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| Those were the days - aerial view of the Grimsby of yesteryear |
PICTURES showing the change in Grimsby’s industrial and domestic landscape have been used to compile a unique report charting the town’s fortunes over more than a century.
Using rarely seen images from the archives of Historic England, the report offers a pictorial view of just how Grimsby’s central urban areas have evolved, the impact of the Second World War on the town, the changing face of the waterside and the importance of its historical buildings.
Author Matthew Oakey, Historic England’s Aerial Investigation & Mapping Manager (North), used extensive research work already carried out by colleagues within his organisation to put together the collection, which focuses on a 2.5 sq. km. area lying within what is known as the Great Grimsby Heritage Action Zone (Heritage Action Zone).
Author Matthew Oakey, Historic England’s Aerial Investigation & Mapping Manager (North), used extensive research work already carried out by colleagues within his organisation to put together the collection, which focuses on a 2.5 sq. km. area lying within what is known as the Great Grimsby Heritage Action Zone (Heritage Action Zone).
Says North East Lincolnshire council's deputy leader Cllr John Fenty: “When you walk around this part of Grimsby, including the Kasbah, you can sense the history and the vibrancy that once existed."
Highlights of the report include an insight into the development of the port area, from a pre-war boom in the timber and coal trade - in 1911 more than 1.7 million tons of coal was passing through Grimsby docks - to the onset of vehicles.
The report highlights the docks use, during the 1939-45 war, as a base for the Royal Naval Patrol Service, housing the largest minesweeper fleet in the UK.
The fishing industry and its decline is charted, with the aerial report also focusing on the switch from rail to road and a radical reshaping of areas such as Alexandra Dock, before moving further into the urban areas and looking at businesses ranging from brewing, to the flour mills and the emergence of retail.
In his conclusion, the author says: “The aerial photographs held in the Historic England Archive provide a fascinating record of landscape change in Grimsby spanning almost a century.
“Early Aerofilms images capture a town at the centre of the world’s fishing industry but also record other trades and businesses that were essential to Grimsby’s economy.
"The impact of air raids during the Second World War began to alter the character of the town - particularly in the East Marsh where the greatest damage occurred - but it was in the latter half of the 20th century that the most significant reshaping of the town can be seen.”
The full report is available to view online at: https://bit.ly/2wfB8OH
Highlights of the report include an insight into the development of the port area, from a pre-war boom in the timber and coal trade - in 1911 more than 1.7 million tons of coal was passing through Grimsby docks - to the onset of vehicles.
The report highlights the docks use, during the 1939-45 war, as a base for the Royal Naval Patrol Service, housing the largest minesweeper fleet in the UK.
The fishing industry and its decline is charted, with the aerial report also focusing on the switch from rail to road and a radical reshaping of areas such as Alexandra Dock, before moving further into the urban areas and looking at businesses ranging from brewing, to the flour mills and the emergence of retail.
In his conclusion, the author says: “The aerial photographs held in the Historic England Archive provide a fascinating record of landscape change in Grimsby spanning almost a century.
“Early Aerofilms images capture a town at the centre of the world’s fishing industry but also record other trades and businesses that were essential to Grimsby’s economy.
"The impact of air raids during the Second World War began to alter the character of the town - particularly in the East Marsh where the greatest damage occurred - but it was in the latter half of the 20th century that the most significant reshaping of the town can be seen.”
The full report is available to view online at: https://bit.ly/2wfB8OH
An interactive map looking in more details at some of the historic buildings and places of importance within the HAZ is also available at: https://bit.ly/2tUEWEf
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