Old Clee

Coordinates: 53°33′24″N 0°02′54″W / 53.556578°N 0.048308°W / 53.556578; -0.048308

Old Clee is located in the Clee Road (A46) and Carr Lane area of eastern Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England, and adjoins the neighbouring town of Cleethorpes, to which it has historic links. Previously a separate village, its parish church of Holy Trinity and Saint Mary, claimed to be the oldest building in Grimsby, has a Saxon tower dating from 1050 AD. Located in the area are the Old Clee infants/junior schools (Colin Avenue) and the Havelock Academy (Holyoake Road). Nearby is the King George V Stadium.

History

The settlement of Clee was in existence by the time of the Norman Conquest and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, as a village of over twenty households, held by brothers Erik and Tosti in 1066, and by Odo, half-brother of William the Conqueror, following the conquest. Its Domesday Book name was Cleia, from the Old English for clay, in reference to the area's soil.

Clee was one of six villages, or thorpes, within a wider ancient parish, also called Clee. Of the six villages, only Old Clee, as it is now known, and, to the west, Weelsby, remain. The north-western village of Holme, or South Holm, is now part of Grimsby, while the eastern villages of Hole or Oole, Itterby and Thrunscoe joined to form the town of Cleethorpes.