181-652: The Wildlife Trusts , the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts , is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom , the Isle of Man and Alderney . The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2,300 nature reserves , covering around 98,500 hectares (243,000 acres). As of 2020, the Trusts have a combined membership of over 870,000 members. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT)
362-803: A fair trial . The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years' War , while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. The English Reformation ushered in political, constitutional, social and cultural change in
543-509: A subpolar oceanic climate . Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate and the mountains experience a tundra climate . The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions,
724-587: A welfare state was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service , was created. The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's much-diminished economic position, so that a policy of decolonisation was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947. Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, and many became members of
905-598: A change at Nottingham. Opened in 1873, it was the final station on the Firsby–Skegness branch of the East Lincolnshire Railway. The number of people travelling by car and coach probably overtook the number using the train in the 1930s, a trend solidified in the post-war years. The station was earmarked for closure in the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, but a third of the summer visitors still used it and lobbying by
1086-438: A children's naturalist club. By the late 1980s membership had reached 200,000, increasing to 260,000 in 1995, and over 500,000 by 2004. The combined membership for 2007 stood at 670,000 members, 108,000 belonging to the junior branch Wildlife Watch. By 2012, membership was over 800,000, with over 150,000 Wildlife Watch members. United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as
1267-462: A clear explanation for this decline in contemporary reports, though one newspaper article from 1884 blamed "the depression of trade" in Nottingham for a fall in visitor numbers compared with the previous year. Fortunes changed during the 1890s; in the words of the historian Susan Barton, "Skegness and other 'lower' status resorts provided cheap amusements, beach entertainers, street traders and, by
1448-497: A common interest in wildlife and biodiversity, rooted in a practical tradition of land management and conservation. Almost all Wildlife Trusts are significant landowners, with many nature reserves. Collectively they are the third largest voluntary sector landowners in the UK. They often have extensive educational activities, and programmes of public events and education. The Wildlife Trusts centrally and locally also lobby for better protection of
1629-418: A high proportion of elderly residents, driven partly by high in-migration and by the out-migration of younger residents; the local authority has described this as a "demographic imbalance". A 2005 study by the town council reported that for every two people aged 16–24 who left the town, three people aged 60 or above moved in. The 2011 census showed Skegness's population to be older than the national average;
1810-774: A land border with the Republic of Ireland ; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , the North Sea , the English Channel , the Celtic Sea , and the Irish Sea . The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is London , whose wider metropolitan area is
1991-399: A leading role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through the blockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties. In 1800 the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. After the defeat of France at the end of
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#17328447343052172-450: A lower proportion of people who own their homes with or without a mortgage (54.7%) than in England (63.3%), a greater proportion of people who privately rent (27.5% compared with 16.8%) and a slightly smaller proportion of social renters (15.7% compared with 17.7% nationally). The proportion of household spaces which are detached houses is higher than average (32.4% compared with 22.3%), as
2353-438: A loyal visitor base. Tourism increased following the recession of 2007–09 owing to the resort's affordability. In 2011, the town was England's fourth most popular holiday destination for UK residents, and in 2015 it received over 1.4 million visitors. It has a reputation as a traditional English seaside resort owing to its long, sandy beach and seafront attractions which include amusement arcades , eateries, Botton's fairground ,
2534-648: A much smaller range of passenger services. Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lincolnshire since the Middle Ages, the ancient parish of Skegness was in the Marsh division of the ancient wapentake of Candleshoe in the Parts of Lindsey . In 1875, it was placed in the Spilsby Poor Law Union , but in 1885 Skegness became a local board of health and urban sanitary district . In 1894, Skegness Urban District
2715-818: A policy of splendid isolation in Europe, and attempted to contain Russian influence in Afghanistan and Persia , in what came to be known as the Great Game . During this time, Canada , Australia and New Zealand were granted self-governing dominion status. At the turn of the century, Britain's industrial dominance became challenged by the German Empire and the United States . The Edwardian era saw social reform and home rule for Ireland become important domestic issues, while
2896-459: A result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries . In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society. Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, West Germany and Japan. The UK was the first democratic nation to lower its voting age to 18 in 1969. In
3077-727: A series of connected wars (including the English Civil War ) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy, with the execution of King Charles I , and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England , Scotland and Ireland. Although the monarchy was restored , the Interregnum along with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent Bill of Rights 1689 in England and Claim of Right Act 1689 in Scotland ensured that, unlike much of
3258-572: A slightly higher than average proportion of one-person households (35.9% compared with England's figure of 30.2%); most other households consist of one family (58.1% of the total, compared with 61.8% in England). There are higher than average rates of one-person (16.8%) and one-family (10.8%) households aged over 65 (the figures for England are 12.4% and 8.1% respectively). In 2016, East Lindsey had Lincolnshire's second-highest rate of conception among females aged 15 to 17 (28.7 per 1,000). East Lindsey has
3439-433: A thousand people had moved into the town. According to the local historian Winston Kime, Skegness had become known as a "trippers' paradise" by 1880. The August bank holiday in 1882 saw 20,000 descend on the town to enjoy the beach and the sea, the many games and amusements that had popped up in the town, the pleasure boat trips that had just started launching from the pier, and the donkey rides . Building contracted after
3620-583: A whole (68.1% and 24.7% respectively). However, compared to England's population, Christians were a higher proportion of the Skegness population (66.8%), and all other groups were present at a lower proportion than the national rates. There were 8 Sikhs in Skegness, making up a negligible proportion of the population compared with 0.8% nationally; Hindus composed 0.1% (compared with 1.5% in England), Muslims 0.5% against 5% nationally, Jewish people 0.1% compared with 0.5% for all of England, and Buddhists 0.2% of
3801-401: Is selective ), several colleges, a community hospital , several churches and two local newspapers. The town has a police station, a magistrates' court and a lifeboat station . The civil parish of Skegness includes most of the linear settlement of Seacroft to the south and the village of Winthorpe and the suburban area of Seathorne to the north, all of which have been absorbed into
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#17328447343053982-565: Is 10 m (33 ft) above sea level. The bedrock under the town is part of the Ferriby Chalk Formation , a sedimentary layer formed around 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous ; it runs north-west from Skegness in a narrow band to Fotherby and Utterby north of Louth in the Wolds. The surface layers are tidal-flat deposits of clay and silt , deposited since the end of
4163-406: Is a chronic difficulty in attracting professionals to the area, including teachers and doctors ; this is partly due to the perceived remoteness of the area, seasonality and social exclusion. Skegess's poor transport links with other towns and limited public transport have also been identified by consultants as a "barrier" to economic growth, diversification , investment and commutability . While
