Symbols of Grimsby's proud fishing heritage could be lost as several historic buildings are considered 'at risk'

And there’s a separate iconic landmark that vital conservation work has just been completed for.

North East Lincolnshire Council is putting out a tender to discover the costs of restoring Holme Hill School and reuse it in future as a hub for services, particularly children and families. It is a Grade II-listed site and one of six in Grimsby on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register.

As a result of this designation, the council is legally required to improve the state of Holme Hill’s clock tower so that it is no longer on the ‘at risk’ list. A tender exercise separate to the restoration of the rest of the site is in progress.

The council, its regeneration partner Equans, and Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre also recently worked together to set up conservation works for the iconic Ross Tiger trawler, which is suffering due to the “bad condition” of the original wood. These have now been completed.

Coun Tom Furneaux, portfolio holder for culture, heritage and the visitor economy, said: “Staff are keen to reopen the historic trawler to the public and get back aboard delivering their popular tours. We want Ross Tiger to be seen in all her glory by the public once again, but with health and safety the utmost priority, a walkway must now be created and installed following the main works to allow for public access.”

A ‘Heritage at Risk’ site is defined as “most at risk of being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development”. Central Area, Wellow and Victoria Mills are three of the sites with this designation currently. All are rated in “very bad” condition, though the outlook for the old flour mill built between 1889 and 1906 is rated as “improving”.

Below is a rundown of the town’s other ‘Heritage at Risk’ sites and more detail about Ross Tiger’s latest renovation project.

Holme Hill School

This was built in 1876-78 by Charles Bell of London, architect, and J M Thompson of Louth. It followed the 1870 Forster’s Education Act, which set the framework for all children aged five to 12 to go to school.

Charles Bell won a nationwide competition for its design. It closed as a school in 1967, before later used by the Education and Child Guidance Centre and The Rock Foundation. The charity left in September 2014 and it has been vacant since.

Repair works were made in 2017, including a clean of the clock tower. But that has not stopped English Heritage from casting a bleak assessment of its future. It is rated as in “very bad” condition, has medium vulnerability and described by English Heritage as “deteriorating significantly”.

Work on the clock tower will go ahead to remove it from the at risk register. North East Lincolnshire Council is now looking at the costs of restoring the rest of the site and reuse it to combine council services from five premises into one.

Grimsby Ice Factory

Like the flourmill, this was also built at the end of the Victorian and beginning of Edwardian ages in 1898-1901. Its purpose was inextricably linked to the importance of Grimsby as a seaport. The factory produced crushed ice to preserve fish kept in ships.

Once the largest ice factory in the world, it shut down in 1990 and placed on the At Risk register in 2008. The Grimsby Telegraph’s ‘Stop The Rot’ campaign, launched in 2018, identified the Grade II* listed factory as “dangerously insecure”.

In 2014, revamp plans to the tune of £12mn were turned for Heritage Lottery Funding. Four years later, government funding of £40,000 allowed an updated condition report on the building, completed in September 2019. This produced estimates of £5mn for urgent works to £11.5mn for more substantial.

Entrepreneur Tom Shutes subsequently bought the ice factory and designs were made in June 2021 for its restoration and possible creation of a 1,400 capacity theatre. Conditional listed building consent was granted by the council in November 2021 for repairs to make it windproof and watertight.

This included repairing the roof, replacing windows, and the insertion of metal security doors. But surviving antique refrigeration equipment was to stay in place.

Grimsby Haven Lock and part of Dock Wall

The Grimsby lock basin and quayside wall by John Rennie, built in 1798-99 as across the English Channel Napoleon rose to power, is a Grade II listed building, described as in “poor” condition.

When in use, it separated the tidal haven from the Humber Estuary, creating the first dock at Grimsby. Haven Lock opened in 1800 and was later incorporated into Alexandra Dock. They are the first use of vaulted quayside walls, a technical innovation later used on a grander scale in Hull and Grimsby.

Localised collapse, partial covering by spoil and broken bollards and railings have plagued the site in recent years.

Ross Tiger – a vital restoration completed this month

Not part of the at risk group, but an also historic piece of the town’s history, the Ross Tiger, thought to be the oldest diesel side-trawler left in the UK, is an iconic symbol of the Three Day Millionaire days of Grimsby, when fishing crews coming back to port would be awash with cash to spend. Those days are long gone now, but the 1950s Grimsby trawler stands as a historic reminder of that time as the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre’s star attraction.

It has been closed for a number of weeks while conservation works have taken place. Contractors involved in the project have included Beckett Rankine Marine Consulting Engineers, Coopers Painting Contractors Grimsby, R & N Services, York Archaeology, Bacon Engineering Ltd, and Hurst Conservation.

The rotten timber deck was removed, some of it going to the heritage centre’s collection. The steel deck underneath was inspected, grit blasted and painted, with only minor repairs to it needed.

The ship will reopen once a walkway is installed, with updates provided on the fishing heritage centre’s social media. But it will also feature in the limelight as a filming location for the movie, Three Day Millionaire.

The film, a comedic portrayal of a gang of Grimsby trawlermen who carry out the heist of a lifetime, premieres at Parkway Cinema on Friday, November 18.