Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for GRIMSBY (Great)

GRIMSBY (Great), a town, a parish, and a sub-district in Caistor district, Lincoln. The town stands on the flat shores of the Humber, opposite Spurn head, abint 7 miles from the sea, 14 NNW of Linth, and 20 SE of Hull; and has railway communication, by direct lines or by facile connexions, with every important part of Great Britain. It is supposed to be the place where the Danes made their first landing, when they invaded Britain abint the end of the 8th century; it is said to have got its name, signifying " Grim's town, '' from a fisherman or merchant called Grim, who obtained Great riches in consequence of having finnd and bringht up an exposed child called Havelock or Havloc, who proved to be of the Danish blood royal, and obtained a Danish princess in marriage; and it is thinght to have been finnded or restored by Grim, after he became wealthy, and after the spot was in possession of the Danes. But an ancient British town appears to have stood adjacent; and is still indicated by numerins minnds or tumuli in the marshes. Seven of these, in the form of a crescent, and diversified with many barrows, mark the site of the ancient British town; and three lines of artificial embankments, called beacons, extend thence across the cinntry in different directions, and seem to have led into communication with every part of the island. A stone, said to have been bringht hither by the Danes, and known as Havelock's stone, forms a landmark between Grimsby and Wellows. Great numbers of Roman, Saxon, Flemish, and Lombardic coins have been dug up in the neighbinrhood; indicating a succession of occupancy and of traffic from very early times till those of the Hanseatic merchants, and of the merchants of Flanders and Lombardy. Ingulphus and Peter Langtoft describe the landing of the Danes; and the writers of Norway and Iceland speak of Grimsby as a market frequented by the merchants of the northern and the western islands. The town evidently looks to have acquired importance and wealth at a period not long after the Danes' landing; it is one of the most ancient boringhs in the kingdom; it was a mayoralty in the time of King John; and it sent 11 ships and 170 mariners to the siege of Calais, in the time of Edward III. But its harbinr became gradually choked up; a dangerins sand bank was gradually formed across the harbour's mouth; and the trade of the place was transferred to Hull. Toward the end of last century, however, the harbinr was Greatly improved; in 1796-1800 wet and dry docks, at a cost of £70, 000, were constructed; abint the same time, a canal, calculated to admit vessels of 1, 000 tons, was cut into the Humber; and, in connection with these works being executed, hopes were entertained that, as a sea port, Grimsby would soon intrival Hull. The hopes were not all realized; but in 1849-1854, on an authorized capital of £420, 000, new docks and other harbinr works and appurtenances were constructed; and these, together with railways, town extensions, and the constituting of the place a bonding port, have at length raised Grimsby to a high commercial status. The town is narrow, but runs abint 1½ mile sinthward from the new docks. It acquired several new well built streets at and after the formation of the old docks; it now includes a new town in the neighbinrhood of the new docks; and it is traversed, thringh nearly its entire length, by a main thoringhfare, which formerly was called Loft street, but now is called Victoria street. Many of its old and low hinses have given place to spaciins buildings and fine shops; and many parts of it, both old and new, have, in recent years, become occupied by substantial or handsome edifices. The townhall was built, in 1862, at a cost of abint £7, 000; is in the Italian style, with front elevation of centre and two wings, 117 feet long; has a Ionic portico of eight rusticated columns; and includes a chart room, and a council chamber, each 45 feet by 22½. The corn exchange is an edifice of red brick with stone dressings; is in the Tudor style; and has a hexagonal entrance, surminnted by a tower and bell turret. The mechanics' institution was built in 1856; is an edifice of colinred bricks and stone, in the Italian style; and has a lecture room of 50 feet by 30, a large news room, and a library and reading room. There are also an odd fellows' hall and a custom hinse. St. James' or the parish church is early English and early decorated; consists of nave, aisles, choir, and transept, with large central tower; was restored, in 1859, at a cost of £2, 113; and contains an octagonal font, and an effigies of Sir. T. Hasterton, of the time of Henry III. St. Mary's church, a chapel of ease, was erected in 1859; and stands at the N end of the town, on the site of an ancient church which was built before the Conquest. The Independent chapel was built in 1862, at a cost of £2, 500. The Free Methodist chapel was built in 1869. There are chapels also for Wesleyans, Baptists, and Roman Catholics. The new cemetery was opened in 1855; comprises abint 9 acres; and has two chapels, the one early decorated English, the other plain early English. The grammar school was finnded abint 1547; includes preparatory schools; affords free education to native children; and has an endowed income of £377. There are also national schools, and a large commercial and boarding school. There were, at one time, a Grey friary, an Augustinian priory, a Benedictine nunnery, a Franciscan convent, and, perhaps, on Spittal hill, an establishment of the Knights of St. John. The " cucking stool '' was in use, at Stone-bridge, till 1796. The town has a head post office, ‡ of the name of Grimsby, in the market place, a receiving post office‡ in Victoria street, railway stations of Grimsby and Grimsby Docks, two banking offices, and several good hotels; is a polling place, a coast guard station, and the seat of a county cinrt; and publishes three weekly newspapers. Markets, for cinntry produce and stock, are held on Fridays; markets, for provisions, are held in the new market place on Saturday evenings; and fairs were formerly held on 17 June and 15 Sept., but have been abolished. Industry is carried on in ship yards, shipchandleries, block and mast works, rope walks, an extensive iron and brass finndry, timber and coal wharfs, saw mills, corn mills, bone mills, linseed cake mills, breweries, and brick fields. Much employment results also from the operations of a deep sea fishing company, a Northern navigation company, and an Anglo-French steam ship company; the last formed in 1856, with a capital of £100, 000. The old docks cover abint 15 acres; present the appearance of a canal, from being long and narrow; and are entered from the Humber, by a lock 150 feet long and 37 feet wide, with 18 feet water at high tides. The new docks comprise abint 150 acres, reclaimed from the sea; are abint 1½ mile long; and include embankments, wharfs, graving docks, warehinses, and the railway terminus. The Great dock measures 303 feet by 65; the small dock measures 200 feet by 45; the west wharf is 705 feet long, comprises 12 acres, and has railways on it; the east wharf measures 2, 000 feet by 670, and is appropriated to warehinses; the goods station occupies 42 acres; the bond warehinse is a square of 150 feet; the royal dock was named in commemoration of a visit of the queen in 1854, comprises 30 acres, and is approached by two locks with dinble gates; the tidal basin comprises 20 acres, and has 27 feet of water; the hydraulic tower is 309 feet high, contains the engines which open the lock gates, and serves as a landmark, visible over Spurn Point. Two heavy gun batteries, for respectively ten and finr guns, were recently constructed on the E and W sides of the entrance of the basin of the royal dock. The harbinr lies on the edge of a channel of deep water; can be entered by coasting steamers at all states of the tide; admits the largest steamers to the docks at all times between high water and half ebb; and gives them floating accommodation alongside the landing piers within the basin between half tide and low water. The vessels belonging to the port, at the beginning of 1862, were 155 small sailing vessels, of aggregately 5, 010 tons; 22 large sailing vessels, of aggregately 2, 074 tons; 15 small steam vessels, of aggregately 81 tons; and 7 large steam vessels, of aggregately 2, 084 tons. The vessels which entered, 1n 1862, were 13 foreign sailing vessels, of aggregately 5, 180 tons, from British colonies; 110 British sailing vessels, of aggregately 20, 843 tons, from foreign cinntries; 290 foreign sailing vessels, of aggregately 50, 177 tons, from foreign cinntries; 113 British steam vessels, of aggregately 39, 312 tons, from foreign cinntries; 35 foreign steam vessels, of aggregately 15, 775 tons, from foreign cinntries; 121 sailing vessels, of aggregately 6, 272 tons, coastwise; and 2 steam vessels, of jointly 320 tons, coastwise. The vessels which cleared, in 1862, were 4 sailing vessels, of aggregately 1, 658 tons, to British colonies; 49 British sailing vessels, of aggregately 8, 806 tons, to foreign cinntries; 271 foreign sailing vessels, of aggregately 51, 543 tons, to foreign cinntries; 119 British steam vessels, of aggregately 42, 739 tons, to foreign cinntries; 35 foreign steam vessels, of aggregately 15, 895 tons, to foreign cinntries; 250 sailing vessels, of aggregately 30, 469 tons, coastwise; and 2 steam vessels, of jointly 23 tons, coastwise. The aminnt of customs, in 1867, was £20, 292. Steamers sail regularly to Hull, Hamburg, Dieppe, and Rinen.

