27 Andy Hazell – Scott Street & Hull Fast Film

Andy Hazell – Hull Fast Film 1992 and Grosvenor Mill

“A long time ago I bought a four storey linseed crushing mill on the River Hull, Grosvenor Mill. It was built in 1828 and is a ‘loosely organised pile of bricks’. Ships and barges used to bring chemicals and oils to the factories upstream, which they could only navigate at high tide. The river was narrow and the rumble of the Doxford or B&M diesels would make the windows rattle. Scott Street Bridge, next to the mill, was an important short cut for the Goths on their way home at 3am after consuming way too many poisonous lime green 50p cocktails at Spiders.

A short man called Sam, who collected postage stamps was the ‘Bridge Master’, he used to ring a bell mounted on a stout post, until someone stole it. When the bell rang and no matter how often you’d seen it, you couldn’t help but go to the kitchen window and wave at the crew, who were usually Bengali, Phillipino or West African.

The fuel tankers were painted scarlet and festooned with floodlights. The reflected red glow would often wake you as the tankers grumbled by at high tide in the middle of the night.

While I was there, I made a 6 foot chandelier of the ships that used to pass through the bridge, with the Mill and blue cranes at its centre. The ships were the Syndic, Doris, Goldcrest and Fostraum. Mark Rylance, the actor, has it hanging in his house in South London now. The ships (and bridge) are no more, but the Mill (and chandelier) are still there.

I remember one Sunday waking up very early as it was strangely, eerily quiet, to look out of the window to see water flooding into the shipyard opposite. Water was coming out of the drains on Wincolmlee. I got on my 3 speed ‘Ladies Bike’ and rushed to the Tidal Barrier, which was still up. There was a grey phone box bolted to the column which connected with the control room in Newcastle. I said “Have you got CCTV? Well Hull is flooding!” I then heard, over the phone, “Oh, fuck!” as the alarms rang and the barrier clunked into life showering me with gravel.

One of the most poignant things I have ever seen was an old man on a bike who stopped on the bridge with a small reddy-brown suitcase. He rested the case on the railing and opened it. He’d take out a photograph, look at it then let it drop into the brown water. One by one they fell in and floated away ’til in the end he gently pushed the case to its point of balance and simply let it too, fall into the brown soup to be swallowed by the water. He showed no emotion, and just got on his bike and rode away.”

In 1992 Andy made ‘Hull Fast Film’ with a soundtrack by Lou’s band mate Red Guitars’ Hallam Lewis.

The film includes iconic images and sounds of Hull, the river, its bridges, barges, pilots, docks, ships and shops, fish and chips, its streets and famous travelling fair. A fascinating art film of the time and originally a twin screen film projected onto the outside of the Ferens Art Gallery, it has now become a poignant and important contribution to the social history of Hull.

Below the film is a gallery of Andy’s photographs, in and around the mill, and the bridge, he called home.

You can find out more about Andy and his work here: http://www.andyhazell.co.uk/

Grosvenor Mill from Scott Street Bridge in the snow by Andy Hazell

The TORA Sandavágur negotiating Scott Street Bridge from Grosvenor Mill.

The river at high tide, from Scott Street Bridge and Grosvenor Mill

Coasting through Scott Street

The kitchen at Grosvenor Mill and ‘Ship Chandelier’, made of painted tin. Each ship is three feet long, with Grosvenor Mill and the blue cranes in the middle. The ‘Doris’ is grey, ‘Fostraum’ is red, ‘Syndic’ was black below the waterline, the other is ‘Goldcrest’.