4344-405: Is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) . The Wildlife Trusts offer a Biodiversity Benchmark scheme through which companies can be assessed and recognised for their contribution to biodiversity. The assessment covers the organisation's performance under the headings of "Commitment, Planning, Implementation, and Monitoring and Review". The Wildlife Trusts are one of
4525-406: Is a much lower proportion of people in professional , associate professional, technical, administrative and secretarial occupations than in England as a whole (combined 22.3% versus 41.7% of England's population aged 16–74). A lack of more varied, higher skilled and better paid work and further education opportunities leads many more skilled, ambitious or qualified young people to leave. There
4706-457: Is an independent charity, with a membership formed of the 46 individual charitable Trusts. It acts as an umbrella group for the individual Wildlife Trusts, as well as operating a separate Grants Unit which administers a number of funds. King Charles III serves as the patron of the Wildlife Trusts. David Bellamy was president of The Wildlife Trusts for ten years between 1995 and 2005, and
4887-605: Is comparatively low, at 27.7% (against 38.6% for England). The proportion of retirees is higher, at 21.7% compared with 13.7% for England. The proportion of long-term sick or disabled is 7.9%, nearly double England's 4%; 2.3% of people were long-term unemployed , compared with 1.7% in all of England. The 2011 census revealed that the most common industry residents worked in were: wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (21.2%), accommodation and food services (17.3%), and human health and social work (11.7%). The proportion of people employed in accommodation and food services
5068-427: Is dominated by low-paid, low-skilled and seasonal work. Compared with the whole of England, the workforce has a relatively high proportion of people in elementary occupations (18.9%), sales and customer service occupations (12.1%), caring , leisure and other service occupations (12.2%), as well as skilled trades (12.9%), managers and directors (12.9%) and process plant and machine operatives (8.7%). There
5249-472: Is equipped with two runways and PPR (Prior Permission Required) is required for landing. The main international airport serving Skegness is East Midlands Airport at Castle Donington , 14 miles (23 km) south of Nottingham and approximately 90 miles (140 km) from Skegness. Humberside Airport , near Immingham in North Lincolnshire , is approximately 48 miles (77 km) away, but operates
5430-463: Is estimated to have had the highest vote share in favour of leaving the EU in the 2016 EU referendum , at 75.6%. In the aftermath the town became the focus of international media attention, with Reuters labelling it " Brexit -on-Sea" and suggesting that many of its residents were "more nostalgic and more socially conservative" than those in diverse, liberal , urban areas, and keen to see state funds paid to
5611-430: Is less than half the national average and down from 9% in 2009. Nevertheless, Skegness is relatively weak at offering higher value comparison goods , with Lincoln and Grimsby being key destinations for high-value shopping. The poll tax returns for 1377 recorded 140 people living in Skegness over the age of 14; in 1563 there were 14 households, and in the late 17th century there were ten families. The first census of
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5792-456: Is limited research into the causes of deprivation in the town. A local official quoted by The Guardian in 2013 attributed high levels of deprivation to the seasonal and low-paid nature of work in the tourism industry, which constitutes a large part of Skegness's economy; and also the tendency for retirees (often in variable health) from former industrial areas in the East Midlands to move to
5973-481: Is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland". The BBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland. The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and nationality . People of
6154-525: Is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index . A law has been passed that UK greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2050. England accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 km ). Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line which roughly divides
6335-592: Is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole. The word England is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK. The term "Britain" is used as a synonym for Great Britain , but also sometimes for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed: the UK Government prefers to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its website (except when referring to embassies), while acknowledging that both terms refer to
6516-519: Is the Isle of Wight . Scotland accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 km ). This includes nearly 800 islands , notably the Hebrides , Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including
6697-645: Is the eastern terminus for the Grantham to Skegness Poacher line . East Midlands Railway operates hourly services to/from Nottingham via Grantham . As of 2020, trains run the full length of the Poacher Line and the Nottingham to Grantham Line to provide connections throughout the East Midlands ; Nottingham, Grantham, Boston and Sleaford have direct connections, while Leicester , Derby and Kettering require
6878-628: Is the highest peak in Wales. Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including the Pembrokeshire Coast . Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey ( Ynys Môn ). Skegness Skegness ( / ˌ s k ɛ ɡ ˈ n ɛ s / skeg- NESS ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire , England. On
7059-425: Is the proportion which are apartments in a converted house (9.8% compared with 4.3%) and flats in a commercial building (2.2% compared with 1.1%). The proportion of terraced household spaces is much lower (8.9% against 24.5% nationally), while the proportion of purpose-built flats is also lower (14% versus 16.7%). 2.3% of household spaces are caravans or other mobile structures , compared with 0.4% nationally. Since
7240-572: The 1884 Reform Act championed by William Gladstone granting suffrage to a majority of males for the first time. The British population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation , causing significant social and economic stresses. By the late 19th century, the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury initiated a period of imperial expansion in Africa , maintained
7421-496: The A52 and A158 roads, connecting it with Boston and the East Midlands , and Lincoln respectively. Skegness railway station is on the Nottingham to Skegness (via Grantham) line. The original Skegness was situated farther east at the mouth of The Wash . Its Norse name refers to a headland which sat near the settlement. By the 14th century, it was a locally important port for coastal trade. The natural sea defences which protected
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7602-524: The Atlantic slave trade , mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonial slave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa. The slaves were taken to work on plantations , principally in the Caribbean but also North America . However, with pressure from the abolitionism movement , Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took
7783-624: The Battle of Culloden in 1746, after which the Scottish Highlanders were forcibly assimilated into Scotland by revoking the feudal independence of clan chiefs . The British colonies in North America that broke away in the American War of Independence became the United States . British imperial ambition turned towards Asia, particularly to India . British merchants played a leading part in
7964-645: The Cairngorms , Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Ben Nevis which at 1,345 metres (4,413 ft) is the highest point in the British Isles. Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km ). Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales . The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon ( Welsh : Yr Wyddfa ) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft),
8145-512: The Commonwealth of Nations . The UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test, Operation Hurricane , in 1952), but the post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956. The international spread of the English language ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture . As
8326-587: The Conservative Party in the 2024 general election . The constituency was previously a Conservative Party stronghold and was held by Conservative members of parliament since it was created. Between 1999 and the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union (EU) in 2020, Skegness was represented in the European Parliament by the East Midlands constituency . At the first election after it
