Cleethorpes' Sunken Church

Post date: Sep 28, 2013 5:10:21 PM

Do the chimes of ghostly church bells ever distract the players of Sunday football on the Taylor’s Avenue football pitches?  If they miss a penalty, do they say: ‘I was put off by those so-and-so church bells’.  So what’s the story? 

In times past that part of Cleethorpes was a separate community known as Thrunscoe and centred on the present Hardy’s Road.  Legend has it that Thrunscoe had its own church located near the centre of the present football pitches.  So see what E. Dobson wrote about it in 1850 on pages 6-7 of his ‘Guide and Directory to Cleethorpes’.

‘At a place called Church Well about half a mile west of Thrunscoe stood their Church, which tradition tells us sunk into the earth. That it was swallowed up by an earthquake there is no doubt; there being another place called ‘West-well’ about a hundred yards from it, which, in all probability, was caused by the same eruption. These wells contain stagnant water only.  Church Well is now planted with osiers and the eruption happened on or about the 8th September, 1692’.

In 1901, the story was taken up by the Rev. C.E. Watson on pages 61-62 of his ‘History of Clee and the Thorpes of Clee’. He commented as follows:

‘Upon the bee-line between Clee and Humberston Churches and at a point nearly half-way, in the Township of Thrunscoe, there is a small swampy spot. It is situated on fairly high ground about 100 yards on the south-east side of the road to Clee Fields Farm and Peaks [now Taylor’s Avenue].  The place is planted round with a quickset hedge of about 150 yards in circumference, planted at the time of the Inclosure (1841-3) to perpetuate the tradition that a church had once stood there and that it had sunk out of sight into the earth.  The boys of two and three generations ago were wont to come and listen at this spot for the sound of bells underground’. 

The location of the Church Well circular plantation was shown on the 1933 Ordnance Survey map; before the football pitches were created.  It was approximately opposite Lynton Rise and the new surgery and Spar shop on Taylor’s Avenue.

So bear in mind that next time you go to see the doctor there about that intermittent ringing in your ears – it could be just a ghostly verger ringing the church bells for the next ghostly service!

Alan Dowling, September 2013