Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,670 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, and then developing into a resort in the 19th century. Before becoming a unified town, Cleethorpes was made up of the three small villages of Itterby, Oole and Thrunscoe.
The town lies on the prime meridian, also known as the Greenwich meridian, and its average annual rainfall is amongst the lowest in the British Isles.
In 2021, Trainline named Cleethorpes beach the second best seaside destination in the UK that is reachable by train, just behind Margate.
History
Before becoming a unified town, Cleethorpes was made up of three small villages: Itterby, Oole and Thrunscoe, which were part of a wider parish called Clee (centred on Old Clee) named from clee, an old form of the word clay. The name Cleethorpes is of comparatively recent origin, combining the parish Clee with thorp, an Old English/Old Norse word for "village". The earliest attestations are 1552 for singular Clethorpe (meaning Itterby) and 1588 for plural Clethorpes (including Oole, adjacent to Itterby; later also Thrunscoe slightly to the south).
Whilst there are Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in the area, permanent occupation appears to date from the 6th century, with substantial communities appearing only in the 9th century when the Danes arrived.
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, Cambridge from Blundell's School, Tiverton.C. Ernest Watson. (13 November 2008) A History of Clee and the Thorpes of Clee. Kessinger Publishing. (1901).
Cleethorpes developed as a fishing village. By the time of the 1801 census the population was 284. 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.
In 1842 the (5 & 6 Vict. c. 1 ) was enacted. of land were divided among land owners and eight new roads developed. In 1848 Cleethorpes was described as:
The resort expanded following the linking of the town by railway with industrial towns in Yorkshire. Cleethorpes Pier opened in 1873 and the promenade in 1885. Cleethorpes with Thrunscoe was created as a local board of health district in 1873, and under the Local Government Act 1894 it became an urban district.F A Youngs Jr., Guide to the Administrative Units of England, Vol II: Northern England, London, 1991 Its headquarters was established at Cleethorpes Town Hall in 1905.
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.
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.
Local residents from Lincolnshire and the Yorkshire and Humber area affectionately refer to Cleethorpes and its residents as Meggies. Cleethorpes can also be known as "down beach".
Geography Cleethorpes is situated on the southern side of the Humber estuary in North East Lincolnshire – a unitary authority area in North of England. The Greenwich meridian passes through the town and a signpost shows some distances to world-wide locations. North Pole , South Pole , New York City and London .
Cleethorpes is physically linked to the neighbouring town of Grimsby by built up residential estates and the villages of Old Clee and Weelsby are also contiguous with the two towns.
Climate As with most of the British Isles, Cleethorpes experiences a maritime climate. It has mild summers and cool winters. The average annual rainfall is amongst the lowest in the British Isles.
Economy Regeneration
The Winter Gardens, a venue for a variety of events, was demolished in 2007 and replaced by 47 flats. During a mass boycott of punk bands in the 1970s, the Winter Gardens was just one of five UK venues that allowed the likes of the Clash, AC/DC and the Sex Pistols to perform. The old mini steam railway running from the seafront leisure centre to St Anthony's bank has been extended. A cafe, taphouse, and gallery have been added to the boating lake, and many ducks and geese use the boating lake to breed. A large open air show ground has been built close to the eastern end of the boating lake — it often shows live bands and hosts special events, most notably hosting the London 2012 Olympic torch relay.
A new RNLI station is set to be completed on the Central Promenade by 2025.
Transport
Cleethorpes railway station is served by three train operating companies: TransPennine Express operate hourly trains to , , and Liverpool Lime Street; they also manage the station; East Midlands Railway run two-hourly trains to , via for a bus link to Hull. They also operate two-hourly trains to via and . On Sundays, there are three trains per day to Matlock all year and four to Barton-on-Humber during the summer months only. Northern Trains operates a limited service of one train per day to via which operates on Mondays to Fridays only.
Trains to London King's Cross, , , , , and are available by travelling to Doncaster and changing there. Connections to are available by changing at Nottingham, for services run by East Midlands Railway.
