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Scunthorpe (popularly known as Scunny) is the administrative centre of North Lincolnshire, England. It is also known as the 'Industrial Garden Town'. The town appears in the Domesday Book (1086) as Escumetorp, which is Old Norse for "Skuma's village". The current population is 62,000.
Industry
Ironstone was mined in the area as early as the Roman occupation, but the deposits lay forgotten until the 19th century. The rediscovery of iron ore in 1859 by Rowland Winn on the land of his father, Charles, resulted in the development of an iron and steel industry and rapid population growth. Iron ore was first mined in the Scunthorpe area in July 1860. Owing to the lack of a mainline railway the ore was transferred to a wharf at Gunness (or Gunhouse), initially by cart then by a narrow gauge railway, for distribution by barge or mainline rail from Keadby. Winn knew that the best way of exploiting the iron ore fields was for a rail link to be built from Keadby to Barnetby. He campaigned tirelessly for the link; construction work started in mid 1860 and was complete in 1864. He persuaded the Dawes brothers, to whose iron works the ore was being supplied, to build an iron works at the site of the iron ore fields at Scunthorpe. Constuction of Scunthorpe's first ironworks, the Trent Ironworks, began in 1862, with the first cast from the blastfurnace being tapped on 26 March 1864. Other ironwoks followed: building of the Frodingham Ironworks began in 1864; North Lincoln Ironworks in 1866; Redbourn Hill Iron & Coal Company in 1872; Appleby Ironworks blow in their first blastfurnace in 1876; and the last constructed being John Lysaght's Iron and Steel works in 1911, with production starting in 1912. Crude steel had been produced at Frodingham Ironworks in 1887 but this proved not to be viable. Maxmilian Mannaburg came to Frodingham Ironworks in 1889 to help build and run the steelmaking plant and on the night of 21 March 1890 the first steel was tapped. Rowland Winn is remembered in the town by three street names: Rowland Road, Winn Street & Oswald Road. Rowland Winn assumed the title Lord St. Oswald in 1885.
Despite decline in the 1980s, the steel industry is still the major employer, but there are now a variety of industries, including: electronics, food, plastics, and clothing.
Local government
Historically in Lincolnshire, in 1889 the area was included in the Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey administrative county. Separate local government began in 1890 when the Scunthorpe local board of health was formed. In 1894 the local board was replaced with an urban district council. Ten years later the neighbouring townships of Brumby and Frodingham (including Crosby) were also constituted an urban district. The two urban districts were amalgamated, along with the parish of Ashby in 1919 to form a new Scunthorpe urban district. Scunthorpe received a charter incorporating the town as a municipal borough in 1936.Youngs, F.A., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. II, London 1991
Local authority boundary changes brought the town into the new County of Humberside in 1974, and a new non-metropolitan district, the Borough of Scunthorpe was formed with the same boundaries. The opening of the Humber Bridge on 24th June 1981 provided a permanent link between North and South Humberside but did not secure Humberside's future. To the relief of its many detractors, the County of Humberside (and Humberside County Council) was abolished on 1st April 1996 and succeeded by four unitary authorities.
The previous Humberside districts of Glanford and Scunthorpe, and that part of Boothferry district south of the northern boundaries of the parishes of Crowle, Eastoft, Luddington, Haldenby and Amcotts, now comprise the unitary authority of North LincolnshireThe Humberside (Structural Change) Order 1995 (1995 No. 600 ) On amalgamation charter trustees were formed for ScunthorpeThe Charter Trustees Regulations 1996 (1996 No. 263 ) [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19960263_en_1.htm, and they continue to elect a town mayor.
Coat of arms
When Scunthorpe was incorporated as a borough in 1936, it also received a grant of a coat of arms from the College of Arms. These arms were transferred to the new borough council formed in 1974The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) Order 1974 (1974 No.869), and are now used by the town's charter trustees.
The green shield and golden wheatsheaf recall that the area was until recently agricultural in nature. Across the centre of the shield is a length of chain. This refers to the steel industry and also shows that Scunthorpe in is in the county of "Lincs". At the top of the shield are two fossils of the species gryphoea incurva. These remains of oysters, known as the "devil's toenails", were found in the rock strata from which ironstone was quarried. The crest, on top of the helm, shows a blast furnace. This is also referred to in the latin motto: Refulget labores nostros coelo or The sky reflects our works.Scott-Giles, C.W., Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition, London, 1953
Sport
The town is occasionally known for its football team, Scunthorpe United (nicknamed 'The Iron'). For most of its existence in the professional game (since 1950) it has been in the basement league of the English game.
However, they won promotion to the current League One (The third tier of English football) at the end of the 2004/2005 season, and for the first time in recent history, retained that spot by finishing 12th in the 05/06 season.
The Scunthorpe problem
It gained some internet notoriety in 1996 when AOL's obscenity filter (among others) refused to accept the name of the town, due to its inclusion of a character string which the filter rejected as obscene. Certain online forums display the name as S****horpe.
Persons of note from Scunthorpe (and surrounds)
- Ray Clemence, former goalkeeper of the English national football team.
- Steve Ellis, planner.
- Stephen Fretwell, singer-songwriter. According to his website, "he once described town as having 'no soul'".
- Tony Jacklin, golfer. US open winner, 1970.
- Iain Matthews, singer.
- Joan Plowright, actress.
- Martin Simpson, guitarist.
- Liz Smith, actress.
- Graham Taylor, former manager of the English national football team.
- John Wesley, preacher. From nearby Epworth.
- Rob McElnea, Former 500cc Grand Prix Rider and now Team Manager of the Virgin Mobile Yamaha team in the British Superbike Championship.
Twinned municipalities
Musical Links
- The Toy Dolls covered Charlie Daniels Band's The Devil Went Down to Georgia with their 1997 recording "The Devil Went Down to Scunthorpe".
References
External links
- Google Map of Scunthorpe
- This Is Scunthorpe
- North Lincolnshire Council
- Stephen Fretwell
- Scunthorpe Hospital Radio
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