BRIGG DATES TIMELINE PART ONE: THE 1960s & 1970s - POSTED MARCH 2020

Brigg Blog today posts the first part of a Dates Timeline series that will eventually feature events of note in our area from the 11th century through to the present day. We begin with the 1960s & 1970s and will be dealing with additional decades in the near future, including the 1980s & 1990s, 1940s & 1950s, and 1930s & 1940s.
We'll then turn the clock back to the early 20th century and follow that post with major Brigg dates from previous centuries.
If you have any 1960s & 1970s entries you feel should be added to what follows, please email scoopfisher@aol.com
Your contribution will be included next time we update our Brigg Timeline with further entries.
Our aim is to create a database 'for posterity' tracing the development of Brigg from a humble fording place on the Ancholme, with a few properties nearby, to the popular market town it is today.
Although our Dates Timeline is centred on Brigg, some entries relating to the surrounding district have been included, and more are welcome.

1960: The newly-built Ancholme Inn, on Grammar School Road,  Brigg, served its first pints, while George Jobson retired as licensee at the Queens Arms. Former Brigg Grammar School pupil Roger Holmes made his league debut for Lincoln City FC, staying with the Imps until 1970. Restoration work started on Wrawby Mill, operated by wind power until 1939. 
 
1961: Brigg Amateurs Football Club was founded. The Jerry Green charity was established to help dogs in need, with a centre near Broughton.

1962: Severe winter weather arrived in December, with snow and ice continuing for many weeks into the New Year. R W Pratt, who had been a teacher at Brigg Grammar since 1929, retired. The Sherwood cycle and toy shop opened on Bridge Street.

1963: The first Christmas lights display was organised by Brigg Chamber of Trade. Brigg Stockmarket was constructed between Cary Lane and Barnard Avenue, and the new Brigg Methodist Church opened. Brigg Servicemen’s Football Club was formed.

1964: Brian’s DIY was established. Brigg Town Band was re-formed. Scawby railway station’s goods depot closed.

1965: Closure of the Grand Cinema on Wrawby Street, Brigg, and the railway stations serving Howsham and North Kelsey. Brigg Town Football Club celebrated its centenary season by playing a Sheffield Wednesday XI at The Hawthorns, losing 2-1.  Three Howsham boys were rewarded by British Railways for showing initiative by removing a sleeper and stones from the line.

1966: St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, on Barnard Avenue, Brigg, was dedicated. The United Methodist Church on Bigby Street, was demolished. New streets in Brigg were named in honour of Sir Winston Churchill, US President Kennedy and Father O’Hanlon, the town’s former Catholic priest. A new Roman Catholic School opened on Grammar School Road.

1967: Closure of Sergeant and Co’s brewery by the latest owners. Scawby Hall was made a grade one listed building. Wrawby Athletic FC won the Hett Cup (it would not be played for again until 2012).

1968: The Yarborough Hunt pub closed "without much notice" (years later to be re-opened, selling Tom Wood's ales brewed at Melton Ross). Scawby & Hibaldstow railway was closed to passenger traffic by British Rail. World famous steam loco Flying Scotsman (by then preserved) hauled an enthusiasts' special through Brigg. Saturday morning lessons were finally phased out at Brigg Grammar School, chiefly to save costs on bus travel from outlying villages. Brigg District Lions Club was founded.

1969: The 300th anniversary of the founding of Brigg Grammar School by Sir John Nelthorpe was marked by reopening the original schoolroom door, producing two cine films and heating the swimming pool (a great relief for pupils!). History master Dr Frank Henthorn also published his second book about the history of the school, this time covering the period from 1919. Paytrains were introduced by British Rail on the Brigg line - passengers tendering fares to onboard conductor/guards, doing away with the need to buy tickets from station booking offices which closed.  The Brigg Window Company was formed. Brigg UDC left the Buttercross for a new Town Hall completed on Cary Lane. E. H. Smith Ironmongers, in the Market Place, closed after 350+ years. Tony Jacklin, who lived in Elsham, won the British Open Golf Championship.

