A Timeline of Grimsby

By Tim Lambert

9th Century The Danes found Grimsby1086 Grimsby is a large village

12th Century Grimsby grows into a little port1132 An Augustinian Abbey is founded at Grimsby1201 King John grants Grimsby a charter

1240 Franciscan friars arrive in Grimsby1293 Austin friars arrive in Grimsby. The little town has 1,500-2,000 inhabitants.

c. 1450 Grimsby begins to decline as The Haven silts up1538 Henry VIII closes the friaries in Grimsby1556 A stone bridge is built over The Haven1590-91 Plague strikes Grimsby1780 A new Town Hall is built1796 A body of men is formed to build new quays and deepen The Haven1801 Grimsby has a population of 1,5241832 Cholera kills 246 people in Grimsby1838 Grimsby gains gas light1848 The railway reaches Grimsby

1851 Grimsby has a population of 8,860. The port booms and iron, timber, wheat, hemp and flax are imported.1852 Royal Dock is built

1854 A water company is formed to provide piped water1863 A new Town Hall is built1871 Grimsby gains its first newspaper1877 Grimsby and District Hospital is built

1879 Alexandra Dock and Union Dock are built1881 Horse-drawn trams begin running in the streets of Grimsby1883 Peoples Park opens1884 Duke of York Gardens opens

1887 Typhoid strikes Grimsby

1901 The population of Grimsby is 75,000. Grimsby gained electric street lights. Electric trams replace horse-drawn ones.

1928 Corporation Bridge opens

1937 Electric trams stop running

World War II In Grimsby 197 people are killed by bombing

1984 Abbeygate Shopping Centre opens

1989 Freshney Shopping Centre opens

1991 National Fishing Heritage Centre opens