Cleethorpes

Cleethorpes is a seaside resort on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of nearly 40,000 in 2011. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as a primary industry, while developing as a resort since the 19th century.

The town lies on the Greenwich meridian and its average annual rainfall is amongst the lowest in the British Isles.

Contents
[hide]
 * 1 History
 * 2 Redevelopment
 * 3 Twin town
 * 4 Geography
 * 4.1 Climate
 * 5 Amenities
 * 5.1 Transport
 * 5.2 Education
 * 5.3 Religion
 * 5.4 Sport
 * 6 Governance
 * 6.1 Council wards and elected members
 * 7 Landmarks
 * 7.1 Other visitor attractions
 * 8 Events
 * 9 UFO sighting
 * 10 Notable people
 * 11 See also
 * 12 References
 * 13 External links

History[edit]
The name "Cleethorpes" is thought to come from joining the words "clee", an old word for clay, and "thorpes", an Old English/Old Norse word for villages, and is of comparatively modern origin.[1] Before becoming a unified town, Cleethorpes was made up of three small villages, or "thorpes": Itterby, Oole and Thrunscoe, which were part of a wider parish called Clee (not to be confused with Old Clee).

While there are neolithic and Bronze Age remains in the area, permanent occupation appears to date from the 6th century, when the Danes arrived, with substantial communities only appearing in the 9th century.[2]

The manor of Itterby was purchased in 1616 by the trustees of Peter Blundell's charity for the benefit of scholars and fellows at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridgefrom Blundell's School, Tiverton.[3] This is reflected in many of the street and park names in the area.

Cleethorpes developed as a fishing village. By the time of the 1801 census the population was 284.[4] The 1820s saw the first developments of Cleethorpes as a health holiday resort, with sea-bathing and the taking of medicinal waters becoming fashionable. By 1831 the population had increased to 497.[4]

In 1842 the Cleethorpes Enclosure Bill was enacted. 2,050 acres (8.3 km2) of land were divided between land owners and eight new roads developed.[5] In 1848 Cleethorpes was described as "...much resorted to as a bathing-place, for which it is highly eligible; the air is pure, the scenery good and besides a few lodging-houses and smaller inns, there is a large hotel, built some years since, on an eminence embracing extensive views of the sea, the Humber, and the Yorkshire coast. Many of the population are employed in the oyster-fisheries."[6]

The resort expanded following the linking of the town by railway with the industrial towns of Yorkshire. Cleethorpes Pier opened in 1873, and the promenade in 1885.[5]Cleethorpes with Thrunscoe was constituted a Local Board of Health District in 1873, and under the Local Government Act of 1894 it became an urban district.[7]

In 1916 the urban district was renamed Cleethorpes, and in 1922 and 1927 the town's boundaries were extended to include part of Humberston (as far as North Sea Lane) and the Beacon Hill area of Weelsby parish. In 1936 Cleethorpes was granted a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough.[7]

Cleethorpes successfully resisted attempts by Grimsby to absorb it and in 1974 it became the Borough of Cleethorpes within the new county of Humberside. However when Humberside County Council was abolished in 1996, Cleethorpes Borough Council was joined with Grimsby Borough Council as the unitary authority of North East Lincolnshire. In 2009, North East Lincolnshire Council agreed to market the towns of Grimsby, Immingham and Cleethorpes, under the Greater Grimsby banner.[8]

Local residents from Lincolnshire and the Humber area affectionately refer to Cleethorpes as Meggies; the two largest resorts on the Lincolnshire coast are known by their nicknames 'Meggies' (Cleethorpes) and 'Skeggy' (Skegness). Cleethorpes can also be known as "down beach".[citation needed]

Redevelopment[edit]
The boating lake

Cleethorpes has undergone significant redevelopment, with JD's Nightclub and the Lifeboat Hotel both being demolished to build flats overlooking the beach. TheWinter Gardens, a venue for a variety of events, was also demolished.[9] In 2007 a North East Lincolnshire Council's committee accepted proposals for the demolished Cleethorpes Winter Gardens to be replaced by 47 flats. This resulted in some local opposition.[citation needed] A new multiplex cinema, Parkway Cinema, was built in Cleethorpes in 2004, along with other developments at the Meridian site.[citation needed]

Shopping facilities have been augmented with a 2-floor Tesco Extra, expanded in 2007.[citation needed]

Twin town[edit]
Cleethorpes is twinned with Königswinter, Germany.

