Immingham is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

, England, on the south-west bank of the

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

, northwest of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

. It was relatively unpopulated until the early 1900s, when the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

began developing Immingham Dock; as a consequence of the docks, and post-Second World War large scale industrial developments, Immingham became a significant town during the 20th century. The Port of Immingham & Grimsby was the largest port in the United Kingdom by tonnage with 54 million tonnes of cargo passing through in 2019.

Geography

Council ward

The Immingham Ward of North East Lincolnshire Council includes Stallingborough,

Healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...

and

Habrough __NOTOC__ Habrough ( ) is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, north-west of Grimsby and inland from the Humber estuary at the southern edge of the A180 road, just west of Immingham and south of South Kill ...

. As of 2018, its elected councillors are Stewart Swinburn (Conservative), David Bolton (Labour), and David Watson (Labour). Population of the ward in 2001 was 11,804 persons (2001 census), and 11,507 persons in 2011 (2011 census).

European route E22 European route E22 is one of the longest European routes. It has a length of about . Many of the E-roads have been extended into Asia since the year 2000; the E22 was extended on 24 June 2002. Route United Kingdom Port of Holyhead () * ...

passes through Immingham on the A180 and A160 via Immingham Dock.

Civil parish

The civil parish of Immingham is located on the south bank of the

west-northwest of

. The civil parish is bounded by

South Killingholme South Killingholme is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,108. The parish was predominately agricultural and sparsely populated and the village small until the ...

to the north-west, with the drain watercourse outfalling at South Killingholme Haven forming the boundary – also the county boundary between

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...

and

. The south-eastern boundary is with the civil parish of Stallingborough, with the North Beck Drain forming most of the boundary. The parish extends to the south-west as far as Roxton, with boundaries to the south-west and south with the civil parishes of

and

Keelby Keelby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the A18, west from the seaport of Grimsby and east from the local Humberside Airport, with close access to the A180 to the north, and M180 to the ...

.Ordnance Survey 1:25000, Sheet 284, 2006 The civil parish is low lying, extending from below above sea level near the Humber foreshore, to a peak of in Roxton wood in the south-west corner. The main features within the parish are the Humber shoreline, running roughly north-west to south-east, the Immingham Dock and estate, and adjacent south of the dock the town of Immingham. The A180 and Stallingborough-Habrough section of the mainline railway west out of Grimsby (

Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway was an early British railway company which existed between 1845 and 1847 with the intention of providing rail services between Grimsby, New Holland and Gainsborough in the county of Lincolnshire. ...

) pass roughly east–west through the southern part of the parish. The A1173 connects the town and dock to the A180. Excluding farms there are no other places of habitation outside the town in the civil parish. There are two abandoned sites of medieval villages in the parish: that of the village of Immingham, north-west of the modern town, near St Andrew's Church; and Roxton in the southern extremity of the parish. Population of the civil parish was 9,861 in 2001, and 9,642 in 2011.

Town

The mayor of Immingham is Kevin Houghton who was elected to follow Stefan Allan, who was elected on 15 May 2019, and then re-elected the following year. Allan currently serves as Houghton's deputy. Before his election as mayor, Allan served as the deputy to preceding mayor and mayoress George Fox, and his wife Veronica Fox. The town of Immingham is a compact urban area of approximately , situated south-west of the dock in the middle of the parish. It is bisected by the B1210. The town has a retail centre, "Kennedy Way", with stores such as

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

and

Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...

, a leisure centre with swimming pool and gym, and several schools. On the north-eastern outskirts of the town there is a Knauf UK GmbH plant that makes

plasterboard Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gib board, gypsum board, buster board, turtles board, slap board, custard board, gypsum panel and gyprock) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or witho ...

Transport

Immingham was formerly served by two railways, the Barton and Immingham Light Railway mainly carrying freight traffic to and from the dock, and the Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway carrying passengers between the town and the dock. Both were withdrawn by the early 1960s. In the present day, the nearest railway stations are at and on the former

, now part of the Barton line. A half-hourly bus service currently operated by Stagecoach East Midlands links Immingham with Grimsby.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and

ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

. Television signals are received from the Belmont TV transmitter. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Humberside BBC Radio Humberside is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the former county of Humberside which includes the unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolns ...

, Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire, Hits Radio Lincolnshire broadcasting on DAB and Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire. The ''

Grimsby Telegraph The ''Grimsby Telegraph'' is a daily United Kingdom, British regional newspaper for the town of Grimsby and the surrounding area that makes up North East Lincolnshire including the rural towns of Market Rasen and Louth, Lincolnshire, Louth. The ...

'' is the local newspaper that serves the town.

History

Etymology

The name ''Immingham'' is thought to mean the "Homestead of the people of Imma"; (de)constructed from the elements "Imma" + ''inga'' + ''ham''. The place was referred to as ''Imungeham'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, and recorded as ''Immingeham'' in around 1115. The termination "-ham" is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in origin. The patronymic, (interpreted as "Imming" or "Emming") has been noted as occurring elsewhere, such as in ''Imminghausen'' (

Immenhausen Immenhausen () is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km north of Kassel on the German Timber-Frame Road. The town has 7,098 inhabitants as of July 2020, including the northern village of Mariendorf and east ...

