Shopping in Hull

With the opening of St Stephen’s Shopping Centre at the end of 2007, Hull can now boast one of the most varied and exciting shopping experiences in the north of England. Popular high street names such as Next, Body Shop, and JJB Sports sit alongside established department stores such as Marks and Spencer and Debenhams. All these are well complemented by a wide selection of quality independent traders.

Princes Quay Shopping Centre was built in 1991 over the former site of one of the city’s main working docks and since then has been a focal point for shoppers coming to the town. The four floors include a range of popular stores such as River Island, Monsoon, Top Shop and The Disney Store, as well as a popular restaurant and cafe, Leonardo’s. December 2007 saw the opening of Vue, Europe’s first all digital cinema on the top floor of the Quay.

Princes Quay is an ideal first stop on a shopping trip to Hull. Turning right out of the Quay takes you down one of Hull’s most well known shopping thoroughfares, Whitefriargate. This street takes its name from the white robed Carmelite monks who had a friary along here until Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monastic orders. Today it contains a wide range of shops, from the department store Marks and Spencer to culinary favourites such as Crawshaws butchers.

Progressing down Whitefriargate brings the visitor to Hepworth’s Arcade, an Edwardian thoroughfare which retains many of its periodic features and charm, but which also offers an eclectic range of goods from vintage clothing to magic and joke items. The arcade gets its name from a 19th century company of tailors, a wall mural of their company can still be seen at one end of the arcade. The arcade is linked to the covered and colourful Trinity Market where friendly local traders offer a fantastic selection of fresh fish, meat, bread, fruit and vegetables, not to mention the stalls offering records, retro clothing, sewing items, psychedelic household lights and much more. There’s even a stall specialising in items for the smoking of ‘exotic’ herbs!

Walking across from Princes Quay, takes you firstly to Queen Victoria Square and then onto the pedestrianised King Edward Street, one of Hull’s busiest shopping streets with popular high street names such as Millets, Clarks shoes and Argos. Make sure you don’t miss nearby Savile Street and George Street, considered by many to be the home of designer clothing in the city.  Largely composed of independent traders, both streets offer a superb selection of internationally known labels at reasonable prices.

At the end of the pedestrianised part of King Edward Street, a shopper is faced with two main choices. Going left takes you along Jameson Street which provides a pleasant stroll up to the transport interchange and has a number of stores including a Waterstones book shop, and ends up at the recently refurbished House of Fraser department store. Alternatively, continuing up King Edward Street takes you onto Prospect Street which has a number of popular shops including the department stores BHS and Debenhams, as well as family favourites including Woolworths, Home Bargains and a large Boots store. Also along here you will find The Prospect Centre. This modest but popular and well managed shopping centre features over 40 shops, including many high street names such as WH Smith, Dixons and Wilkinson, as well as a coffee & muffin shop if you’re in need of a break.