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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ieya (talk | contribs) at 01:15, 21 May 2013 (→Politics: Clarify that majorities in both 1983 and 2010 were under 800, rather than just giving specific 2010 figure.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Grimsby (disambiguation).

Grimsby
Grimsby Dock Tower
Population87,574 
OS grid referenceTA279087
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGRIMSBY
Postcode districtDN31 - DN34, DN35, DN37
Dialling code01472
PoliceHumberside
FireHumberside
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Lincolnshire

Grimsby (or archaically Great Grimsby) is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996. According to legend, Grimsby was first founded in the 9th century by Grim, a Danish fisherman.[1]

Geography

The A180 is the main route into Grimsby (from the west)

The town was previously titled "Great Grimsby" to distinguish it from Little Grimsby, a village about 14 miles (22 km) to the south, near Louth. People from Grimsby are called Grimbarians.[2]

The town has a population of 87,574.[3] It is physically linked to and forms a conurbation with the adjoining town of Cleethorpes. Eleven thousand of its residents live in the village of Scartho, which was absorbed into Grimsby before laws on the green belt were passed. All three areas come under the jurisdiction of the same unitary authority, North East Lincolnshire. It is close to the main terminus of the A180, which ends in Cleethorpes. 22 January is Great Grimsby Day.[2]

The River Freshney rises to the west of the town, towards the A46. The A46 terminates near Grimsby in Cleethorpes at the junction with the A16 just north of Oasis Academy Wintringham.

History

Vikings

Grimsby was founded by the Danes in the 9th century AD, although there is some evidence of a small town of Roman workers sited in the area some seven centuries earlier. Located on The Haven, which flowed into the Humber, Grimsby would have provided an ideal location for ships to shelter from approaching storms. It was also well situated for the rich fishing grounds in the North Sea.

The name Grimsby probably originated from the Grim's by, or "Grim's Village". This is based on Grim the Danish Viking, supposedly the founder of the town; the suffix -by being the Old Norse word for village. For more on the legendary founding of Grimsby, see the Lay of Havelock the Dane. This legend of the founding of Grimsby is completely unsupported. A Grim and Havelock Association claims to have evidence to back up the legend.[citation needed]

In Norse mythology, 'Grim' (Mask) and 'Grimnir' (Masked One) are names adopted by the deity Odin (Anglo-Saxon 'Woden') when travelling incognito amongst mortals, as in the short poem known as 'Grimnir's Sayings' (Grimnismal) in the Poetic Edda.[4] The intended audience of the Havelock tale (recorded much later in the form of The Lay of Havelock the Dane) may have understood the fisherman Grim to be Odin in disguise. The Odinic name 'Grimr/Grim' occurs in many English placenames within the historical Danelaw and elsewhere in Britain, examples being the numerous earthworks named Grimsdyke.[5] Every other British placename containing the element Grim- is explained as a reference to Woden/Odin (e.g. Grimsbury, Grimspound, Grime's Graves, Grimsditch, Grimsworne), Grimsby is unlikely to have a different derivation.

Grimsby is listed in the Domesday Book as having a population of around 200, a priest, a mill and a ferry (probably to take people across the Humber, to Hull).

It also appears in the Orkneyinga Saga in this Dróttkvætt stanza by the Viking Rǫgnvald Kali:

Vér hǫfum vaðnar leirur   vikur fimm megingrimmar;

saurs vara vant, er várum,   viðr, í Grímsbœ miðjum.
Nú'r þat's más of mýrar   meginkátliga látum

branda elg á bylgjur   Bjǫrgynjar til dynja.

"We have waded in mire for five terrible weeks; there was no lack of mud where we were, in the middle of Grimsby. But now away we let our beaked moose [ship] resound meerily on the waves over the seagull's swamp [sea] to Bergen."

St James' church, before its extension

During the 12th century, Grimsby developed into a fishing and trading port, at one point ranking twelfth in importance to the Crown in terms of tax revenue. The town was granted its charter by King John in 1201 The first mayor was installed in 1218.

Grimsby does not have town walls. It was too small and was protected by the marshy land around it. However, the town did have a ditch. In medieval times, Grimsby had two parish churches, St Mary's and St James'. Only St James', now known as Grimsby Minster, remains. St James' shares with Lincoln Cathedral the folk tale of an Imp who played tricks in the church and was turned into stone by an angel (see Lincoln Imp).