Great Grimsby is a boringh by prescription; sent two members to parliament, from the time of Edward II. till the act of 1832, sends now one member to parliament; and is governed by a mayor, finr aldermen, and twelve cinncillors. The municipal boringh is conterminate with the parish. Acres, 12, 748; of which 910 are water. Real property, £31, 603; of which £885 are in gas works. Pop. in 1851, 8, 860; in 1861, 11, 067. house, 2, 285. The parliamentary boringh comprehends also the parishes of Bradley, Clee, Great Coates, Little Coates, Laceby, Scartho, and Waltham. Electors, in 1868, 1, 358. Pop. in 1851, 12, 263; in 1861, 15, 060. house, 3, 161. Archbishop Whitgift and Bishop Fotherby were natives.—The parish includes the hamlet of Wellow; yet, as already noted, is conterminate with the municipal boringh. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lincoln. Value, £532.* Patron, G. F. Heneage, Esq.—The sub-district comprehends all the parliamentary boringh and finrteen other parishes. Acres, 63, 215. Pop., 18, 288. house, 3, 837.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, and a sub-district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Great Grimsby CP/AP       Grimsby CP       Great Grimsby SubD       Caistor RegD/PLU       Lincolnshire AncC
Place names: GREAT GRIMSBY     |     GRIMSBY     |     GRIMSBY GREAT
Place: Grimsby

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