8507-731: The European Convention on Human Rights . The UK remained a great power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and NATO . The UK broadly supported the United States' approach to the " war on terror " in the early 21st century. British troops fought in the War in Afghanistan , but controversy surrounded Britain's military deployment in Iraq , which saw
8688-568: The European Union (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of the 12 founding member states. From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles . It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement . Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in
8869-486: The Falkland Islands , leading to the 10-week Falklands War in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a 2013 referendum . From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues. Another British overseas territory, Gibraltar , ceded to Great Britain in
9050-527: The French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), the United Kingdom emerged as the principal naval and imperial power (with London the largest city in the world from about 1830). Unchallenged at sea , British dominance was later described as Pax Britannica ("British Peace"), a period of relative peace among the great powers (1815–1914) during which the British Empire became
9231-641: The Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State , and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom. The UK became
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#17328447343059412-630: The Labour Party emerged from an alliance of trade unions and small socialist groups in 1900, and suffragettes campaigned for women's right to vote. Britain was one of the principal Allies that defeated the Central Powers in the First World War (1914–1918). Alongside their French, Russian and (after 1917) American counterparts, British armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on
9593-508: The Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea , the town is 43 miles (69 km) east of Lincoln and 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Boston . With a population of 21,128 as of 2021, it is the largest settlement in East Lindsey. It incorporates Winthorpe and Seacroft , and forms a larger built-up area with the resorts of Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards to the north. The town is on
9774-405: The Representation of the People Act 1918 . After the war, Britain became a permanent member of the Executive Council of the League of Nations and received a mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies. Under the leadership of David Lloyd George , the British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population. By
9955-463: The Soviet Union formed in 1941, leading the Allies against the Axis powers . There were eventual hard-fought victories in the Battle of the Atlantic , the North Africa campaign and the Italian campaign . British forces played important roles in the Normandy landings of 1944 and the liberation of Europe . The British Army led the Burma campaign against Japan, and the British Pacific Fleet fought Japan at sea. British scientists contributed to
10136-452: The United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a country in Northwestern Europe , off the coast of the continental mainland . It comprises England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . The UK includes the island of Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland , and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles , making up a total area of 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ). Northern Ireland shares
10317-449: The Western Front . The high fatalities of trench warfare caused the loss of much of a generation of men, with lasting social effects in the nation and a great disruption in the social order. Britain had suffered 2.5 million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt. The consequences of the war persuaded the government to expand the right to vote in national and local elections to all adult men and most adult women with
10498-408: The coastline paradox . It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel , which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. The UK contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests , English Lowlands beech forests , North Atlantic moist mixed forests , and Caledonian conifer forests . The area of woodland in
10679-436: The largest protest in British history in opposition to the government led by Tony Blair . The Great Recession severely affected the UK economy. The Cameron–Clegg coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits. Studies have suggested that policy led to significant social disruption and suffering. A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 resulted in
10860-443: The last ice age . The shoreline consists of blown sand and beach deposits in the form of clay, silt and sand. There has been coastal erosion in the area for thousands of years, though it was relatively sheltered until the Middle Ages by a series of offshore barrier islands or shoals of boulder clay . Rising sea levels and more intense sea storms from the 13th century onward likely eroded these islands, increasingly exposing
11041-471: The steamboats (launched by 1883) and bathing pools (1883). He donated land and money towards the building of St Matthew's Church , two Methodist chapels, a school and the cricket ground. Housebuilding was left to speculative builders; the earliest development was concentrated along Lumley Road, which offered a direct route from the train station to the seafront. Newspapers across the Midlands advertised properties, and shops began opening. By 1881 almost
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#173284473430511222-404: The 14th and 16th centuries, Skegness was one of several coastal settlements to incur major loss of land. Local people attempted to make artificial banks, but they were costly. Rising sea levels further threatened the coast and in 1525 or 1526 Skegness was largely washed away in a storm, along with the hamlets of East and West Meales. Skegness was rebuilt along the new coastline. By 1543, when
11403-512: The 16th century and established the Church of England . Moreover, it defined a national identity for England and slowly, but profoundly, changed people's religious beliefs. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England , and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. In 1603,
11584-401: The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, is a key military base . A referendum in 2002 on shared sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 98.97% of voters in the territory. Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of
11765-518: The 1840s, Brown's omnibus made the journey from Boston three days a week. Stagecoach Lincolnshire is the main bus operator in the town, with regular services on routes to Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards; there are Lincolnshire InterConnect services up the coast as far as Mablethorpe and inland to Boston and Lincoln. Skegness Water Leisure Park, located to the north of the town, has its own light aircraft airfield named Skegness Airfield ( ICAO : EGNI), operated by Skegness Aerofield Club. It
11946-466: The 1883 season, although in 1888 the accreted sands in front of the sea wall south of the pier were converted into the Marine Gardens, a lawn with trees and hedges. The undeveloped lands north of Scarbrough Avenue were fenced in and planted with trees in a space called The Park. This stagnation coincided with a declining number of day-trippers, which fell from a peak of 230,277 in 1882 to 118,473 in 1885. The local historian Richard Gurnham could not find
12127-547: The 1950s, the only major manufacturing interest in Skegness was Alfred Hayward's rock factory which had opened in the 1920s. After the Second World War, some other light industry arrived, including Murphy Radio and the nylon makers Stiebels; in 1954 the bearings and packaging systems manufacturer Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Ltd opened a factory on Church Road in a former laundry. The urban district council opened an industrial estate off Wainfleet Road in 1956 which Murphy and Stiebels moved to. Murphy's successor left
12308-406: The 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism , deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. In 1982, Argentina invaded the British territories of South Georgia and
12489-476: The 5th century) united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England , they seized large parts of Wales , conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with,
12670-464: The Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales , Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in
12851-447: The EU redirected into supporting the town. Afterwards support for UKIP fell and the party did not stand in 2019, although support for leaving the EU remained high. The Brexit Party did not contest the parliamentary seat in 2019, but in the European Parliament elections held earlier that year , it has been estimated that Boston and Skegness probably had the third-highest vote share for the Brexit Party of any constituency. As part of
