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A place of entertainment

Visitors to the north Lincolnshire resort of Cleethorpes will always find plenty to do

Words: Judy Theobald Pictures: John Smith and John Whitaker

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Cleethorpes was just becoming known as a bathing place but only for the wealthy as the only way of getting there was by horse or horse and carriage. It had miles of clean sand, a good climate, a sheltered position on the banks of the Humber and - unusually for this part of Lincolnshire - a cliff which gave good views of the sea and shipping.

Other trippers came on the steamers which sailed the Trent and Humber and brought trippers to Grimsby who were then carried to Cleethorpes on horse-drawn vehicles. Some even undertook the journey on foot, taking about an hour to reach the resort.

It was the arrival of the railway in 1863 which brought prosperity and turned a large village into a seaside resort within a decade. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company was instrumental in this development. The railway company began work on sea defences in 1882-83 by building a promenade one mile long and sixty-five feet wide below the cliff. Above the promenade the company built the curious monument known as Ross Castle - named after the railway company's secretary.

The work also included the construction of swimming baths, a tearoom, conservatory and gardens. Prince Albert came in person to perform the official opening ceremony.

No Victorian resort would be complete without its pier and work on Cleethorpes' £8,000 pier was begun by Head Wrightson in 1872. The 1,200-foot structure was opened on August Bank Holiday 1873. A pier head concert hall was built in 1888 but this was destroyed in a fire in 1903. The pier was 'damaged' further in the Second World War when it was deliberately breached in case the coast was invaded. The isolated seaward section was demolished after the war as there was no money to replace the gap. The remaining section of pier now measures 335 feet.

Cleethorpes also attracted traditional seaside entertainers. In the late 1800s Miss Ward, a palmist and phrenologist charged from one shilling (5p) for a reading. Clairvoyance gained in popularity and by the 1930s, Madame Zillah was earning £300 a week with her mind-reading and fortune telling act on the sands.

However, modern holiday-makers demand more than communication with the dead and Cleethorpes has moved into the twenty-first century with its pubs, night clubs, Lazer Quest, bowling alley and theme park, Pleasure Island. This last offers everything from white knuckle rides to children's entertainment and shows.

Every year in May, Cleethorpes holds a folk festival in the Winter Gardens and an international kite festival is held on the sands in the same month.

But many will find parts of the town still retain the charm from its early years as a seaside resort. Seaview Street was the first main shopping street in the town and visitors will now find some fascinating, individually owned shops and cafés where they can while away many pleasant hours. The street holds Victorian days when shop staff dress in costume. There is also a popular light railway and families will find donkeys on the sands in summer.