UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

England

Region: Yorkshire and the Humber

Unitary Authority: North East Lincolnshire

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Cleethorpes is situated at the estuary of the Humber in Northeast England. The town has a population of about 31,900 (2001). 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). Straddled between the two towns is the (former separate) village of Old Clee and Weelsby. 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.

Before joining into one town, Cleethorpes was made up of three small villages, or "thorpes": Itterby, Oole and Thrunscoe, which were part of a wider parish called Clee. 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. 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. Cleethorpes developed as a fishing village. The 1820s saw the first developments of Cleethorpes as a health holiday resort, with sea-bathing and the taking of medicinal waters becoming fashionable. 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. 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. 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 was merged with Grimsby 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.

Ross Castle [left] is a mock ruin of a castle built in 1863 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. It was named after the secretary of the company. Its height was the highest point of 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.

Cleethorpes Pier [right] originally cost Ł8,000, which was largely financed by railway companies serving the cities of Sheffield and Manchester and the county of Lincolnshire. It was officially opened on August Bank Holiday Monday 1873. 1,200 feet (370 m) in length (to span the unusually large distance between low and high tide limits), the pier comprised a timber deck and pavilion (constructed in 1888), supported on iron piles. A section was, however, cut out of the pier during the Second World War to impede its use in any German invasion attempt. The original pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1903 but in 1905 a new one was built, halfway along the pier, and also a cafeteria and shops at the entry from the promenade. The pavilion offered a venue for dances and concerts. Cleethorpes Borough Council assumed ownership of the pier in 1936, the year that the resort gained borough status. However after a series of losses on the summer show, the council sold the pier in 1981. The venue reopened as 'Pier 39' (a modern nightclub) on 4 September 1985. The pier closed in 2010, but in May 2010 a local businessman bought the landmark venue and leased it out. The Pier nightclub reopened to the public on 27 November 2010 after undergoing a £200,000 refurbishment.

[Text adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleethorpes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleethorpes_Pier]