History of East Lincolnshire 4 towns

East Lincolnshire is home to the five historic towns – Skegness, Maplethorpe, Grimsby, Cleethorpes, and Alford.

The seaside town of Skegness is home to the first Butlins Holiday camp. The camp was established in 1935 and remains one of the most popular seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. The surrounding area of modern Skegness was settled before the coming of the Romans, many fragments of Roman pottery have been found along the shoreline over the years. The railway reached Skegness in 1873, encouraging large numbers of day-trippers and tourists to visit the area. This influx of visitors made Skegness one of the most well-known holiday destinations in the country.

Mablethorpe is a coastal town in East Lincolnshire that has existed for many centuries. In the 1980s, a horde of treasure dating back to the Roman Empire was found in the town including Roman coins and pottery. St Mary’s Church, a local landmark, dates to the late 13^th to early 14^th Century with the nave arcade dating to around AD 1300. Following this, records of the Fitzwilliam family of Maplethorpe Hall date back to the 14^th Century.

Founded by the Danes in the 9^th Century, Grimsby was once considered a relatively large village with over 200 settlers. The village stood on a river called the Haven and naturally during the 12^th Century, the village developed into a busy port with ships bringing goods from Norway, France, and Spain. In the Middle Ages, Grimsby suffered from outbreaks of the plague with a severe outbreak in 1590-91 but by the late 18^th Century, the village began to flourish, and a Town Hall was built. During the 19^th Century, the population of Grimsby grew rapidly, and the town became an important port for wheat, iron, timber, coal, and more.

East of the port of Grimsby lies Cleethorpes, a popular seaside resort in East Lincolnshire. Cleethorpes was made up of three small “thorpes” – Itterby, Oole, and Thrunscoe – which were part of the wider parish called Clee.  As a result of sunbathing becoming the latest trend, Cleethorpes started to become a famous holiday resort during the 19^th Century.

A popular market town in East Lincolnshire, Alford sits at the foot of Lincolnshire Wolds with history dating back to the Middle Ages. The centre of the town hosts a large number of historic buildings including Alford Manor House dating to 1611 and the medieval St Wilfrid’s Church.