1970: Tony Jacklin, who won that year's US Open, attended the annual sports day organised by Brigg Preparatory School at the Recreation Ground. Brigg Old People's Welfare Committee received a van for its meals on wheels service – generously donated by the local Lions. Elsham Hall Country Park was opened by the Elwes family.

1971:  Layne's garage closed on Bigby Street. Brigg Convent, located nearby, was closed by the Order of Nuns; it was later converted to provide town houses. One of the earliest recorded snowfalls in Brigg arrived on November 19.

1972: Joseph J. Magrath retired as Brigg Town Clerk (and chief officer of the UDC) but carried on in a part-time capacity, later becoming Brigg Town Council's first Clerk. First scheduled passenger flights from Kirmington Airfield which became Humberside International Airport.  New Scawby Village Hall opened but  Brigg Convent School, on Bigby Street, closed.

1973: Brigg Urban District Council began a major refurbishment scheme for dozens of council houses, including the installation of central heating. John Morrell & Co took over Springs preserves factory - one of the town's major employers. Nellie Clark retired after being at the Brocklesby Ox pub for 58 years - 31 as licensee. South Kelsey Village Hall opened. Spring & Company was taken over by the Morrell firm of Liverpool, renaming the Brigg concern Spring Food Products. The last commercial barges operated along the river to Brigg.

1974: Archaeologists from the National Maritime Museum excavated the Brigg Raft,  on Island Carr, and took it to London. Under local government re-organisation, Barton UDC was amalgamated with Brigg Urban District Council and Glanford Brigg Rural District Council to form Glanford Borough Council, based in Brigg, with town resident Robert Crosby as Clerk. Various town and parish authorities including Brigg Town Council were formed. Humberside County Council became the top-tier body. Journalist Edward (Ted) Dodd published his acclaimed book, simply called Brigg, with the help of a grant from the Urban District Council. A copy was offered to every household in the town. The Brigg Parliamentary Constituency was replaced by Brigg & Scunthorpe, John Ellis being elected MP. Councillor Ken Pearce was installed as the first Town Mayor of Brigg. Newly re-formed Brigg Town Cricket Club played its first league season. Glanford Amateur Swimming Club was formed. Broughton became a town, rather than a village.

1975: Corah's hosiery factory, on Bridge Street, closed. Glanford Leisure Centre at Scawby Brook opened; Sir Robin Brook, acting chairman of the Sports Council, launched the facility on Saturday, May 10; a campaign to establish a public swimming pool to serve the Brigg area had launched in the mid-1960s.

1976: Sir John Nelthorpe School, Brigg, was established with the adoption of comprehensive education by Humberside County Council. It occupied the former Brigg Grammar and Brigg Girls’ High School sites. Vale of Ancholme Comprehensive School was created with sites on Redcombe Lane and Grammar School Road, utilising existing buildings. The Congregational Church, on Wrawby Street, and St John’s Church, Bigby Street, were given grade two listed status, along with the Woolpack, Dying Gladiator and Lord Nelson pubs. Albright & Wilson closed its Brigg depot and offices.

1977: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Brigg and watched a pageant at the Recreation Ground; it was part of a nationwide Silver Jubilee tour. The stretch of the M180 near Brigg opened, by-passing the town and removing a considerable amount of heavy traffic.

1978: New Brigg police station opened on Barnard Avenue. Famous disc jockey ‘Diddy David’ Hamilton came to Brigg to officially open a new housing development. Brigg Town Cricket Club became the only division three team ever to win the Broughton Evening League Knockout Cup. Eastern Airways began operating iconic Dakota planes from Kirmington Airport.

1979: Brigg's Lord Nelson Hotel opened its Trafalgar Restaurant. Brigg cricketer 'Gig' Smith performed two hat-tricks during the home match against Caistor (still a Lincolnshire League record) while taking nine wickets. Ray Neall acquired the derelict White Hart, on Bridge Street, and began rebuilding it. Michael Brown was elected MP for Brigg & Scunthorpe.

PICTURED ABOVE: Early 1970s views of the Brocklesby Ox pub, Currys store and the County Bridge, Brigg Town Football Club celebrating success at the Hawthorns, and Spring's 'Jam' Factory.