13032-527: The Earl of Scarbrough's scheme, gas works were opened in the town in 1877 and were lighting the streets the following year. The urban district council (UDC) declined to purchase the gas company in 1902; the UDC attempted to take it over in 1911, and (after much dispute with the company) purchased it in 1914. The works were extended in the 1920s. The UDC's gas company was nationalised in 1949 and its functions taken over by
13213-789: The Manhattan Project whose task was to build an atomic weapon. Once built, it was decided, with British consent, to use the weapon against Japan. The UK was one of the Big Three powers (along with the US and the Soviet Union) who met to plan the post-war world ; it drafted the Declaration by United Nations with the United States and became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . It worked closely with
13394-472: The Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has occasionally been used as a description for the former Kingdom of Great Britain , although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain". The Acts of Union 1800 formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as
13575-605: The Normans conquered England . With the end of the Wars of the Roses the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales , the domination of Scotland , and the establishment of the British Empire . Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War . In 1707,
13756-471: The Parade and was bisected by Lumley Avenue, with a new church in the roundabout . At the end of Scarbrough Avenue would be a pier . The earl spent thousands of pounds on laying roads and the sewerage system, and building the sea wall (finished in 1878). He provided or invested in other amenities, including the gas and water supply, Skegness Pier (opened in 1881), the pleasure gardens (finished in 1881),
13937-615: The Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR), which was formed by Charles Rothschild in 1912. It aimed initially to draw up a list of the country's best wildlife sites with a view to purchase for protection as nature reserves, and by 1915 it had drawn up a list of 284 (including the Farne Islands and the Norfolk Broads ), known as Rothschild Reserves. During the early years, membership tended to be made up of specialist naturalists and its growth
14118-600: The Roman ferry that Phillips argues launched from Skegness. The name Skegness appears in the 12th century, and further references are known from the 13th. Natural sea defences (including a promontory or cape, as the place name suggests, and barrier shoals and dunes ) protected a harbour at Skegness in the Middle Ages. It was relatively small and its trade in the 14th century was predominantly coastal ; its economic fortunes were probably closely related to those of nearby coastal ports, such as Wainfleet, which in turn depended on
14299-599: The Scottish electorate voting by 55.3 to 44.7% to remain part of the United Kingdom. In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union . The UK left the EU in 2020. On 1 May 2021, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the UK's economy , caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics in 2020 and 2021. The United Kingdom
14480-548: The Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy . The UK has three distinct jurisdictions: England and Wales , Scotland , and Northern Ireland . Since 1999, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own governments and parliaments which control various devolved matters. A developed country ,
14661-400: The Second World War, self-catered holidays have become popular, prompting the growth of caravan parks and chalet accommodation. By 1981, 20 caravan sites were in operation and five years later there were over 100,000 holiday caravans and chalets in Skegness and Ingoldmells. Increasingly the lodgings in the town centre closed or were converted into flats or shops. The 1970s also witnessed
14842-420: The UK and Ireland, of which more than three quarters (2.7% of the total) were born in post-2001 accession states ; for England, the figures were 3.7% and 2.0% respectively. 1.8% of the population was born outside the EU, whereas the total for England was 9.4%. In the 2011 census, 68.2% of Skegness's population said they were religious and 24.9% said they did not follow a religion , very similar to England as
15023-492: The UK has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It is a nuclear state , and is ranked fifth globally in military expenditure . The UK has been a permanent member of the UN Security Council since its first session in 1946. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , Council of Europe , G7 , OECD , NATO , Five Eyes , AUKUS and CPTPP . British influence can be observed in
15204-484: The UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the UK. Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0 °C (32 °F ) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F). Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience
15385-852: The UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include Cornwall , the New Forest , the South Downs and the Norfolk Broads . Upland areas include the Lake District , the Pennines , the Yorkshire Dales , Exmoor , and Dartmoor . The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames , Severn , and the Humber . England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike , at 978 metres (3,209 ft) in the Lake District; its largest island
15566-419: The UK's natural heritage, by becoming involved in planning matters and by national campaigning through the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts . The Trusts rely heavily upon volunteer labour for many of their activities, but nevertheless employ significant numbers of staff in countryside management and education. Thanks to their work promoting the personal and social development of young people, The Wildlife Trusts
15747-402: The United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government". The UK Permanent Committee on Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it
15928-411: The United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible. The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine. Climate change has a serious impact on the country. A third of food price rise in 2023 is attributed to climate change. As of 2022, the United Kingdom
16109-436: The United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British , English , Scottish , Welsh , Northern Irish , or Irish ; or as having a combination of different national identities. Settlement by Cro-Magnons of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. The island has been continuously inhabited only since
16290-663: The United Kingdom. The 1928 Equal Franchise Act gave women electoral equality with men in national elections. Strikes in the mid-1920s culminated in the General Strike of 1926 . Britain had still not recovered from the effects of the First World War when the Great Depression (1929–1932) led to considerable unemployment and hardship in the old industrial areas, as well as political and social unrest with rising membership in communist and socialist parties. A coalition government
16471-626: The United States to establish the IMF , World Bank and NATO . The war left the UK severely weakened and financially dependent on the Marshall Plan , but it was spared the total war that devastated eastern Europe. In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government under Clement Attlee initiated a radical programme of reforms, which significantly impacted British society in the following decades . Major industries and public utilities were nationalised ,
16652-559: The acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies , particularly in North America and the Caribbean. Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to the Treaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments. On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed,
16833-475: The advent of the cheap package airline holiday abroad, which took visitors away from British seaside towns. The decline in coal mining in the East Midlands in the 1980s caused what the BBC described as a "damaging dip in trade". Nevertheless, holiday-makers continued to visit the town and, in the 1980s and 1990s, people ventured to Skegness for their second holiday alongside trips abroad; it also proved popular among
17014-428: The antiquarian John Leland visited the town, he noted that "For old Skegnes is now buildid a pore new thing"; the settlement was principally a small farming and fishing village throughout the early modern period, with the marshland providing good summer pasture for sheep. Over the course of the 16th century, the sea continued to encroach into the land at Skegness, while depositing sand banks further south, leading to
17195-533: The authority purchased the Earl of Scarbrough's estate office at Roman Bank for £3,000 and used those as offices; these burned down in 1928; a new town hall opened in 1931 and was later extended. In the 1950s, the council acquired for £50,000 the former convalescent home run by the National Deposit Friendly Society on North Parade (this had been built in 1927); this was converted into offices, which were opened in 1964. The town council took over