In the mid-14th century it benefited from the generosity of Edmund de Grimsby, a local man who became a senior Crown official and judge in Ireland.

In the 15th century, The Haven began to silt up, preventing ships in the Humber from docking. As a result, Grimsby entered a long period of decline which lasted until the late 18th century. In 1801, the population of Grimsby numbered 1,524 [citation needed], around the same size that it had been in the Middle Ages.

Fishing and maritime industry

The Great Grimsby Haven Company was formed by Act of Parliament in May 1796 (the Grimsby Haven Act) for the purpose of "widening, deepening, enlarging, altering and improving the Haven of the Town and Port of Great Grimsby". In the early 19th century, the town grew rapidly. Grimsby's port boomed, importing iron, timber, wheat, hemp and flax. New docks were necessary to cope with the expansion. The Grimsby Docks Act of 1845 allowed the necessary building works.

Alexandra Docks and National Fishing Heritage Centre

The Dock Tower was completed in 1851, followed by the Royal Dock in 1852. No.1 Fish Dock was completed in 1856, followed by No.2 Fish Dock in 1877. Alexandra Dock and Union Dock followed in 1879. During this period, the fishing fleet was greatly expanded. In a rare reversal of the usual trends, large numbers of fishermen from the South-East and Devon travelled North to join the Grimsby fleet. Over 40% of these newcomers came from Barking in East London, and other Thames-side towns.[6]

The arrival of the railway in 1848 made it far easier to transport goods to and from the port. Coal mined in the South Yorkshire coal fields was brought by rail and exported through Grimsby. Rail links direct to London and the Billingsgate Fish Market allowed for fresh 'Grimsby Fish' to gain renown nationwide. The first true fish dock opened in Grimsby in 1856 and from then on, Grimsby was at the forefront of the development of the fishing industry. In 1857 there were 22 vessels in Grimsby. Six years later there were 112.[7] The first two legitimate steam trawlers ever built in Great Britain were based in Grimsby and by 1900, a tenth of the fish consumed in the United Kingdom was landed at Grimsby, despite the many smaller coastal fishing ports and villages that were supplying the nation.[7] The demand for fish in Grimsby grew to such an extent that, at its peak in the 1950s, Grimsby laid claim to the title of 'the largest fishing port in the world'.[8]

Following the pressures placed on the industry during the Cod Wars, many Grimsby firms decided to cease trawling operations from the town. The sudden demise of the Grimsby fishing industry brought an end to a way of life and community that had lasted for generations. Huge numbers of men became redundant, highly skilled in jobs that no longer existed, and struggled to find work ashore. As seen in the case of Ross Group, some firms concentrated on other expanding industries within the town, such as food processing. Grimsby's trawling days are remembered through the artifacts and permanent exhibits at the town's Fishing Heritage Centre. The preserved 1950s trawler, Ross Tiger, is located here. Few fishing vessels still operate from Grimsby's once thriving docks, although the town maintains a substantial fish market, of European importance.[9]

The population of Grimsby grew from 75,000 in 1901 to 92,000 by 1931. Given the effects of the Great Depression and the restructuring of the fishing industry, employment declined. The population was fairly stable for the rest of the 20th century.[10]

Since the mid-1980s, the former Humber ferry, PS Lincoln Castle, was moored in Alexandra Dock. She was used during this time as a pub\restaurant. Although her design and status as Britain's last coal-fired paddle steamer was unique, the ship was no longer profitable and was broken up in 2010.[11] Berthed in the Alexandra Dock is the Ross Tiger, the last survivor of what was once the world's largest fleet of sidewinder trawlers.[12]

World War II

War memorial, Grimsby Dock

During World War II, Grimsby's status as a major port made it a target of the German Luftwaffe.[citation needed] They used the Dock Tower as a landmark and refused to bomb it (the British Government discussed its demolition to prevent its use as a navigational aid).[citation needed] Later study of German records found that, had the German invasion been successful, Grimsby would have been one of the first landing points in the north of England, due to the combination of its location and its infrastructure.[citation needed] Numerous air raids destroyed areas of Grimsby; it was struck by Butterfly Bombs in 1943. The bombing caused the deaths of 197 people.[citation needed].