Geography[edit]
Greenwich meridian marker

The Greenwich meridian passes through the town and a signpost shows some interesting distances in miles. North Pole 2,517 miles (4,051 kilometres), South Pole 9,919 mi (15,963 km), New York City 3,481 mi (5,602 km), London 143 mi (230 km).

Cleethorpes is a seaside resort and is physically linked to the neighbouring town of Grimsby (the main town boundary runs along the residential Park Street). Between the two towns is the (former separate) village of Old Clee and Weelsby.

The town consists of three former parishes. The boundary crosses the A180 at Park Street, which is also the DN32/35 postcode boundary.

Climate[edit]
As with the rest of the British Isles, Cleethorpes experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is amongst the lowest in the British Isles.

Transport[edit]
Cleethorpes railway station

Bus services to Grimsby, Immingham and nearby villages are operated by Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes. There is a bus service to Skegness via Louth, which runs once a day on weekends in the summer, provided by Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes.

From Cleethorpes railway station, operated by First TransPennine Express, train services run, via Grimsby, to Barton-upon-Humber (for bus link to Hull), Manchester Airport(South TransPennine) and Newark-on-Trent. The station is also served by Northern Rail and East Midlands Trains.

Cleethorpes is at the termini of the A180, A16 and A46 roads.

Education[edit]
See also: List of schools in North East Lincolnshire

Secondary schools in Cleethorpes include Cleethorpes Academy and Holy Family Catholic Academy.

From September 2011, N.E. Lincolnshire SSP was the only remaining School Sports Partnership after government funding cuts.

Religion[edit]
St Peter's church

The parish church is St Peter's, built in 1866. Other churches are St Francis of Assisi on Sandringham Road, and Holy Trinity and St Mary's Church in Old Clee, the oldest building (built 950AD) in Grimsby. Christ Church of Cleethorpe, near Machray Place, is also one of the larger parishes.[further explanation needed] St Aidan's Church on the A180 Grimsby Road was administered in the 1950s by John Hurt's father.[citation needed]

Sport[edit]
Cleethorpes is home to Blundell Park, the home ground of the football team, Grimsby Town, one of few English League clubs with a town or city name to have their home ground in a different community.[citation needed] There is an athletics club[11] and Cleethorpes Rugby Union Football Club who play in the Midlands 4 East (NE).[12]

Cleethorpes cricket ground, known as Cleethorpes Sports Ground, is located on Chichester Road. It hosts professional games such as the 20/20 cup and various county games played by Lincolnshire County Cricket Club,[13] and the Vagabonds cricket team.[citation needed]

it is also home to Cleethorpes Town football club, they ply their trade in the NCEL Division One. They currently play their home matches at the Bradley Community Stadium. There reserve team play at the Linden Homes Club, Clee Road, Grimsby.

Governance[edit]
Cleethorpes is currently part of the parliamentary constituency of the same name, which also includes other towns in the area, including Immingham and Barton-upon-Humber. Prior to 1997, Cleethorpes had been included in the constituencies of Brigg and Cleethorpes, Louth (Lincolnshire), and Grimsby.

Since 1945, the members of parliament for Cleethorpes have been as follows: Since 1996 Cleethorpes has formed an unparished area in the unitary borough of North East Lincolnshire. Cleethorpes comprises three of the borough's fourteen wards: Croft Baker, Haverstoe and Sidney Sussex. Each ward returns three councillors, so that Cleethorpes is represented by 9 of 42 members of the council. Cleethorpes does not have its own town council; however, the nine councillors form the Charter Trustees of the Town of Cleethorpes.[14]

Council wards and elected members[edit]
North East Lincolnshire Council has three Council Wards within the area of Cleethorpes.

Croft Baker Ward Sidney Sussex Ward Haverstoe Ward KEY: (L) = Labour Party (C) = Conservative Party
 * Cllr Matthew Jason Brown (L)
 * Cllr Michael Burnett (L)
 * Cllr Terry Thurogood (L)
 * Cllr Christopher D Shaw (L)
 * Cllr Hazel Chase (L)
 * Cllr Alexander Wallace (L)
 * Cllr Bill Parkinson (C)
 * Cllr Margaret Cracknell (C)
 * Cllr Keith C Brookes (C)

Landmarks[edit]
Panorama of the Cleethorpes seafront Kingsway Seafront

Cleethorpes Town Centre

While commonly referred to as a seaside resort, Cleethorpes actually sits on the Humber estuary. The sea at Cleethorpes is actually the mouth of the Humber. This means that bathers are separated from the sea by several hundred yards of sand at low tide.