17376-471: The average daily high for that month is 7.0 °C (44.6 °F) and the daily low is 1.9 °C (35.4 °F). There is evidence of late Iron-Age and early Roman saltmaking activity in the Skegness area. Place names and a report of a castle in the medieval settlement have been interpreted as evidence that a Roman fort existed in the town before being lost to the sea in the late Middle Ages. The archaeologist Charles Phillips suggested that Skegness
17557-443: The building and it continues as the town hall as of 2019. In national politics, Skegness fell within the Lincolnshire parliamentary constituency until 1832; in 1818 four residents were entitled to vote, and in 1832 there were seven electors. That year the county was divided up and the village was included (with all of Lindsey ) in North Lincolnshire . In 1867, it was transferred to the new Mid Lincolnshire constituency, which
17738-465: The century. It had reached 18,910 in 2001 and 19,579 in the 2011 census . As designated by the Office for National Statistics , the Skegness built-up area incorporates the contiguous conurbation extending north through Ingoldmells to Chapel St Leonards ; this had a population of 24,876 in 2011 which makes it the largest settlement in the East Lindsey district (followed by Louth) and represents about 18% of
17919-545: The coast between Skegness and the Humber and separates the coast from the upland Wolds . Much of the parish's elevation is close to sea level, although a narrow band along the seafront is 4–5 m (13–16 ft) above peaking at 6 m (20 ft) on North Parade; the A52 road is elevated at 4 m (13 ft); there is a short narrow bank parallel to the shoreline between the North Shore Golf Club and Seathorne which
18100-414: The coast to the tides. Records from the Middle Ages show that local people maintained sand banks as a form of sea defence ; fines were levied for grazing animals on the dunes, which could weaken the defences. Skegness was flooded in 1525 or 1526, requiring the village to be rebuilt inland, and loss of land continued during the century. A clay embankment , Roman Bank, was built in the late 16th century and
18281-416: The creation of Gibraltar Point. Roman Bank , a clay sea defence upon which the A52 road now runs through Skegness, was built in the latter part of the century. Much of the land in and around Skegness came into the hands of Nicholas Saunderson, 1st Viscount Castleton , who enclosed 400 acres (160 hectares) of saltmarsh in 1627 and later in the 17th century reclaimed more marshland which had emerged from
18462-525: The death of the 5th Viscount, who bequeathed his estate to his cousin Thomas Lumley ; in 1739 Lumley became 3rd Earl of Scarbrough . By 1845, the Scarbrough estate comprised 1,219 acres (493 hectares) at Skegness. Although the population rose above 300 by 1851, the settlement "was still very much an undeveloped village of fishermen, farmers and farm hands" in the early 1870s. Local gentry began visiting
18643-697: The decades-long process of European integration , the UK was a founding member of the Western European Union , established with the London and Paris Conferences in 1954. In 1960 the UK was one of the seven founding members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but in 1973 it left to join the European Communities (EC). In a 1975 referendum 67% voted to stay in it. When the EC became
18824-448: The digital nature of the information technology sector could provide opportunities for growth, weak broadband has stymied this sector's development in the town. Employers also find it difficult to attract higher skilled workers, including chefs ; a report prepared for the town council cites a lack of "work readiness" among young people as a common problem facing employers. The proportion of residents aged 16 to 74 with no qualifications
19005-465: The district's population. According to the 2011 census, Skegness's population was 97.6% White ; 1% Asian or British Asian ; 0.4% Black , African , Caribbean or Black British ; and 0.9% mixed or multi-ethnic; and 0.1% other. The population is therefore less ethnically diverse than England as a whole. 94.2% of the town's population were born in the United Kingdom, compared with 86.2% nationally; 3.5% were born in European Union countries other than
19186-465: The earl's fortunes might be revived if he turned Skegness into a seaside resort. A road plan was developed and the earl took out a mortgage of £120,000 to fund developments. In 1878, the full plan laid out plots for 787 houses in a grid-aligned settlement on 96 acres (39 hectares) of land between the shoreline and Roman Bank north of the High Street. Scarbrough Avenue would run inland from the centre of
19367-557: The east of the British Isles allows for a sunnier and warmer climate relative to the national average, and it is one of the driest counties in the UK. In Skegness, the average daily high temperature peaks in August at 20.4 °C (68.7 °F) and a peak average daily mean of 16.7 °C (62.1 °F) occurs in July and August. The lowest daily mean temperature is 4.4 °C (39.9 °F) in January;
19548-477: The eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream , bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills. The average total annual sunshine in
19729-401: The economy and employment but the tourism service economy's low wages and seasonal nature , along with the town's aging population , have contributed towards high levels of relative deprivation . Poor transport and communication links are barriers to economic diversification . Residents are served by five state primary schools and a preparatory school, two state secondary schools (one of which
19910-455: The economy has been slower for the rest of the region. The seafront is a hub for the tourism industry, much of which is geared towards the provision of food (most famously fish and chips ), amusement arcades and other attractions, including the Botton's Pleasure Beach funfair. The pubs, bars and nightclubs, and neon-lit amusements have earned it the nickname "Skegvegas" (after Las Vegas ). Before
20091-424: The elderly in the winter months. The resort's popularity grew during the late 2000s Great Recession , as it offered a cheaper alternative to holidays abroad. Between 2006 and 2008, 870,000 people made overnight trips to Skegness; this figure had risen to 1,030,000 for 2010–12. The fabric of the town centre has also changed. North and South Bracing were built in 1948–49. Butlin's left the main amusement park and it
20272-656: The end of the nineteenth century, spectacular entertainment for a mass market". Convalescent homes began opening in the town, the earliest being the Nottinghamshire Convalescent Home for Men (1891). Holiday homes or camps for the poor opened in 1891 and 1907. The town became an urban district in 1895. In 1908 the famous " Jolly Fisherman " poster was used by the GNR to advertise day trips from King's Cross in London. By 1913 more than 750,000 people made excursions to
20453-549: The end the 20th century, a growing number of people have opted to live in static caravans for a large part of the year; a 2011 report estimated that 6,600 people (mostly older and from former factory cities in the Midlands) were living in such properties in Skegness. In 2011, 60% of Skegness's residents aged between 16 and 74 were economically active , compared with 69.9% for all of England. 51.7% were in employment , compared with 62.1% nationally. The proportion in full-time employment
20634-475: The estate as of 2016. The council also opened the Aura Skegness Business Centre there in 2004. Along with Louth, Skegness is "one of the main shopping and commercial centres" in East Lindsey, most likely due to it being the closest service hub for a large part of the surrounding rural area. Management Horizon Europe 's 2008 UK shopping index measured the presence of national suppliers; Skegness
20815-502: The estate, including a medical practice, two skilled trades , a solicitor , five vehicle repair garages, three other repair services and a mobile disco . There is also a recycling centre and driving test centre; 16 shops ranging from a cheesemonger to tyre dealers; 12 wholesalers in electrics, building materials, plumbing and hardware supply, and 11 other wholesalers in fields including clothing, restaurant equipment, meat and plastic sheeting. The district council have proposed extending
20996-513: The first illuminations were turned on; the following year Butlin launched a carnival . Cinemas and casinos joined the theatres of the Edwardian period as popular attractions, while some of the apartments and houses by the seafront were converted into shops, cafés and arcades. In 1936, Butlin built his own all-in holiday camp in Ingoldmells, providing entertainment and facilities for guests. It
21177-404: The first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the " Pax Britannica " between 1815 and 1914. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history . However, its involvement in the First World War and
21358-584: The first urban Wildlife Trust (now the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country ) was established in the West Midlands , rapidly followed by others in London, Bristol and Sheffield. This was a watershed for the movement that strengthened its focus on wildlife and people. It was during this period that some Trusts changed their names from Naturalist Societies to Trusts for Nature Conservation. In 2002
21539-575: The first year, Britain and its Empire continued the war against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort. In 1940, the Royal Air Force defeated the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain . Urban areas suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz . The Grand Alliance of Britain, the United States and
21720-569: The formal control it exerted over its own colonies, British dominance of much of world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of regions such as East Asia and Latin America . Throughout the Victorian era , political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies. Beginning with the Great Reform Act in 1832, Parliament gradually widened the voting franchise , with
21901-576: The geographical areas they served. Encouraged by the growing number of Trusts, the SPNR began in 1957 to discuss the possibility of forming a national federation of Naturalists' Trusts. Kent Naturalists Trust was established in 1958 with SPNR being active in encouraging its formation. In the following year the SPNR established the County Naturalists' Committee, which organised the first national conference for Naturalists' Trusts at Skegness in 1960. By 1964,
22082-731: The global hegemon and adopted the role of global policeman. From 1853 to 1856, Britain took part in the Crimean War , allied with the Ottoman Empire against Tsarist Russia , participating in the naval battles of the Baltic Sea known as the Åland War in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland , among others. Following the Indian Rebellion in 1857 , the British government led by Lord Palmerston assumed direct rule over India . Alongside
22263-451: The group changed their name to The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. The badger logo was adopted by the movement to establish its common identity. Also in 2002, the newest wildlife trust was formed, in Alderney . As the number of Trusts grew, so did their combined membership, from 3,000 in 1960 to 21,000 in 1965. Membership topped 100,000 in 1975, and in that year Wildlife Watch was launched as
22444-436: The harbour eroded in the later Middle Ages, and it was lost to the sea after a storm in the 1520s. Rebuilt along the new shoreline, early modern Skegness was a small fishing and farming village, but from the late 18th century members of the local gentry visited for holidays. The arrival of the railways in 1873 transformed it into a popular seaside resort. This was the intention of The 9th Earl of Scarbrough , who owned most of
22625-403: The kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots , inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions. In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in
22806-506: The land in the vicinity; he built the infrastructure of the town and laid out plots, which he leased to speculative developers . This new Skegness quickly became a popular destination for holiday-makers and day trippers from the East Midlands factory towns. By the interwar years the town was established as one of the most popular seaside resorts in Britain. The layout of the modern seafront dates to this time and holiday camps were built around
22987-416: The larger port at Boston which was heavily involved in the wool trade. It was also an important fishing port. During the medieval period the offshore barrier islands which sheltered the coast were destroyed, very likely in the 13th century during a period of exceptionally stormy weather. This left the coast exposed to the sea; later in the Middle Ages, frequent storms and floods eroded sea defences. Between
23168-565: The largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. The cities of Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively. The lands of the UK have been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic . In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement . In 1066,
23349-408: The last retreat of the ice around 11,500 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period , the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic , comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland . The Roman conquest , beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain , was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing
23530-409: The legal and political systems of many of its former colonies , and British culture remains globally influential, particularly in language , literature , music and sport . English is the world's most widely spoken language and the third-most spoken native language . The Acts of Union 1707 declared that the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by
23711-524: The local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and tried unsuccessfully to annex Scotland . Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath , Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England . In 1215 the Magna Carta was the first document to state that no government was above the law, that citizens have rights protecting them and that they were entitled to
23892-606: The major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel . The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London
24073-697: The mean age was 44.3 and the median 46 years, compared with 39.3 and 39 for England. 21% of the population was under 20, versus 24% of England's, and 32.2% of Skegness's population was aged over 60, compared with 22% of England's population. This high proportion of elderly residents has increased the proportion of infirm people in the district. In 2011, 69.6% of the population were in good or very good health, compared to 81.4% in England, and 9.9% in very bad or bad health, against 5.4% for England. 28.6% of people (12.8% in 16–64 year-olds) also reported having their day-to-day activities limited, compared with 17.6% in England (8.2% in 16–64 year-olds). As of 2011, Skegness has
24254-669: The mid-1920s, most of the British population could listen to BBC radio programmes. Experimental television broadcasts began in 1929 and the first scheduled BBC Television Service commenced in 1936. The rise of Irish nationalism , and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule , led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921. A period of conflict in what is now Northern Ireland occurred from June 1920 until June 1922. The Irish Free State became independent, initially with Dominion status in 1922, and unambiguously independent in 1931 . Northern Ireland remained part of
24435-592: The name of a Viking settler or it could derive from the Old Norse word skegg "beard" and have been used to describe the shape of the landform. Skegness was not named in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is usually identified with the Domesday settlement called Tric . The historian Arthur Owen and the linguist Richard Coates have argued that Tric derived its name from Traiectus , Latin for "crossing", referring to
24616-486: The number of Trusts had increased to 36 and the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves had changed its name to The Society for the Promotion of Nature Conservation. In recognition of the movement's growing importance, its name was changed to The Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1981. The movement continued to develop throughout the 1970s, and, by the early 1980s, most of today's Trusts had been established. In 1980,
24797-450: The old station master's house demolished. The A52 road from Newcastle-under-Lyme to Mablethorpe passes through Skegness, via Nottingham, Grantham and Boston. The A158 from Lincoln terminates in the town. The A1028 connects Skegness with the A16 , which runs from Grimsby to Peterborough via Louth. Omnibus services reached the village from Boston before the development of the resort; by
24978-463: The only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed in 1927 to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries . The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for
25159-437: The parish was conducted in 1801 and recorded a population of 134. It had risen above 300 by 1841 and reached 366 ten years later, before dropping back to 349 in 1871. Following the initial development of the seaside resort, the population rose rapidly, contracted in the 1880s and then rose sharply so that by 1921 the resident population was over 9,000. This figure reached 12,539 in 1951, and continued to rise at varying rates over
25340-427: The pier , nightclubs and bars. Other visitor attractions include Natureland Seal Sanctuary , a museum , an aquarium , a heritage railway , an annual carnival , a yearly arts festival , and Gibraltar Point nature reserve to the south of the town. Despite the arrival of several manufacturing firms since the 1950s and Skegness's prominence as a local commercial centre, the tourism industry remains very important for
25521-483: The poet Alfred Tennyson holidayed at Skegness as a young man; some scholars have drawn parallels between his poetry and the landscape he encountered on these visits. The East Lincolnshire Railway , running along the coast between Boston and Grimsby , opened in 1848. In 1871, a branch line was built to Wainfleet All Saints with rolling stock operated by the Great Northern Railway ; an extension to Skegness
25702-442: The rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail, and a professed Catholic could never accede to the throne. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system . With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power and the interest in voyages of discovery led to
25883-568: The result of the Acts of Union 1707 between the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland . In the 18th century, cabinet government developed under Robert Walpole , in practice the first prime minister (1721–1742). A series of Jacobite uprisings sought to remove the Protestant House of Hanover from the throne and restore the Catholic House of Stuart . The Jacobites were finally defeated at
26064-864: The rural districts of Horncastle , Louth and Spilsby to create East Lindsey, a district of Lincolnshire; by statutory instrument Skegness civil parish became the urban district's successor . Skegness Town Council, the parish-level government body beneath the district council, is composed of 21 councillors from four wards : Clock Tower (1 seat), St Clements (7 seats), Winthorpe (5 seats) and Woodlands (8 seats). There are seven representatives for Skegness on East Lindsey District Council, which uses different wards: three councillors are returned for Scarbrough and Seacroft ward, and two each from St Clements and Winthorpe wards. Skegness sends two councillors to Lincolnshire County Council, one each for Skegness North and Skegness South divisions. Skegness Urban District Council meetings were held at 23 Algitha Road until 1920, when
26245-409: The sea, sheltered behind the growing Gibraltar Point. His descendant was responsible for erecting Green Bank between Roman Bank and the shore in c . 1670, allowing more lands to be converted to agriculture. The Lords Castleton enclosed a large portion of the land around Skegness by 1740, over 800 acres (320 hectares). The Castleton estate passed through the male line which became extinct in 1723 on
26426-535: The seafront in 1922 and its surveyor R. H. Jenkins oversaw the construction of Tower Esplanade (1923), the boating lake (1924, extended in 1932), the Fairy Dell paddling pool , and the Embassy Ballroom and an outdoor pool in 1928, and remodelled the foreshore north of the pier in 1931. Billy Butlin (who had been a stall holder on the beach since 1925) built permanent amusements south of the pier in 1929. In 1932
26607-437: The settlement. Modern sea defences have been built along a 15-mile (24 km) stretch of coast between Mablethorpe (to the north) and Skegness to prevent erosion, but currents remove sediment and the defences hinder dune development; a nourishment scheme began operation in 1994 to replace lost sand. The British Isles experience a temperate, maritime climate with warm summers and cool winters. Lincolnshire's position on
26788-437: The steering group partners of Neighbourhoods Green , a partnership initiative which works with social landlords and housing associations to highlight the importance of, and raise the overall quality of design and management for, open and green space in social housing. Kathryn Brown OBE was appointed as the charity’s first director of climate action in January 2022. Today's Wildlife Trust movement began life as The Society for
26969-443: The switchback in 1908. By 1911, the population had reached 3,775. Seventy-one local servicemen who died in the First World War are commemorated on the town's war memorial. Aside from a seaplane base briefly established by the town in 1914, the conflict brought little change to the town's fabric. Its popularity as a tourist destination grew in the interwar years and boomed during the 1930s. The urban district council purchased
27150-476: The town and spend most of the year living there in caravans. In 2019, the town council listed several key challenges: the low-paid, low-skilled and seasonal nature of work in the tourism industry; a consequential dependency on benefits and a reduced tax base; the under-funding of public services; poor infrastructure ; a lack of training for and consequent out-migration of talented young people; and difficulty attracting skilled workers. Skegness railway station
27331-440: The town during the 1953 flood , when only gardens, the amusements and part of the pier were damaged. In the early 21st century, Longshore drift carries particles of sediment southwards along the Lincolnshire coast . At Skegness, the sand settles out in banks which run at a slight south-west angle to the coast. Sand continues to accrete at the southern end of the town's shore, but coastal erosion continues immediately north of
27512-422: The town for its No. 11 Recruit Centre. The Butlin's camp was occupied by the Royal Navy , who called it HMS Royal Arthur and used it for training seamen. Aerial bombing of the town began in 1940; there were fatalities on several occasions, the greatest being on 24 October 1941 when twelve residents were killed. Fifty-seven local servicemen died in the conflict and are named on the town's war memorial. Since
27693-433: The town in the 1970s, but Stiebels and the ride manufacturer R. G. Mitchell were still operating on the estate in the late 1980s, while Rose-Forgrove (which had opened a larger factory in 1977) and Sanderson Forklifts had factories elsewhere in the town. The latter went into administration in 1990, and the Rose Bearings factory was sold to NMB-Minebea in 1992; they closed it in 2010. The ride manufacturer R. G. Mitchell
27874-558: The town's population, contrasting with 0.5% nationally. In the 2011 census, 47.8% of the population were male and 52.2% female. Of the population over 16, 45.3% were married, compared to 46.6% in England; 28.8% were single (a smaller proportion than in England where it is 34.6%), 12.8% divorced (compared with 9% in England), 10.3% widowed (higher than the 6.9% for all of England), 2.6% separated and 0.2% in same-sex civil partnerships (2.7% and 0.2% respectively in England). In 2011, there were 9,003 households in Skegness civil parish. It has
28055-405: The town's urban area. The neighbouring parishes are: Ingoldmells to the north, Addlethorpe to the north-west, Burgh le Marsh to the west and Croft to the south. The town is approximately 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Boston and 43 miles (69 km) east of Lincoln . Skegness fronts the North Sea . It is located on a low-lying flat region called Lincoln Marsh , which runs along
28236-400: The town, including the first Butlin's holiday resort which opened in Ingoldmells in 1936. The package holiday abroad became an increasingly popular and affordable option for many British holiday-makers during the 1970s; this trend combined with declining industrial employment in the East Midlands to harm Skegness's visitor economy in the late 20th century. Nevertheless, the resort retains
28417-416: The town. Aside from bathing and enjoying the sands, visitors to Skegness found entertainment in the pier, which had a concert hall, saloon and theatre. Other theatres and picture houses opened in the early 20th century. Britain's first switchback railway had opened in the town in 1885 or 1887. A fairground operated on the central beach before the First World War and the Figure 8 roller coaster replaced
28598-436: The twelve NUTS 1 regions , refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences". The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination. It
28779-400: The urban district council preserved passenger services. The line was nevertheless closed to freight traffic in 1966 and the main interconnecting line, the East Lincolnshire Railway, was dismantled from Firsby to Grimsby in 1970. The passenger timetable was reduced to save costs in 1977, but a full timetable returned in 1989 and improvement works were carried out in 2001 and 2011; the latter saw
28960-519: The village for leisure from the late 18th century. The sea air was thought to have health-giving qualities. To capitalise on this trend, the Skegness Hotel opened in 1770; visitors could reach it by omnibus from Boston, which was the terminus of several stagecoaches . The first reference to bathing machines on Skegness's shores dates to 1784 though they are thought to have been present earlier. Private houses also opened their doors to lodgers, and other hotels opened. Born and raised at Somersby ,
29141-469: The visitor economy (accounting for around a third of the town's employed residents), with tourism indirectly supporting nearly 900 more. Over half of these jobs were in accommodation and food and drink, with a further 18.1% in retail . Skegness's visitor economy has been described by the district council as "counter-cyclical"; while continuing to serve a loyal client base, it provides a cheap alternative to holidays abroad and has therefore proven popular when
29322-455: Was 40.8%, much higher than the national figure (22.5%); the proportion of residents whose highest qualification is at Level 1, 2 or 3 (equivalent to GCSEs or A-Levels ) is lower in each category than the national population; 10.7% of the population have a qualification at Level 4 ( Certificate of Higher Education ) or above, compared with 27.4% nationally. In a 2013 ONS study of 57 English seaside resorts, Skegness and Ingoldmells (combined)
29503-408: Was abolished in 1885, after which Skegness was placed in the Horncastle constituency. Another reorganisation saw the parish incorporated into the East Lindsey seat in 1983; this was abolished in 1995 and Skegness was transferred into the new constituency of Boston and Skegness . The incumbent MP is Richard Tice of Reform UK , who has held the constituency since winning it from Matt Warman of
29684-500: Was approved by shareholders that year and the railways arrived at Skegness in 1873. The line was designed to bring day trippers to the seaside. Rising wages and better holiday provision meant that some working-class people from the East Midlands factory towns could afford to have a holiday for the first time. With agriculture in depression , the major landowner Richard Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarbrough had seen his local rental income decline; his agent, H. V. Tippet, decided that
29865-416: Was chosen as the defining point of the Prime Meridian at the International Meridian Conference in 1884. The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N , and longitudes 9° W and 2° E . Northern Ireland shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long, though measurements can vary greatly due to
30046-544: Was comparatively slow. The first independent Trust was formed in Norfolk in 1926 as the Norfolk Naturalists Trust, followed in 1938 by the Pembrokeshire Bird Protection Society which after several subsequent changes of name is now the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that more Naturalists' Trusts were formed in Yorkshire (1946), Lincolnshire (1948), Leicestershire (1956) and Cambridgeshire (1956). These early Trusts tended to focus on purchasing land to establish nature reserves in
30227-520: Was created ( 1997 ), the current seat was highly marginal , with the Conservatives receiving 42.4% of the vote and Labour 41.0%. By 2019 the Conservatives had increased their vote share to 76.7% (their second-highest nationally), while Labour's share had fallen to 14.0%. The same period saw support for the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) grow, reaching a peak in 2015 , when it polled second and secured UKIP's second-highest vote share in any constituency in that election. The constituency
30408-492: Was created in its place. The civil parish of Winthorpe – which had previously been part of the Spilsby union, rural sanitary district and, from 1894, rural district – was abolished in 1926; most of it was merged into Skegness Urban District and a portion into Addlethorpe civil parish. In 1974, the urban district was merged with the municipal borough of Louth , the Alford , Horncastle , Mablethorpe and Sutton , and Woodhall Spa urban districts, and
30589-529: Was destroyed in a fire in 2007. According to VisitEngland , in 2011 Skegness was the fourth most popular holiday destination in England among UK residents. In 2015, Skegness and Ingoldmells received 1,484,000 visitors, of which 649,000 were day visitors; this brought in £212.83 million in direct expenditure, with an estimated economic impact of £289.60 million. The town council has described local employment as "heavily reliant" on tourism. One estimate suggested that in 2015 2,846 jobs were supported directly by
30770-405: Was extensively refurbished by Botton Bros in 1966; the switchback on North Parade was demolished in 1970. Residential development has included council estates near St Clement's Church and Winthorpe, and various private developments. The seafront was fully developed in the 1970s and the last of The Park built on in 1982. In 1971, the pier entrance was remodelled; seven years later, a large section
30951-425: Was followed in c . 1670 by another closer to the sea (Green Bank), running from what is now North Shore Road to Cow Bank, following a line from St Andrew's Drive to Drummond Road. By the late 19th century, sands were accreting at Skegness; the retaining sea wall erected in 1878 was designed to support the resort town's seafront development rather than to protect it from the sea. Nevertheless, this wall largely saved
31132-404: Was formed in 1931. Nonetheless, "Britain was a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system." After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Britain entered the Second World War . Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government in 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies in
31313-419: Was joined in 1939 by The Derbyshire Miners' Holiday Camp . This coincided with growth in the residential area, mostly speculative developments and some council housing ; North Parade was built up with hotels in the 1930s and the Seathorne Estate was also laid out in 1925. By 1931, the town's population had reached 9,122. During the Second World War , the Royal Air Force billeted thousands of trainees in
31494-418: Was over three times the national figure (5.6%), while the proportion working in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair was also higher than in England as a whole (15.9%). Most other industries were under-represented comparatively, with both financial services (0.8% versus 4.4% nationally) and information and communication (0.6% against 4.1% nationally) especially so. The tourism industry in Skegness
31675-467: Was purchased in 2005 by Photo-Me International ; operation resumed under the name Jolly Roger Amusement Rides, which continues to operate on the industrial estate as of 2020. According to Google Maps , in 2020 there were three other manufacturers operating on the industrial estate: Unique Car Mats (UK) Ltd (founded in 1989), Windale Furnishings Ltd (a caravan seating maker founded in 1993), and Parragon Rubber Company. A range of services have outlets on
31856-435: Was succeeded by Aubrey Manning . Sir David Attenborough, Simon King and Tony Juniper are all Presidents Emeritus. Stephanie Hilborne OBE was chief executive for 15 years, and left in October 2019. Craig Bennett became CEO from April 6, 2020. Wildlife Trusts are local organisations of differing size, history and origins, and can vary greatly in their constitution, activities and membership. However, all Wildlife Trusts share
32037-575: Was swept away in a storm . The Embassy Ballroom and the swimming baths were replaced in 1999 with the Embassy Theatre Complex, which includes a theatre, indoor swimming pool, leisure centre and car park. By 2001, European Union grants had provided millions of pounds towards regeneration schemes. Most of the seafront's hotels, cinemas and theatres have been turned into amusement arcades, nightclubs , shops and bingo halls. What remained of Frederica Terrace, one of Skegness's oldest buildings, had been converted into entertainment bars and arcades before it
32218-432: Was the first country in the world to use an approved COVID-19 vaccine , developing its own vaccine through a collaboration between Oxford University and AstraZeneca , which allowed the UK's vaccine rollout to be among the fastest in the world. The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ), with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km ). The country occupies
32399-549: Was the highest ranked shopping destination in the district. It also ranked highest in the 2013–14 Venuescore survey. The High Street and Lumley Road are key retail areas, along with the Hildreds Centre (a small shopping mall which opened in 1988), Skegness Retail Park (developed between 2000 and 2005), and the Quora Retail Park on Burgh Road which opened in 2017 and includes several supermarkets ; other supermarkets operate elsewhere. Occupancy rates are relatively high: in 2015, 4% of ground-floor retail units were vacant, which
32580-413: Was the most deprived seaside town; 61.5% of their statistical areas ( LSOAs ) were in the most deprived quintile nationally; only 7.7% fell in the least-deprived three quintiles. The government's Indices of Multiple Deprivation (2019) place large parts of Skegness among the 10% most deprived parts of England; two of its neighbourhoods were ranked among the ten most deprived areas in Lincolnshire. There
32761-538: Was the terminus of a Roman road running from Lincoln through Burgh le Marsh and the location of a Roman ferry which crossed The Wash to Norfolk . If the Roman fortifications indeed existed, it is likely that the Anglo-Saxons used them as a coastal shore fort. Later, the Vikings settled in Lincolnshire; their influence is detected in many local place names. Skegness's name combines the Old Norse words Skeggi and ness , and means either "Skeggi's headland " or "beard-shaped headland"; Skeggi (meaning "bearded one") may be
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