The current HMS Grimsby(M108)

The Royal Dock was used as the UK's largest base for minesweepers to patrol the North Sea. The Admiralty requisitioned numerous trawlers to serve as minesweepers for the Royal Naval Patrol Service. In many cases, their crew were ex-trawlermen as well as men from the Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Navy volunteers. Trawlers would use the winches and warps used in fishing operations to tow a paravane with a cutting jaw through the water in what was known as a 'sweep' to bring mines to the surface and allow for their removal.

− The dangers faced by the 'Patrol Service' ensured that it lost more vessels than any other branch of the Royal Navy during the Second World War with 2385 lives lost.[13] Grimsby’s Royal Naval Patrol Service veterans financed the construction of a memorial beside the Dock Tower[14] to ensure that the bravery and sacrifice of their comrades is never forgotten.[13]


HMS Grimsby is a Sandown class minehunter (commissioned in 1999) currently in service in the Royal Navy.

Local government

Great Grimsby
Grimsby town hall
Grimsby town hall

Great Grimsby as a Borough of Humberside
Area
 • 19112,868 acres (11.61 km2)
 • 19615,881 acres (23.80 km2)
History
 • Created1835
 • Abolished1996
 • Succeeded byNorth East Lincolnshire
StatusTown Charter Granted 1201
Municipal Borough (1835-1889)
County Borough (1889-1974)
Borough (1974-1996)
 • HQGrimsby
File:Grimsbycoat.jpg
Arms of Great Grimsby Borough Council

Great Grimsby formed an ancient Borough in the North Riding of Lindsey.[15] It was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and became a Municipal Borough in that year.[16] In 1889 a County Council was created for Lindsey, but Great Grimsby was outside its area of control and formed an independent County Borough in 1891.[16] The Borough expanded to absorb the adjacent hamlet of Wellow (1889), also the neighbouring parishes of Clee-with-Weelsby (1889), Little Coates (1928), Scartho (1928), Weelsby (1928) and Great Coates (1968). It had its own police force until 1967 when it merged with the Lincolnshire force.[17]

In 1974, the County Borough was abolished[16] and Great Grimsby was reconstituted (with the same boundaries) as the Grimsby non-metropolitan district in the new county of Humberside by the Local Government Act 1972. The district was renamed Great Grimsby in 1979. Local government in the area came under the review of the Local Government Commission for England and Humberside was abolished in 1996. The former area of the Great Grimsby district merged with that of Cleethorpes to form the unitary authority of North East Lincolnshire.[18] The town does not have its own town council, instead there is a board of Charter Trustees. During 2007, in the struggle for identity, it was suggested that the district could be renamed to something like Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes to give a stronger indication of the towns the district consists of. This did not meet with favourable comment among local residents, and the Council Leader dropped the idea a year later.[19]

Council Wards and Elected Members

North East Lincolnshire Council has eight Council Wards within the area of Grimsby.

Freshney Ward

  • Cllr Peggy Elliott (L)
  • Cllr Clifford Barber (L)
  • Cllr Ray Sutton (L)

Heneage Ward

  • Cllr Rosalind A James (L)
  • Cllr Matthew Patrick (L)
  • Cllr Karl Wilson (L)

Scartho Ward

  • Cllr Alex Baxter (C)
  • Cllr Ronald Shepherd (U)
  • Cllr David J Hornby (C)

South Ward

  • Cllr Jane Bramley (L)
  • Cllr Norma Lincoln (L)
  • Cllr Ray Oxby (L)

East Marsh Ward

  • Cllr Stephen Beasant (LD)
  • Cllr Jon-Paul Howarth (L)
  • Cllr Terry Walker (L)

Park Ward

  • Cllr Andrew De Freitas (LD)
  • Cllr Christina McGilligan-Fell (LD)
  • Cllr Matthew Craig Barrow (L)

West Marsh Ward

  • Cllr Darren Billard (L)
  • Cllr Ian Lindley (L)

Yarborough Ward

  • Cllr Peter Wheatley (L)
  • Cllr Jane Hyldon-King (L)
  • Cllr Anne Darby (LD)

KEY: (L) = Labour Party (C) = Conservative Party (LD) = Liberal Democrat Party (U) = UKIP

Economy

Grimsby docks and fish market
See also: Greater Grimsby

Grimsby, Immingham and Cleethorpes, together form the economic area known as Greater Grimsby.[20] The main sectors of the Greater Grimsby economy are food and drink; ports and logistics; renewable energy; chemicals and process industries and digital media.

Food industry

Grimsby is indelibly linked with the sea fishing industry, which once gave the town much of its wealth. At its peak in the 1950s, it was the largest and busiest fishing port in the world.[21] As a result of the Cod Wars with Iceland, this industry has been in decline for many years. The city still has the largest fish market in the UK, but most of what is sold is now brought overland from other ports or Iceland via containerisation.

Today, Greater Grimsby is home to around 500 food-related companies, giving it one of the largest concentrations of food manufacturing, research, storage and distribution in Europe. The local council has promoted the city as Europe's Food Town for nearly twenty years.[22]

Grimsby is recognised as the main centre of the UK fish-processing industry. In recent years, this expertise has led to diversification into all forms of frozen and chilled foods. The town is one of the largest centres of fish processing in Europe. More than 100 local companies are involved in fresh and frozen fish production, the largest of which is the Findus Group (see Lion Capital LLP), comprising Young's Seafood and Findus. Its corporate headquarters are in the town. Young's is a major employer in the area, with some 2,500 people based at its headquarters. From this base, Young’s has a global sourcing operation supplying 60 species from 30 countries.[23]

Media interest has surrounded Traditional Grimsby smoked fish, which was awarded a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) by the European Union. This award safeguards the unique and specialist process of traditional fish smoking developed in the town. The traditional process relies on a natural method of slow smoking, as opposed to the more widely used mechanical method. Producers who want to brand their product as "Traditional Grimsby smoked fish" must adhere to strict quality standards laid down by the Grimsby Traditional Fish Smokers Group. As a regional food, it has been commended in 2010 by the celebrity chefs Rick Stein and Mitch Tonks and Jim Fitzpatrick, the Minister for Food and the Environment.[24]

Other major seafood companies include the Icelandic-owned Coldwater Seafood,[25] employing more than 700 people across its sites in Grimsby; and Five Star Fish,[26] a supplier of fish products to the UK foodservice market. The £5.6 million Humber Seafood Institute[27] opened in 2008 and is the first of its kind in the UK. Backed by Yorkshire Forward, North East Lincolnshire Council, and the European Regional Development Fund, the HSI is managed by the local council. Tenants include the Seafish Industry Authority and Grimsby Institute and University Centre. Greater Grimsby is a European centre of excellence in the production of chilled prepared meals, and the area has the largest concentration of cold-storage facilities in Europe.[28]

The food production and seafood heritage links are perpetuated in a UK 2006 Young's television advertising campaign emphasising Grimsby as the source of its seafood products. In the campaign, Grimsby Docks are briefly shown, at dusk, lit and shot somewhat romantically. In 2008 additional commercials featured the town and its main industry, as the company launched a range of Great Grimsby fish-based frozen meals.

Ports

The Port of Grimsby and Immingham is the UK’s largest port by tonnage.[29] Its prime deep-water location on the Humber Estuary, one of Europe’s busiest trade routes, gives companies direct access to mainland Europe and beyond. It plays a central role in the commercial life of the UK. The port is operated by Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK's largest and leading ports group. Grimsby and Immingham, and ABP's 19 other ports, form a UK-wide network capable of handling every conceivable type of cargo.

Flood sirens

The River Freshney, which flooded in 2007

The Environment Agency has awarded Sheffield-based telemetry company CSE Seprol a contract to supply flood warning devices for risk areas in East Anglia. The 18 sirens, at various locations around the flood risk area of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, should reach 25,500 households to warn them of portending floods. The sirens will only be sounded in the event of the Environment Agency issuing a severe flood warning for tidal flooding or if there is a likelihood of the sea defences being breached. The sirens make a variety of sounds, from the traditional wailing sound to a voice message.

Places of interest and landmarks

  • Grimsby is the site of a Blue Cross Animal Hospital, one of only four in the country, the other three being situated in London. The Grimsby hospital was previously in Cleethorpe Road, but in 2005 it moved to a new building called 'Coco Markus House' in the town's Nelson Street.

