By Tim Lambert
9th Century The Danes found Grimsby
1086 Grimsby is a large village
12th Century Grimsby grows into a little port
1132 An Augustinian Abbey is founded at Grimsby
1201 King John grants Grimsby a charter
1240 Franciscan friars arrive in Grimsby
1293 Austin friars arrive in Grimsby. The little town has 1,500-2,000 inhabitants.
c. 1450 Grimsby begins to decline as The Haven silts up
1538 Henry VIII closes the friaries in Grimsby
1556 A stone bridge is built over The Haven
1590-91 Plague strikes Grimsby
1780 A new Town Hall is built
1796 A body of men is formed to build new quays and deepen The Haven
1801 Grimsby has a population of 1,5241832 Cholera kills 246 people in Grimsby
1838 Grimsby gains gas light
1848 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 water
1863 A new Town Hall is built
1871 Grimsby gains its first newspaper
1877 Grimsby and District Hospital is built
1879 Alexandra Dock and Union Dock are built
1881 Horse-drawn trams begin running in the streets of Grimsby
1883 Peoples Park opens
1884 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