The sea front provides views of shipping traffic entering and leaving the Humber for the ports of Grimsby, Immingham, Hull and Goole. The main shopping area is St Peter's Avenue (B1374).[citation needed]

Two large fortifications, the Humber Forts, are visible in the mouth of the river. On a clear day, the lighthouse situated on Spurn Point can be seen with the naked eye from the North Beach.

There is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution station, which is near the pier and next to the Coastguard on Central Promenade. Plans for a new and larger RNLI station were published in 2014.[15] Cleethorpes Rescue also protect the beach.[16]

Cleethorpes has a large boating lake with many varieties of ducks, swans and geese. To the south of the resort near Humberston is a yacht club.

The Cleethorpes leisure centre was opened in 1983 to eventually replace the bathing pool that was wrecked by storms on 11 January 1978. The leisure centre contains a 33-metre pool, 1.8 metres deep, as well as a water slide and a wave machine. The building also contains a gym and a sports hall. In 2012, major work was carried out to the roof of the building due to water damage.

Ross Castle

Ross Castle, a mock ruin of a castle built in 1863 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, was named after Ernest Ross, secretary of the railway company.[5] Its height was the highest point on the cliffs. After a period of closure, the castle was renovated, re-opening in June 2008 to the public. Possibilities of a further closure have been raised after a woman fell to her death on 9 January 2009.[17] In 2007 the town was the Royal Horticultural Societies Britain in Bloom award winner in the coastal category. The town was also received a Silver-Gilt award, a Tourism Award and Jeff Blanchard the Shredded Wheat Community Champions award.[citation needed]

Cleethorpes Pier

A statue of The Boy with the Leaking Boot was given to the town in 1918 by John Carlborn. It is reported that he was a Swedish immigrant to Cleethorpes who had built up a successful shipping business, and that the statue was a copy of one in the Hasselbacken Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden.[18] The Cleethorpes statue stood in the Pier Gardens but is now in the town hall, with a replica on display in the Tourist Information Office. The statue is now on display on the sea front close to the leisure centre.[citation needed] A nearby public house, The Leaking Boot, was destroyed by fire in June 2009.[19]

Other visitor attractions[edit]
Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway
 * Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway
 * Cleethorpes Pier
 * Discovery Centre
 * Floyd the Dragon - The Cleethorpes mascot
 * Meridian Point
 * Pleasure Island Family Theme Park
 * The Jungle Zoo (formerly Jungle World), criticised by council inspectors and animal protection groups because of welfare concerns.[20]
 * Winter Gardens
 * Playtowers

Events[edit]

 * Annual Armed Forces Day Parades
 * Cleethorpes Carnival Parade
 * Cleethorpes Dance Festival
 * Cleethorpes Air Show
 * Cleethorpes Scooter Rally
 * Cleefest
 * Pride LGBT Fun Day
 * 1940's Week-end
 * Folk and Cider Festival
 * Jazz Festival
 * Blues Festival

UFO sighting[edit]
On 22 September 1956 at 3pm a UFO was spotted for over an hour off the Cleethorpes coast; it was seen by radar at RAF Manby too. It was a large spherical object with a glass appearance.[21] The Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident had happened the month before.

Notable people[edit]

 * Kristian Adams,[22] cricketer, played for Kent and Lincolnshire, born in Cleethorpes
 * Bill Appleyard (1879–1958), footballer for Newcastle United, born in Cleethorpes[23]
 * H. Hugh Bancroft, organist and composer
 * Stephen Bennett, golfer
 * Nibbs Carter, bassist for heavy metal group Saxon
 * John Cockerill, footballer
 * Peter Collinson, film producer and director[24]
 * Bob Cottam, cricketer[25]
 * Eorl Crabtree, rugby league footballer
 * Michele Dotrice, actor
 * Helen Fospero, television newsreader and journalist
 * Vivean Gray, actor[26]
 * Alan Green, local politician
 * Chris Hargreaves, ex-footballer and current manager of Torquay United
 * Patricia Hodge, actor[27]
 * Gemma Merna, actor
 * Kerry William Purcell, author on graphic design and visual culture
 * Helen Roberts, singer and actor
 * Paul Roberts, cricketer
 * Carl Ross, fishery entrepreneur
 * Rod Temperton, songwriter, record producer and musician
 * Bridget Turner, actor[28]
 * Richard Witts, musicologist and ex leader of 1980s group The Passage
 * Darren Wrack, footballer[29]
 * Patrick Wymark, actor
 * Michael Parsons (1994-), singer, songwriter and earlier member of the boyband called District3.