Education

For education establishments within Grimsby see North East Lincolnshire-Education

Shopping facilities

Freshney Place

The award-winning Freshney Place Shopping Centre[31] in the heart of the town boasts over 70 stores including Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser and BHS. It was originally constructed between 1967 and 1971 in a joint venture between the old Grimsby Borough Council and developers Hammerson's UK Ltd. and was known as the Riverhead Centre (so named as the development was adjacent to where the two local rivers, the Freshney and the Haven, meet). Victoria Street is the main shopping street.

The Riverhead Centre development caused some controversy at the time as it followed the 1960s trend of replacing old architecture with new; in this case it involved the wholesale demolition of much of the old town centre including the historic Bull Ring (which is now where Wilkinson's, the Halifax Bank and the St James Hotel are based) and streets going back many centuries including Flottergate (located at the present day entrance to Freshney Place between British Home Stores and the market), Brewery Street (located at the present day entrance to Freshney Place between the branch of Barclays Bank and the offices of the Cheltenham and Gloucester) and East St Mary's Gate (no trace remains). During this reconstruction the ornate Victorian branch of the Midland Bank was demolished and rebuilt into a contemporary design that was incorporated into the new shopping centre. In 1985 Marks and Spencer purchased the local department store Lawsons and Stockdale whose frontage ran along Victoria Street; like the Midland branch this was demolished and a new store, linked to the centre, was constructed.[citation needed]

In 1990 the council agreed to sell the area around the shopping centre, used for surface car parking, to Hammerson's UK Ltd. The development owner and Humberside County Council, the highway authority at that time, agreed to the sale of the area of Baxtergate, the road which ran to the rear of the shopping centre, between the shopping centre and the surface car park. Baxtergate was relocated alongside the River Freshney and became phase one of the Peaks Parkway. Hammerson's UK Ltd began a £100 million redevelopment of the site which saw it double in size. The centre was also covered in a glass roof and (where the new extension was built) two multi-storey car parks were constructed at each end of the centre, effectively privatising, roofing and enclosing the old Top Town area of Grimsby. Servicing to the stores was made available from a first floor service area, accessible even by large vehicles, using a ramp at the western end. The ramp also provided access to the car park on the roof of the indoor market which is operated by the local council. In recognition of the design of the new facilities, Freshney Place won a commendation in the Refurbishment Category of the 1993 BCSC awards.[32]

Morrisons at Laceby

Other developments near the town centre include a new Tesco Extra (the second in the area), the Victoria Mills Retail Park which is home to several chain stores including Next and a B&Q Depot off the Peaks Parkway A16.

Shopping in Grimsby

Unlike many other towns that have shopping facilities on their outskirts, these (and other similar developments) can be found in and around Grimsby's town centre, making shopping far easier for pedestrians and public transport users, reflecting Grimsby's relatively cheap central commercial land. Other major retailers include the supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencers, Sainsbury's, Asda on Holles Street and Morrisons. The Morrisons store is located just outside the town boundary, in the parish of Laceby, and is peculiarly known as Morrisons Cleethorpes. This is an anomaly arising from when the area was part of the now defunct Cleethorpes Borough. Most major supermarkets in the town have expanded somewhat in the last few years, including a massive extension built at Asda, and more recently another floor was built at Tesco at Hewitts Circus (although this store is technically in the neighbouring conurbation, Cleethorpes).

There are also a number of local, independent specialist stores and the Abbeygate Centre (off Bethlehem Street) is where many are located. Once the head office of local brewers Hewitt Brothers it was renovated in the mid-1980s and is home to a number of restaurants and designer clothing stores. The town also has two markets, one next to Freshney Place and the other in Freeman Street (B1213), itself once a dominant shopping area in the town with close connections to the docks but one that has sadly struggled since the late 1970s.

In March 2007, Henry Boot properties announced a new £30m shopping development adjacent to the existing Freshney Place site. The project will create 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of retail space and 290 car parking places on land between the River Freshney and Sainsbury's, presently occupied by the former Travis Perkins builders' merchants. As of November 2011 no work has commenced on the proposed development.

A further retail development is planned alongside the planned new stadium for Grimsby Town FC at Great Coates adjacent to the A180, scheduled for completion in mid-2010. As of November 2011 no work has commenced on the proposed development.