), or ''Emmingen'' ( Emmingen-Liptingen) (Germany).

Early history

Immingham is mentioned (as ''Imungeham'') as a manor in the 11th-century

. Saint Andrew's church dates to the early medieval period, with much of the structure dating to the 13th century, with parts of the nave as early as the 11th or 12th century. The tower was constructed in the 16th/17th century, to a similar design to that found in nearby Aylesby, Wootton and

. The structure was restored in the 1880s and 1920. A decorated octagonal font in the church dates to the 15th C. The remains of a stone cross outside the church also dates to the medieval period. There is archaeological evidence of the medieval settlement. Earthwork remains indicating a settlement and agricultural use exist near south of the church; earthwork remnants of a former shrunken village exist to the north of the church. Archaeological evidence of saltmaking has been found north of the village (formerly in the parish of Harbrough, now within the dock estate), references to a saltmaking site here exist from the Domesday book, and in a late 12th-century document describing the gift of land including the saltpan to Newhouse Abbey. In 1608 the village briefly became a location in the story of the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony at what now is Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. John Smith had named ...

of America; their vessel was forced to put ashore due to bad weather, sailing up Killingholme Creek; the women of the party were allowed to sleep in the village church for the night, but news of this reached the authorities, with the consequence that the womenfolk were arrested, whilst the others escaped to the Netherlands. A popular protest secured the release of the women, who were then able to rejoin their families, and continue the journey. In the later medieval period Immingham declined from 66 households in 1523 to 46 in 1723, in common with other Lincolnshire places on or near the Humber banks. The silting of the haven leading from the Humber has been supposed as one possible cause. Churchfield Manor, in the north-west of the town dates to the late 1600s/early 1700s. Belmont cottage south of the church dates to the early 1800s. Both are now listed structures. The

Ings ''Ings'' is an old word of Old English origin referring to water meadows and marshes. The term appears in place names in Yorkshire (such as Hall Ings, Bradford, Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve, Clifton Ings in York, Derwent Ings, Sutton Ings, Acast ...

at Immingham were enclosed in 1840. A coastguard station erected in 1850. The

(opened 1845) passed through the parish south of Immingham. In the 1870s the parish of Immingham had a population of 237, whilst Roxton was still known as a small hamlet. The parish had an area of which was mostly good grazing land – much of which was owned by the

Earl of Yarborough Earl of Yarborough is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1837 for Charles Anderson-Pelham, 2nd Baron Yarborough. History The Anderson-Pelham family descends from Francis Anderson of Manby, Lincolnshire. He married ...

. In addition to the church the village also had Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.

1900–1950

Building of the Immingham Dock began in 1906, and it was opened by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

on 22 July 1912. In part funded by the

, the dock property was ; covering , with of water. A railway line to the north-west, the Barton and Immingham Light Railway was opened in 1912. The docks were connected to their primary supply of labour in Grimsby by the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway, opened 1912. As part of the development of the new port some wood framed, corrugated iron clad housing was constructed; several of these survived to the 21st century, and one of these dated 1907 is now a listed structure. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Immingham served as a base for British D class submarines. There was also an anti-aircraft battery in the town, manned with 1 pounder and later a

12-pounder gun 12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds. Guns of this type include: * 12-pounder long gun, the naval muzzle-loader of the Age of Sail * Canon de 12 de Vallière, French cannon of 1732 * C ...

. By the 1920s the village of Immingham had been eclipsed in importance by the port; a publication of the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

opined: By the early 1930s housing development was scattered across several locations: most was along Pelham Road, of which the majority was east of the original village (St Andrew's church), centred around the ''County Hotel'', and close to the dock estate; further development had taken place south and south-east of the church, also on Pelham Road, in two locations each centred on one of the two nonconformist chapels. Almost all the housing was terraced, with the more generous ground plans found moving south-west along Pelham Road. By the mid-1930s the village had grown as much to require a comprehensive school which opened in 1936. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

John Dowland John Dowland ( – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", " Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", " N ...

and Leonard Harrison received the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

for defusing a bomb that had fallen onto the grain ship SS ''Kildare'' in February 1940 in Immingham Dock. Anti-aircraft batteries were located around the dock during the war, as well as at Homestead Park, and near Immingham Grange. The Humber Force, part of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

which had two cruisers and a destroyer flotilla, including HMS Afridi (F07) was based at Immingham during the war, as well as submarines including HMS Seal (N37).

1950–present

At the beginning of the 1950s the village of Immingham had little expanded. Development of new industries on the South Humber bank after the

caused further growth of the town. By 1981 the population had risen to 11,506; making it North Lincolnshire's fourth town, after

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

and

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...

