IMMINGHAM

Just six miles from Grimsby the Humber bank port of Immingham is a major centre of international trade.
But for many this thriving dockland town has a great historical significance.

For it was from here, in 1608, that the Pilgrim Fathers left England for Holland on a journey which would eventually see them setting up their community in America and laying the foundations for that nation's growth.

The place from which those early settlers left was known as Immingham Creek and in 1924 the spot was marked by a memorial with a granite top stone taken from Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.

As Immingham grew the memorial became surrounded by industry and it was moved to a small park opposite the town's parish church where it still stands.

With a population of 12,200, Immingham is not a big town, but it has major significance in the development of the Humber as a key British trading centre.



It was in 1906 that the first sod was cut for what became Immingham Dock, officially opened on July 22, 1913 by King George V.

The arrival of the dock transformed what was until that time a small village mainly dependent on agriculture, although it was not until the 1950s as Britain began to recover from the effects of World War 11 that the port really began to come into its own.

And over subsequent decades dock traffic through Immingham has made the port a key player in Britain's international trade.

Now owned by Associated British Ports Immingham, in partnership with nearby Grimsby, is the largest port in the UK in terms of tonnage, with an annual total traffic of 57 million tonnes - 10 per cent of the national total - in 2006.

Immingham is also the location for a large rail freight terminal.

Alongside its docks development Immingham has also become a key area in the British chemical and petroleum industries which have located close by along the Humber Bank.

These include Total’s Lindsey Oil Refinery at North Killingholme and the Conoco Phillips Humber Refinery at South Killingholme.

Today, 70 per cent of the refined oil from the Humber Refinery goes to the UK, the rest being sent to Europe.

In 2007 work began on an £80-million bioethanol fuel plant which will use locally-grown wheat from which to synthesise fuel.

*To find out more about local industry and job prospects click here to visit our WORKING section.

It's a fact...

• Immingham is one of Britain's fastest-growing ports


• he port is served daily by Northern European and Scandinavian ferry lines. Wider shipping links extend throughout Europe and to North and South America, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and the Far East


• About 20 per cent of the UK's oil-refining capacity is situated near the port.


• Immingham handles more than eight million tonnes of ro-ro cargo a year


• Immingham is the UK's largest dry-bulk handling port


• During World War 11 Immingham became the shore base (for a time) of Lord Mountbatten and the docks hosted his famous vessel, HMS Kelly

Our recommended links...

http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk

http://www.immingham.org.uk

http://www.ports-uk.com