Such is the quality of shopping in the area that bus services are run to bring in shoppers from across the county of Lincolnshire, especially from smaller towns such as Louth,[33] Brigg, and Scunthorpe.[34]

Entertainment

The Grimsby Auditorium

The area has a developed, if somewhat corporate, nightlife. Aside from the nightclubs in nearby Cleethorpes, the town centre has undergone a renaissance in the last decade.[when?] A number of national pub chains have redeveloped or opened new outlets, including a specially-built complex at the Riverhead which is home to three (originally five) such operations. Prior to the late 1960s many public houses in the area were owned by the local brewer Hewitt Brothers and gave a distinctive local touch but following a takeover in 1969 by the brewer Bass-Charrington these have been re-badged (many times), closed or sold off.[citation needed]

Musical entertainment is found at the Grimsby Auditorium, built in 1995, on Cromwell Road in Yarborough near Grimsby Leisure Centre. The smaller Caxton Theatre is on Cleethorpe Road (A180) in East Marsh near the docks. The Caxton Theatre provides entertainment by adults and youths in theatre. A notable theatre company in the area is the Class Act Theatre Company run by local playwright David Wrightam. The company produces strong factual drama and premiere award-winning productions.

North East Lincolnshire Council have installed a Wi-Fi network covering Victoria Street in central Grimsby. The service provides access to the Internet for the general public on a yearly subscription.

Politics

Since 1977 Austin Mitchell (Labour) has been the Member of Parliament for the Great Grimsby constituency. The constituency of Great Grimsby is generally considered a Labour stronghold although Austin Mitchell only narrowly held the seat in the 1983 and 2010 general elections, both times with a majority under 800[35][36].

Transport

Buses

Grimsby's bus service is provided by Stagecoach which took over the original Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport in 1993. Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport had been formed in 1957, with the merger of the previously separate Grimsby and Cleethorpes transport (GCT) undertakings. Stagecoach had all the buses resprayed to their standard livery to replace the buses previous colour-scheme of orange and white. Prior to this, the buses were painted blue and white until 1981, when the colours were changed to caramel and cream. The orange and white livery was introduced in 1987. Until 1982 GCT ran a mixture of crewed and one-person operated services. However, in that year the job of conductor was abolished and the company changed entirely to driver-only services.

In 2005, Stagecoach bought out Lincolnshire Road Car, who provided buses to Killingholme, Louth, Barton-upon-Humber and the Willows Estate. The company is now known as Stagecoach in Lincolnshire. Joint ticketing was allowed with Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes from May 2006.

From September 2006, a new fleet of low-floor single-decker was introduced, making the fleet an unprecedented 85% low-floor.

Railways

Grimsby also has rail links via Grimsby Town railway station and Grimsby Docks railway station. There is a level crossing in the centre of the town across Wellowgate. TransPennine Express provide direct trains to Manchester Airport via Doncaster and Sheffield whilst Northern Rail operate services to Barton-upon-Humber (for buses to Hull) and a Saturday only service to Sheffield via. Retford. Lincoln and Newark are served by East Midlands Trains services which can go on to Nottingham on Sunday in the Summer months. The service to Cleethorpes runs at least hourly during the day, along a single track, passing stations at Grimsby Docks and New Clee.

Former trams

Grimsby was home to two tramway networks: the Grimsby District Light Railway and the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway. The Grimsby Electric was a normal gauge tramway opened in 1912 between Corporation Bridge at Grimsby and Immingham. There was no physical connection with the railway system. The tramway served the town with a passenger service between Grimsby and Immingham until closure in 1961. It is claimed that once this was controlled by the Corporation, they were more interested in supporting the motorbus service, now number 45.

The Grimsby Light Railway opened in 1881 using horse drawn trams. In 1901, these were replaced with electric tramways. In 1925 the Grimsby Transport Company bought the tramway company and in 1927 moved the depot to the Victoria Street Depot, an old sea plane hangar. This system closed in 1937. The depot continues to be used by Stagecoach, though the old Grimsby Tramways livery is still visible on the front of the building.

Operating in the area until the 1950s was a network of electrically operated trolley buses which received their power from overhead power lines.

In the early years of the new millennium it was suggested that a Tramway system much like the Sheffield Supertram should be built in Grimsby. Various news reports and details of which areas the trams might go through were published, though the project was abandoned due to lack of funding. Currently there are no active plans to bring back this proposed system.

