The Battle to Save Grimsby's Historic Kasbah
A Special Online Event
This event was originally scheduled for July 15th, and was postponed due to technical difficulties. It has been rescheduled for July 16th, at the same time.
Join World Monuments Fund Britain (WMFB) and SAVE Britain’s Heritage for a special online event on July 16 at 12:00 pm (EDT) delving into the past, present, and future of Grimsby’s historic Docks. John Darlington, Executive Director of WMFB, and Henrietta Billings, Director of SAVE, will discuss the hard fought battle to save the docks from demolition, following its inclusion on the 2014 World Monuments Watch, and the subsequent creation of the new ‘Kasbah’ conservation area. They will be joined by Vicky Hartung, Chair of the Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust, who will talk about key restoration and regeneration initiatives in the docks.
This is an online event that is free and open to all.
About the Grimbsy Ice Factory
The Grimsby Ice Factory is a unique survivor of the Victorian industrial era. The structure is the earliest and largest-known surviving ice factory in the world, and the sole example from this period to retain its machinery. In its heyday Grimsby was one of the busiest fishing ports in the world, and its ice factory was built with an attention to detail worthy of the best Victorian industrial architecture. The surrounding precinct of docks, quays, transportation infrastructure, industrial facilities, and shops in the 1800s became a bustling hub of commercial activity known as the Kasbah.
WMF at Grimsby
Grimsby remains a major port today, but the ice factory closed in 1990 due to decreased demand. Following decades of abandonment, community members set up the Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust in 2010 to help adaptively reuse the ice factory and promote the revitalization of the Kasbah, which still maintains some traditional fishmonger businesses. WMF included the site on the 2014 World Monuments Watch.
Grimsby Since the Watch
In May 2016, the North East Lincolnshire council voted to demolish four derelict dock buildings associated with Grimsby’s fishing heritage, despite strong objections from SAVE Britain’s Heritage Historic England, World Munuments Fund, the Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust, and hundreds of people who signed a petition.