University Archives
Maister family, of Hull
The Maister family came to Hull from Kent in the sixteenth century and they were closely connected with the mercantile development of Hull through the early modern period. William Maister (d.1664) served as chamberlain in 1637, Sheriff in 1645 and in 1655 was mayor. He pioneered the direct trade in iron between Sweden and England and other members of the family acted as overseas factors. His son, Henry Maister (1632-1699), was the only Hull merchant whose business was comparable both in size and autonomy to the big merchant traders of London. His son, William Maister (1662-1716), was elected as Whig MP for Hull in 1700 and sat in eight successive parliaments. His sons, Henry Maister (1699-1744) and Nathaniel Maister (1703-1772), ran the family business from a house in High Street. On 13 April 1743 fire consumed the family house and Henry Maister's wife and infant son were killed in the blaze. The present house was built in 1744 and is a good example of the new Palladian movement. After the early death of Henry Maister, Nathaniel Maister continued to run the business and future generations of the Maister family failed to match his success. In the early nineteenth century the family built White Hall at Winestead and Wood Hall at Skirlaugh, but the expense placed great strain on the business and it was sold along with the houses by the mid-nineteenth century. The main collection of Maister family material was collected by Rupert Alec-Smith and includes his research files and photographs of family portraits, correspondence between Nathaniel Maister and Henry Maister, as well as copies of letters to William Maister, who was the family factor in Stockholm, and letters from Henry Maister and Nathaniel Maister to their friends and business associates, the Grimstons. In addition, the Maister day book 1714-1725 survives, though it retains evidence of the fire of 1743. [DAS/26; DP/82]