with one hand behind him and the other in front of him weaving his way through everybody and would do this all day. We would watch him from our vantage point above Burtons in King Edward Street. Never knew where he came from or where he went but he was there every day.
Roland Dent was the old guy in the Trilby. apparently my mother said he scared me when i was in a pram, and she ran over his foot. With regard to Eva Smith a nice story in the end, yes she was a prostitute and alcohol fuddled her brain, but when i started training a psych nurse in 78 i looked after her on the dementia ward in De La Pole where she died..She had been there for years, but at least well looked after.I also looked after Roland Dents son ....enough said.
Thanks for that. We always thought it was "Yen". I also was under the impression that Eva died in the 50's as she seemed to disappear in the mid 50's and looked well into her 60's then but her style of living could have put years on her. It was nice to hear that she died with some dignity. Thank you again.
Thats okay,with Eva they actually did a piece in the Mail when she died ,as you say to give back some dignity.
Cheers and thanks to all! What I'm after - regarding pubs - is info on the work done (for the old Hull Brewery) by David Reynard Robinson, master-builder and tiler. If you've been in the White Hart (Alfred Gelder Street, near Drypool Bridge) you'll read me: he did the tiled bar and the frontage. I think he might have done the bar in the Polar Bear. And possibly the Queens Hotel on Princes Road/Queens Road corner. He's reputed to be the builder of Bev Road Baths and the City Hall. He had a house in Derringham Street, before moving to Freehold Street. He retired to a house he built - 'Farrago' - on Wilton Road, in Hornsea. He worked on other HB pubs - interiors and exteriors - and it's photos and info of them that I'm after.
Still think your best bet is trying to talk to paul gibson. But found this http://www.lynnpearson.co.uk/Yorkshire.pdf
