Grimsby Borough

Grimsby Borough FC is a non-league club from the Lincolnshire town of the same name whose origins can be traced back to 1987 when a club called Grimsby Ross was formed, going on to become members of the Central Midlands League Supreme Division.

They changed their name to Grimsby Borough in 1989-90, the season in which they finished bottom of the table. They joined the Lincolnshire League becoming runners-up in 1990-91 before leaving it a year later. 

Whether the Grimsby Borough that emerged in 2003 and the former entity have connections is unsure. Whatever, they joined the Lincolnshire League in 2003-04, finishing runners-up while playing their home games at the King George V ground.

Their performance led to promotion to the Premier Division of the Central Midlands League as the club changed its home venue to the Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education. A second successive runners-up place in 2006-07 led to promotion to Division One of the Northern Counties East League. 

By then the club had become tenants of Brigg Town playing at The Hawthorns to progress. An emphasis was put on youth development Rona Simons became chairwoman of the club in September 2009 while work got underway on a new ground at Bradley Playing Fields.

The Bradley Football Development Centre Grimsby Community Stadium was opened in November 2010. The side consolidated in the NCEL before escaping relegation in 2014-15 after Louth Town resigned their place. Joint managers Steve Newby and Nigel Fanthorpe stepped down after 529 games in charge. 

Gary Precious and Andy Thornton arrived as the new duo in charge of the side before Paul Walden succeeded them in November 2015. He went on to be replaced by Danny Barrett and Andy Liddle as joint managers.

The 2016-17 season saw the playoffs being reached which ended in a final defeat to Penistone Church after Hallam had been defeated. The following season saw repeated heartbreak. On this occasion, Glasshoughton Welfare were defeated before Eccleshill United won the final. 

The NCEL Division One title was secured in 2018-19, with their first two seasons as a Premier Division side abandoned owing to the pandemic. However, Borough wasted no time in 2021-22 as they won the league title and promotion to Division One East of the Northern Premier League.

In June 2019 Liddle left Barrett to continue managerial duties before he later became club chairman in the summer of 2022 following their elevation to step four of non-league football. The team consolidated in their new surroundings with two midtable finishes.

Grimsby Borough will play in the Northern Premier East League Division One East in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Friday 9th July 2010

I was staying in Grimsby overnight. Earlier in the day I had called in on one or two grounds and was going to the Brigg Town v Grimsby Town pre-season friendly later that evening. I was originally going to leave the walk to Borough's new ground until Saturday morning as I had some time to kill and I had a feeling there would be some beer to walk off.

However, owing to the Winterton bus from Scunthorpe not going to plan I caught the train straight to Grimsby Town station from the steel town. What I hadn't realised was that the Grimsby Community Stadium was still being constructed. It looked like it would go on to  be very impressive and ideal for a club of Borough's standing once completed.

I reserved a room in the County Hotel close to Grimsby Town station, and after dropping my bags off I headed off to the Community Stadium. This location worked out perfectly for me as a hub and not least because it was a couple of minutes away from the Wetherspoon owned Yarborough Hotel.

However, it soon became apparent that this was a fair walk out of town, but it was a beautiful day and I had my iPod to keep me entertained. I walked around a mile along Laceby Road, when I saw an open recreational area with floodlights in the distance.

There was a fully fenced artificial pitch which could be used as a full-sized pitch or divided into smaller areas. It had floodlights and on the far side was the brick wall of the stadium's main buildings. It looked like it was being constructed for some seating may be added in due course?

Around the other side was the main pitch, which was growing nicely. There was a water tanker, so it looked as though rainwater would be collected to water the pitch. There was a wooden fence around three sides of the ground, topped by high wire fencing to keep any stray balls inside the ground. A rail fence enclosed the pitch with newly laid concrete surrounds.

The final side was still being worked on rigorously by plenty of workmen. It was a long brick building where presumably all the facilities would be based. There was also plenty of room in front to provide spectator facilities. I walked back to the main road and fortunately, a bus was soon along to take me back to Grimsby town centre.