Grimsby, U.K.

A seaport with a population of around 90,500 (census, 1991) on the north Lincolnshire coast, some 15 miles from Hull and 155 miles from London. It stands near the mouth of the river Humber.

Fish has been the main business of Grimsby since a Danish Fisherman called Grim landed there and started to sell his fish to the locals.

herring.gif (7321 bytes) Transformed by the coming of the railway in 1848, Grimsby became the largest fishing port in the World and the docks were equipped to deal with the enormous quantity of fish that were landed there daily.

Sadly the fishing industry is a shadow of its former self, mainly with the blocking of Icelandic waters in the 1970's also with many of the traditional fishing grounds are now unavailable and fish catches limited by quota.

The town now calls itself the Food Capital of Europe on account of the many diverse food industries which have located here. There is also a large import export trade in other commodities, particularly cars, Danish bacon and dairy products.

The buildings in the dock area are very Victorian, with a statue of Prince Albert gracing the entrance. The focal point of the dock area is the famous Grimsby landmark, Dock Tower. This folly of 309ft is modeled on the medieval tower situated in the Palazzo Publico in Siena, Italy. The function of the Dock Tower was to provide water pressure to the lock gates to the docks. The gates have been recently replaced with more modern ones.

Grimsby town has a lot of modern amenities, including a modern shopping centre, Auditorium theater, 2 large hotels, Swingtime Golf Range plus numerous other Golf courses and lots of park areas to walk in. Access to Grimsby is easy with a motorway link (M180-A180) to all other motorway routes in the UK. haddock.gif (8072 bytes)