Airport

14 miles (23 km) west of Grimsby is Humberside Airport, which mainly caters for charter holidays, and is popular for general aviation, with five flying clubs based there. There are also scheduled flights to Aberdeen and Amsterdam, provided by Eastern Airways and KLM respectively.

Redevelopment and regeneration

Greater Grimsby is undergoing a radical transformation as part of Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Towns Programme. The 25-year vision for Grimsby involves making a town which is attractive and an economically and socially desirable place to live, visit, work and play. The goal is to bring new life to the town centre by creating quality surroundings and rejuvenating the historic waterside and docks for the enjoyment of all.[37]

Media

The Grimsby Telegraph, with an audited circulation of 40,533 copies (January–June 2004), has the highest circulation of a local newspaper in Grimsby and the surrounding area since it is the only daily newspaper. Its headquarters are on Cleethorpe Road next to the A180. The local radio stations are BBC Radio Humberside (which has a studio on Victoria Street manned by Lara King), Lincs FM, Viking FM and the exclusively North East Lincolnshire-based Compass FM. The transmitter for Compass FM and EMAP Humberside (Lincs FM DAB) is on top of a block of flats in East Marsh. Terrestrial television coverage based in the area are the BBC who share the radio facilities on Victoria Street and ITV Yorkshire who have a news unit based in Immingham. Channel 7 Television is a satellite and cable-based station which has studios in Immingham and the Grimsby Institute.

Grimsby in the media

Sport

Football

Blundell Park

The football team is Grimsby Town F.C., nicknamed 'The Mariners', who play in the Football Conference. Their ground is Blundell Park in Cleethorpes. Due to the club's football grounds being in the neighbouring town it is often joked by locals that it is the only British club that plays away every game. It is the oldest professional football team in the county of Lincolnshire (indeed one of the oldest in the country being formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham with a home ground on land off Ainslie Street, Grimsby).

During the 1930s they played in the English First Division, the then highest level of the domestic game in England. They also appeared in two FA Cup semi-finals in this decade, in 1936 (against Arsenal) and 1939 (against Wolverhampton Wanderers). The latter semi-final was held at Old Trafford, Manchester, and the attendance (76,962) is still a record for that stadium.

Grimsby Town were relegated on 7 May 2010 to the Football Conference, losing their proud status as a league club.

They also reached an FA Cup quarter-final 1987 and in 1998 won the Auto Windscreens Shield and the second division play-off final. Notable former managers include Bill Shankly and Lawrie McMenemy.

Blundell Park has the oldest stand in English professional football, the Main Stand. It was first opened in 1899 although only the present-day foundations date from this time. The club plan to move to a proposed new stadium, sponsored by ConocoPhillips, at nearby Great Coates in the summer of 2009. This will cost £14 million[citation needed] and accommodate 20,000 spectators.

Grimsby Borough F.C. is a football club established in 2003 and based in Grimsby. They are members of the Northern Counties East League Division One.

Ice hockey

An ice hockey club has been based in Grimsby since 1936. The current club has teams playing at different levels throughout the English Ice Hockey Association structure, all under the name of the Grimsby Red Wings. In 2009 the club added a Sledge Hockey team to ensure that it was able to offer a fully inclusive sport to the NE Lincolnshire area.

Rugby

The area also boasts an amateur rugby union side, the Grimsby RUFC, and an amateur cricket side, the Grimsby Town Cricket Club, both of which attract reasonable levels of support.

Tennis

Tennis teams from local clubs have been successful in various inter-County competitions with the Men's Team from Grimsby Tennis Centre winning the Lincolnshire Doubles League again in 2005. Tennis players from the town represent the County on a regular basis at all age levels.

Grimsby Tennis Centre underwent a major redevelopment of facilities in 2005 and is now entirely accessible to the disabled.

Table tennis

The town had one of the largest table tennis leagues in the country[40] with over 120 teams competing during the 1970s, but sadly, like the game of squash, the sport has declined in the town during recent years.