Bus services to Grimsby, Immingham and nearby villages are operated by Stagecoach East Midlands. There is a bus service to Skegness, via Louth, which runs once a day on weekends in the summer.
The Cleethorpes area is served by the following roads: A16 between Grimsby and Peterborough; A46 to Bath; A180 to Barnetby-le-Wold.
Education
Secondary schools in Cleethorpes include Cleethorpes Academy and Beacon Academy.
From September 2011, N.E. Lincolnshire SSP was the only remaining School Sports Partnership after government funding cuts.
Religion
The parish church is St Peter's, built in 1866. Holy Trinity and St Mary the Virgin Church in Old Clee is the oldest building (built 950 AD) in the Grimsby area. Other Anglican churches are St Francis of Assisi on Sandringham Road, and Christ Church on Grimsby Road. There is a Roman Catholic church, Corpus Christi, also on Grimsby Road, a Baptist church and a Methodist church.
Sport and leisure Cleethorpes is home to Blundell Park, the home ground of Grimsby Town; they are one of few English League clubs with a town or city name to have their home ground in a different community. Cleethorpes Town F.C. play in the Northern Premier League – South East Division; their home matches, conversely, are played at the Linden Homes Club, in Clee Road, Grimsby.
There is an athletics club and Cleethorpes Rugby Union Football Club who play in the Midlands 4 East (NE).
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, and the Vagabonds cricket team.
The old Cleethorpes bathing pool was demolished and replaced in the eighties with a modern leisure centre. Facilities include a large indoor wave pool, badminton and squash courts, a gym and sports hall. The local badminton club meets here.
A greyhound racing track was opened around the outside of the stock car racing track in 1981, which was on the site of the former Cleethorpes Marineland & Zoo which closed in 1977. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club NGRC) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. In 1983, there were plans to build new kennels and join the NGRC but racing only lasted until midway through 1986. The stock cars closed in the mid-1990s.
Governance
Cleethorpes is currently part of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, 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:
ElectionMemberParty1945Kenneth YoungerLabour1950Sir Cyril OsborneConservative1969 Jeffrey ArcherConservative1974Michael BrothertonConservative1983Michael BrownConservative1997Shona McIsaacLabour2010Martin VickersConservative2024Melanie OnnLabour
Since 1996 Cleethorpes has formed an unparished area in the unitary borough of North East Lincolnshire. Cleethorpes comprises three of the borough's sixteen wards: Croft Baker, Haverstoe and Sidney Sussex. Each ward returns three councillors, so 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.
Council wards and elected members
North East Lincolnshire Council has three council wards within the area of Cleethorpes. , the councillors are:
Croft Baker ward: Oliver Freeston (R) Marian Jervis (L) Malcolm Morland (L)
Sidney Sussex ward: Edward Kaczmarek (L) Sophia Farren (L) Janet Haggis (L)
Haverstoe ward: Bill Parkinson (C) Margaret Cracknell (C) Keith Brookes (C)
Key: (L) = Labour Party (C) = Conservative Party (R)= Reform UK
Media Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the Belmont TV transmitter.
The town's local radio stations are BBC Radio Humberside on 95.9 FM, Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire (formerly Viking FM) on 96.9 FM, Hits Radio Lincolnshire (formerly Lincs FM) and Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (formerly Compass FM) on 96.4 FM.
Local newspapers are Grimsby Telegraph and Grimsby & Cleethorpes Advertiser.
Places of interest and landmarks The seaside resort of Cleethorpes lies on the Humber Estuary; thus the sea at Cleethorpes is the mouth of the Humber. There are several hundred metres 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.
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 near the pier and next to the Coastguard on Central Promenade. Work began on a new, larger RNLI station in 2022. Cleethorpes Rescue also protect the beach.
Cleethorpes has a large boating lake with many varieties of ducks, swans and geese. There is also a local nature reserve: Cleethorpes Country Park, situated between the resort and the village of Humberston. To the south of Cleethorpes, near Humberston, is a yacht club.
The Cleethorpes Leisure Centre was opened in 1983 to replace the open 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.