The old Danish word for village was 'by' and this one was probably Grim's by. In Norse mythology,
Grim (Mask) and
Grimnir (Masked One) are names adopted by the deity
Odin (Anglo-Saxon
Woden) when travelling incognito amongst mortals.
The larger port became known as Great Grimsby, to mark it out from the smaller hamlet, which is now called Little Grimsby. Just to confuse matters, however, the wider economic area, including Cleethorpes and Immingham, is sometimes referred to as “Greater Grimsby”.
The 1086 Doomsday Book features Grimsby as having a recorded population of 32.5 households, putting it in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in the book. Which means it had more half beds than all the hotels in Portugal.
The Grimsby Dock Tower was made using one million bricks.
Back in 1998 there were more pizzas made in Grimsby than anywhere else in Europe, including Italy.
Traditional Grimsby smoked fish has Protected Geographical Indication.
Grimsby is noted in the
Orkneyinga Saga in this Dróttkvætt stanza by Kali Kolsson:
We have waded in mire for five terrible weeks; there was no lack of mud where we were, in the middle of Grimsby. But now away we let our beaked moose [ship] resound meerily on the waves over the seagull's swamp [sea] to Bergen.
Grimsby is the site of a Blue Cross Animal Hospital, one of only four in the country, the other three being in London.
The main stand at Blundell Park is the oldest in the football league. (May have changed as this is 6 year old site, and I can't be arsed to check)
In 1974, Elton John Elton recorded a track called Grimsby. Written by Bernie Taupin about his teenage years in the town, the lyrics are:
'Oh oh Grimsby, a thousand delights, couldn't match the sweet sights of my Grimsby. Oh England you're fair but there's none to compare with my Grimsby.'
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