Chris
3/6/2025 10:57:16 AM
4 mins read
The past, present and future of our town will be celebrated on Great Grimsby Day next Tuesday March 11 - which is one of the most significant days in the town’s rich history.
North East Lincolnshire Council will team up with Radio Humberside, who will air their Mid-Morning Show with Carla Greene live to commemorate the issuing and sealing of Great Grimsby’s very first Royal Charter - which took place 824 years ago in 1201.
The show will begin with the raising of the Great Grimsby Borough flag at 10.03am and will continue with interviews with a number of local organisations, including the Grimsby and Cleethorpes Civic Society, and the Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Cllr Philip Jackson (from 11am), who will talk about the regeneration of the town centre.
The show will then come from Grimsby Minster from 12-1pm talking about the rich history of the church and what it means to the local community.
Listen LIVE - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_humberside
Listen BACK - - Listen BACK - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0kqr1xh
In more recent years, Great Grimsby Day has also been celebrated in January, dating back to 2008 when Young's Seafood launched a new range of frozen fish. The promotion included the then Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell having his picture taken with a giant fish finger near Parliament.
This year, however, The Grimsby and Cleethorpes Civic Society and the Chartered Freemen of Grimsby have called for the ‘charter day’ in March to become the official Great Grimsby Day celebration, and both the Council Leader and the Mayor are in support on behalf North East Lincolnshire council.
On March 11 1201, King John and his royal entourage witnessed the sealing of the borough’s first Royal Charter. At the time, Grimsby was one of only seven places in England to have been granted this document, which defined the rights and privileges of the town, enabling it to govern itself and set its own taxes, essentially paving the way for local democracy and societal systems. This was 14 years before the landmark signing of the Magna Carta, which is seen as one of the most important documents in Great British history.
Unfortunately, the original Royal Charter of 1201 was lost many years ago, but Grimsby Town Hall is home to several other significant Charters, Letters Patent, and documents, including the earliest surviving Charter dating back to 1227. Here, you can also see a stone bust of King Edward III, recognising the King’s contribution to promoting Grimsby’s maritime trade.
Great Grimsby Day is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the connection between the past and what we see and experience in the town today, especially this year as the town centre embarks on one of the biggest transformations in recent history.
The proud celebrations will begin with the raising of the Grimsby Borough Flag at 10.03am (just after the radio news) at the Town Hall by The Worshipful the Mayor of the Borough of North East Lincolnshire, Cllr Stephen Beasant.
He said: “Great Grimsby Day is such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the town’s past, and the signing of the charter was such a significant moment in history. In a year when we have so many fantastic projects underway to regenerate the town centre and take Grimsby forward it is good to look back and remember how we started.”
Other events will include:
⚜️View an exhibition by the Civic Society and Grimsby Archives in the Mayor’s Parlour at Grimsby Town Hall on Tuesday 11 March, 10am to 2pm. Free entry.
⚜️Join a free guided walk of ‘Hidden Grimsby’ with Carla Linford, starting at Grimsby Town Hall at 10.30am. Booking in advance is not required, just turn up on the day.
⚜️Take the opportunity to walk the self-guided heritage trail on the Love Exploring app. Learn about Grimsby town centre’s history and the buildings that made it what it is today. The trail starts at Grimsby Town train station. The trail has been created in partnership with the Grimsby, Cleethorpes & District Civic Society. You can download the app to your mobile phone for FREE. There are other heritage trails and games for children to do on the app too.
⚜️Also available is the self-guided walk ‘Ghosts & Legends of Grimsby’. Leaflets available from the Civic Society.
⚜️The Civic Society will be selling copies of a new Grimsby timeline from first Charter to the present’
⚜️Visit Freeman Street Market on the day. The Chartered Freemen of Grimsby will be holding an exhibition on Grimsby’s Charter on Tuesday 11 March 2025 too.
