---

Description of Location –

The statue is located on reclaimed land, “the Bullnose”, on the west side of the Humber basin, leading into Hull Marina (previously the Humber Dock).

Details –

Erected: 2001

Listed: Not listed

Monument Type: Art sculpture/Historical interest

Associated Site(s): The artists created four statues in the series, with one (often referred to as the ‘Legacy Sculpture’) located on the Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool, another off Broad Street in Portsmouth, and a fourth in America (exact location unknown). Each has a different inscription to tell a different part of the story.

Inscription(s): “Neil Hadlock’s sculpture depicts a family from Northern Europe having left ship before continuing to Paragon Station then on by train to Liverpool then by ship to America.”

“Over 2,200,000 people passed through Hull and other Humber Ports to America between 1836 and 1914.”

“Statue donated 2001 to Kingston upon Hull by the Sea Trek Foundation of America as they retraced their descendants [sic] journey in Tall Ships from Northern Europe.”

“This statue is located on the reclaimed land at “The Bullnose” where ships waited for high tide before entering Humber Dock.”

Description: A bronze statue depicting a family upon an engraved stone plinth, also known as ‘The Crossing’. The family consists of husband, wife, son, and daughter in period dress, along with their luggage and a crab with which the son is playing. Created by Neil Hadlock and Mark DeGraffenried as part of a project retracing the journey many immigrants made from Northern Europe to North America in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Additional Resources –

“The Crossing,” Art UK, accessed 27 December 2023, https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-crossing-322981.

“The Migrants who came to Hull – Their Journey Carved in Stone,” Yorkshire Post, 9 October 2016, https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/the-migrants-who-came-to-hull-their-journey-carved-in-stone-1789813.