. The expansion of the village included: ''Eastfield County Junior School'' built in 1970; expansion of the comprehensive school, 1973; a shopping centre "Kennedy Way" constructed in 1965–7; and north of the centre 18 blocks of five storey flats constructed by

George Wimpey George Wimpey Limited was a British construction firm that typically worked in the civil engineering and housebuilding markets. It was, during the 1970s, the largest homebuilder active in the UK. Established in 1880 and originally based in H ...

from 1965; a Civic Centre also opened in 1965. Standard housing also expanded: By 1968 there were many new side streets, in particular a new estate encompassed by Pilgrim Avenue; development along Pelham Road had become almost continuous, and the new village now expanding north-west towards the old Immingham. Further growth took place in the late 1960 and 1970s: north-west of Pelham Road, with the village continuous towards Church Lane; a new estate south-east of Pilgrim Road; as well as further infilling to the south-west. Immingham Dock Station, originally part of the Barton and Immingham Light Railway closed in 1969, whilst Immingham Museum was established in 1970. In 1979 the Kennedy Way centre was extended to house a further supermarket and other shop units. The local council added a Sports centre in 1980. The expansion of the new town had peaked by the mid-1980s, with only minor extra expansion in the next two decades to 2006. In 2007 Immingham School was renamed Oasis Academy Immingham. Supermarket retailers

Somerfield Somerfield ( ) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The business started life in the 19th century as grocers J. H. Mills, and after a series of buyouts and mergers, the company became known as Gatew ...

took over a former

Kwik Save Kwik Save is a British convenience store chain. Prior to 2007, it was also a discount supermarket chain that had shops across the United Kingdom. It went into administration in July 2007, but was brought back in April 2012. Its shops were s ...

shop at Kennedy Way c.2006; the branch became part of the

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

after the takeover of the chain in 2010; in 2014 the Co-op announced it was to close the shop (closed September 2014). Supermarket chain

acquired the site in 2014 with the aim of opening a new store in 2015; the store was opened in May 2015 by the Mayor of Immingham. The town's

Yorkshire Bank Yorkshire Bank was a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in England. The Yorkshire Bank was founded in 1859 as the West Riding of Yorkshire Provident Society and Penny Savings Society but the Provident ...

closed in August 2009 after 40 years of operation. the

Norwich and Peterborough Building Society Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (N&P) is a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Formed by the merger of the Norwich and Peterborough building societies in 1986, at the time of merger with YBS, it w ...

closed their Immingham office in March 2010;

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

closed their branch in the centre in late 2010. In 2012 planning permission was granted for a new large

store to the north of Immingham Civic Centre, (originally consented 2009.), and refurbishment and alterations to the Kennedy Way shopping centre. Preparatory work on a £10 million Tesco supermarket began 2014, with the Immingham Sports Centre to be demolished; a new sports facility was to be provided at Oasis Academy. A Poundstretcher opened in November 2014 at the development, and

B & M B & M Retail Limited, trading as B&M, is a British multinational variety store and garden centre chain founded in 1978 and based in Speke. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. B&M is part of t ...

store in December 2014. The new "Multi User Games Area" (MUGA) opened March 2015. In January 2015 Tesco announced cost-cutting plans following falling sales, and halted development of 49 stores, The built but unopened store in Immingham was mothballed, having had its opening previously delayed. As of late 2015 the unopened Tesco supermarket was being retained by Tesco. On 20 September 2018 Tesco opened one of their first Jack's stores in the unused building. In early 2016 work began on the reconstruction of Immingham Civic Centre – an aim was to concentrate public services at one location including Immingham Town Council, North East Lincolnshire Council offices, Humberside Police offices, Shoreline (housing agent) offices, a Library and the Immingham museum, which portrays the role of the

in the building of the docks and construction of the local rail network. The museum, which is home to the Great Central Railway Society archive, is open from 1pm to 4pm, Wednesday to Saturday from March through to November.

Governance

At the lowest level of governance is Immingham Town Council. Immingham has three electoral wards, electing a total of 15 councillors. These councillors are responsible for burial grounds, allotments, play areas and some street lighting. Elections to the town council are held every four years and the most recent elections were held in May 2019. The Mayor of Immingham is elected annually by the members of the town council. At county level the town is part of North East Lincolnshire Council unitary authority area, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The town is represented by three Unitary councillors on North East Lincolnshire Council. The county council provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. In the United Kingdom Parliament, Immingham is part of the Brigg and Immingham constituency, represented by Conservative MP,

Martin Vickers Martin John Vickers (born 13 September 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brigg and Immingham since the 2024 general election. He previously represented the Cleethorpes cons ...

. The Brigg and Immingham constituency also includes other towns in the area including

Barton-upon-Humber Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is sou ...

Roxton

There was once a village at Roxton. The medieval village is evidenced by earthworks, as well a nearby cropmarking to the east. Additionally there may once have been a moated enclosure between Immingham and Roxton, now lost and not visible on modern maps.

Notable people

* Sean Storey, professional snooker player * Ian Huntley (born 31 January 1974, Grimsby), Soham murderer, lived at Immingham until the mid-1990s.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

Literature

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Towns in Lincolnshire Port cities and towns in Yorkshire and the Humber Port cities and towns of the North Sea Borough of North East Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire