Park Life – Local History Exhibition

A free one-day local history exhibition from North East Lincolnshire Archives telling the story of local parks at Grimsby Town Hall.

The exhibition from North East Lincolnshire Archives explores the development of People's Park and Grant Thorold Park, including lost features such as the Queen Victoria Memorial Tower, the Welholme Road gatekeeper's lodge and the Grant Thorold Park bandstand. It examines the impact of both World Wars on local parks, with material on bomb damage, air raid shelters and the temporary cenotaph in People's Park, plus photographs of the presentation tanks once displayed there and at Thrunscoe Recreation Ground. The West Marsh area of Grimsby features prominently, with items on "The Bully" and the "Shanty Town" playground, alongside the history of Cleethorpes open spaces such as Sidney Park and the Pier Gardens. The display also records misdemeanours in the parks, from footballers using "obscene language" to a boy helping himself to roses.