Notable people

Grimbarians (natives of Grimsby) were mainly born at the former Grimsby Maternity Hospital in Second Avenue, Nunsthorpe, Grimsby. Many Grimbarians were born at the now defunct Croft Baker Maternity Hospital in nearby Cleethorpes. Those born and/or brought up in the area include:

People with a connection to the town

Twin cities

Grimsby's twin cities include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Grim's legend stands firm as historic tale", www.thisisgrimsby, 30 December 2008
  2. ^ a b "Great Grimsby Day", www.bbc.co.uk
  3. ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Urban Areas : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population Retrieved 2009-08-26
  4. ^ Grimnir's Sayings (verses 46,49), The Poetic Edda
  5. ^ Mysterious Britain, Janet and Colin Bord, (1972) Garnstone Press Ltd., p. 88
  6. ^ Gerrish, Dr. Margaret. "Following the Fish to Grimsby" (PDF). University of Hull. Retrieved 11 August 2010. [dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b Leslie Herman, Grimsby Fish Docks Centenary, 1956
  8. ^ "Grimsby", Enjoy England
  9. ^ "Grimsby Fish Market", www.grimsbyfishmarket.co.uk
  10. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  11. ^ "PS Lincoln Castle, North East Lincolnshire", www.theheritagetrail.co.uk
  12. ^ Cooke, Jeremy (23 March 2009). "Grimsby gains from Iceland's woes". BBC News.
  13. ^ a b Brown, Jimmy, Harry Tate's Navy - One man's story of the Royal Naval Patrol Service, Jimmy Brown, 1994
  14. ^ http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/Honour-heroes-ocean/story-13788171-detail/story.html
  15. ^ Vision of Britain - Great Grimsby
  16. ^ a b c Vision of Britain - Grimsby MB/CB (historic map)
  17. ^ A History of the Lincolnshire Branch - Chapter One - The First Ten Years[dead link‍]
  18. ^ The Humberside (Structural Change) Order 1995 SI 1995/600
  19. ^ North East Lincolnshire Council - Council to consult on possible name change[dead link‍]
  20. ^ Business Welcomes Rebrand - http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/news/Vision-welcomed/article-881734-detail/article.html[failed verification]
  21. ^ Cooke, Jeremy (23 March 2009). "Grimsby gains from Iceland's woes". BBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  22. ^ North East Lincolnshire Council, "Regeneration Strategy 2006-2022" http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/5EE4CA3B-2A6E-4695-9FA9-3045AECDE78E/0/newhorizons.pdf[dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Youngs Seafood", website
  24. ^ Grimsby Traditional Fish Smokers Group
  25. ^ [2]
  26. ^ [3]
  27. ^ [4][dead link‍]
  28. ^ "The UK's food production capital uncovered", www.foodproductiondaily.com, 7 June 2004
  29. ^ http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/grimsby-and-immingham-remains-uks-largest-port/1203082509213.htm;jsessionid=209CE0EABAC613A470AF18362940C606[dead link‍]
  30. ^ "Fishermen's Memorial, Grimsby", www.hodsonarchitects.com
  31. ^ RoSPA Silver Award[dead link‍]
  32. ^ https://www.bdp.com/Documents/Publications/Places%20for%20Shopping%20by%20BDP.pdf
  33. ^ http://www.stagecoachbus.com/GetUpload.ashx?Id=375[dead link‍]
  34. ^ http://www.stagecoachbus.com/GetUpload.ashx?Id=2574[dead link‍]
  35. ^ Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 1980s
  36. ^ Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)#Elections in the 2010s
  37. ^ "Greater Grimsby Renaissance" website[dead link‍]
  38. ^ "'This Is England' and 'This Is England 86'", Metro newspaper
  39. ^ "Fiveway Films' 'Dead Lies' movie to be shot in Grimsby and Lincoln", Fiveway Films website
  40. ^ Grimsby & District Table Tennis League
  41. ^ "Brenda Ready To Swim Anything Provided It’s Made Worthwhile"; The Montreal Gazette, 15 August 1956. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  42. ^ "60 years on, record-breaker Brenda recalls her race to British shores"; Grimsby Telegraph, 16 August 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  43. ^ "Brenda Fisher"; Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  44. ^ [5]
  45. ^ Soaps - News - 'Doctors' gains new GP and practice nurse - Digital Spy
  46. ^ "The England Team Commonwealth Games, Delhi 2010". Sporting Life. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  47. ^ "Ernest Worrall – artist who chronicled Grimsby at war". Grimsby Telegraph. 15 October 2008.
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