Hull Castle was constructed to defend the east side of the town of Kingston upon Hull against a possible French attack ; it was also intended to ensure the loyalty of the population , who had taken part in a revolt against the King in 1536 . Henry had visited Hull in late 1541 and had observed that , although the town had strong walls to the north and west , it lacked adequate defences in the event of an attack from the east , while the harbour was only protected by a " little round brick tower " . Henry issued orders for the existing town defences to be repaired and renovated but , before the work could commence , he changed his mind and issued fresh instructions in early 1542 . John Rogers , a military engineer previously stationed in Guînes , was brought back to England to construct a major system of defences on the east bank of the River Humber , comprising a central castle linked to two large blockhouses . The design of the new defences was probably carried out by Rogers and resembled his earlier work near Calais , although the King probably also made some decisions on the project personally . Sir Richard Long and Michael Stanhope were instructed to oversee the construction of the defences , with Thomas Aldred acting as the project 's paymaster and William Reynolds in the role of master mason . Initial estimates suggested that 530 workers would be needed , including masons , carpenters and plumbers , but more may have been required in practice . Some of the building materials were taken from monastic institutions , which had recently dissolved by Henry ; stone and lead was taken from the nearby Meaux Abbey , further stone from the friaries in Hull and probably also from St Mary 's Church in Hull , which had recently collapsed . At least some of the bricks needed were made in a series of ten kilns beside the site itself . The land needed for the buildings had been seized during the dissolution of the monasteries . By December 1543 , £ 21,056 had been spent on the project
revolt against the King
Pilgrimage of Grace
Hull Castle