BRIGG DATES TIMELINE PART TWO: THE 1980s & 1990s - POSTED MARCH 2020

Brigg Blog today posts the second 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. Here we recall the 1980s and 1990s.
We will be posting additional decades in the near future, including the 1940s & 1950s, and the 1930s & 1940s. We'll then go back to the early 20th century and follow that post with Brigg dates and events from previous centuries.
If you have any 1980s & 1990s 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 additional entries.
Brigg Blog's aim is to create a database 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.

1980: Spring’s factory closed in March (information kindly provided by Josie Webb). Baker's Oven opened an eatery in Brigg town centre. Brigg Chamber of Trade held a Shopping Week, including a town centre Charity Market which attracted a then record 52 stalls; Shopping Week supporters included these long-lasting businesses: Brian's DIY, J.B. Wallhead & Sons, Dunham's Bakers & Confectioners, Barnard’s Butchers, J. & Y. L. Pickering, and Dent's Spar Shop.

1981: Bells shop closed in the Market Place. Grandways opened Brigg's first large supermarket. Oil was discovered at Howsham during drilling.

1982: The Lincolnshire & South Humberside Times newspaper celebrated its 125th anniversary edition. Its offices were at 57 Wrawby Street, Brigg. The Springs Parade shops were created by converting former warehousing.


1983: Wrawby-born singer Carmel McCourt had a UK top 20 hit with Bad Day. Laurence Craven, from Sturton, was elected to an important post – Lincolnshire chairman of the National Farmers’ Union. Sir Edward Leigh was first elected MP for Gainsborough, a constituency which includes a number of West Lindsey villages near Brigg; in the run up to the election he was interviewed by the Lincolnshire Times in North Kelsey. The new A180  from Barnetby Top to Grimsby was opened to traffic, connecting with the M180.

1984: Closure of Woolworth's store on Wrawby Street (in the building now occupied by Martin's and the Post Office). A poster in the Lord Nelson Hotel led  to a meeting and the formation of North Lincolnshire's first American football team - the Brigg Jets.

1985:  Prince Charles visited Brigg, meeting officials of the SoHBAC business advisory centre based in the Market Place and walking through the town centre where crowds gathered; he later attended a function for business leaders aboard the royal train, which was parked at Brigg railway station.  Closure of the Lincolnshire & South Humberside Times weekly newspaper, with offices at 57 Wrawby Street, Brigg. Local punk band The Diseased was formed. Larry Arnolds off-licence opened, on Queen Street - closing in 2002 (information from Josie Webb).

1986: Curry’s shop in the Market Place closed. Bob and Sue Nicholson acquired the Queen's Arms, on Wrawby Street, while Tony and Carolyn Sykes took over the Black Bull. Elsham signal box, alongside the level crossing, was made a grade two listed building.

1987: Instones grocery shop/deli closed on Wrawby Street (information from Josie Webb). The New River Ancholme (Cake Mills) Bridge on Brigg's western boundary was made a grade two listed structure. Walker’s shoe shop closed, having been established in the 1700s (information from Josie Webb).

1988: Lady Diana - The Princess of Wales - visited Brigg and unveiled a plaque to mark the launch of the town's Regeneration Project, also visiting the Falcon Cycles factory and planting a riverside tree near the County Bridge. Brigg Town Council presented an award to the Exchange Coach House Hotel for careful and sympathetic restoration of the town's only grade two star listed building, under the direction of Master Builder Bruce Finch. Briggate Lodge Hotel, Broughton, opened to the public.

1989: A new Brigg Library opened on Old Courts Road. The distinctive red telephone kiosk in Brigg Market Place was given grade two listed status; the K6 cast iron example had been designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Following closure, the contents of the closed Angel Hotel were auctioned at the nearby Corn Exchange.

1990: Brigg Civic Society was founded and Brigg District Lions' Beer Festival was established. Sgt Robin Triffitt - known in Brigg pubs as The Laughing Policeman - retired from Humberside Police. Joe Mullen, owner of the Exchange, later erected a plaque in the courtyard to remember Robin's own brand of community policing, and Rex Howson produced a statue of the officer (still evident today). The clock on top of the Buttercross was taken away to be refurbished as part of the Brigg Regeneration Project.

1991: Lady Diana – the Princess of Wales – made her second visit to Brigg, marking the success of the Regeneration Project, which included refurbishment of the Buttercross. The pending closure of Brigg Sugar Factory was announced (bagging continued after processing had ceased).  Glanford Hospital closed and was later converted into health offices.  Glanford Leisure Centre’s Sports Hall was opened by Coun Terry Atherton, the Mayor of Glanford, on January 21.

1992: Brigg Corn Exchange was closed by Glanford Borough Council. Coun Tom Glossop served his second term as Brigg Town Mayor and was succeeded by his son, Tony.  The Brocklesby Ox pub, on Bridge Street, was refurbished.

1993: Brigg town centre was pedestrianised following the completion of an inner by-pass re-routing through traffic on the A18. Elsham railway station was closed by British Rail. Passenger trains along the Brigg line between Sheffield and Cleethorpes were reduced to Saturdays only - three in each direction. Glanford Brigg Power Station opened at Scawby Brook. Brigg's Paul McCullagh first played in the Football League for Scunthorpe United during the 1992/93 season.

1994: Demolition of Brigg Corn Exchange by Glanford Borough Council. S. Mundey Butchers opened in the town centre.

1995: Michael Heath, a solicitor who had played football and cricket for local teams and lived in Brigg, was appointed a Circuit Judge.

1996: Brigg Town Football Club - managed by 'Raz' Clayton - won the FA Carling Vase, beating Clitheroe 3-0 at Wembley stadium in the final. North Lincolnshire Council was created (with some offices in Brigg) and Beverley-based Humberside County Council was disbanded.

1997: Ian Cawsey, the former leader of North Lincolnshire Council, was elected MP for Brigg & Goole, establishing an office at 7 Market Place. Brigg Music Club was created to encourage young performers.

1998: Footballer Richard Huxford, from the Brigg area, made his Scottish Premier League debut; he had also played for Bradford City in England's top flight. David Yelland, who was educated at Sir John Nelthorpe School between 1976 and 1981, became editor of top-selling national newspaper The Sun.

1999: The new Tesco store in Brigg opened - built on the former stockmarket site. Brigg pubs were packed on December 31 as townsfolk said farewell to one millennium and welcomed another; Coun Adele Tasker’s year as Brigg Town Mayor spanned both eras. Brigg's Matt Sparrow, a former pupil of Sir John Nelthorpe School, made his Scunthorpe United debut, going on to play well over 300 times for the Iron and almost 450 matches in the Football League.
PICTURED: An artist's impression of the new Springs Parade shops near the Grandways store (early 1980s), the Corn Exchange before closure; the 1930s Market Place telephone box - since given given listed status.

Link to Brigg Dates Timeline Part One - the 1960s & 1970s...