(fully '''Glanford Brigg''') in
North Lincolnshire ,
England , is a small market town on the
River Ancholme with a population of 5,076 (2001 census). Earliest references date from the
12th Century , the name derived from the
Old Norse "briggja" meaning a
Jetty .
Brigg has been a thriving
Market Town for centuries, serving the largely rural villages on both sides of the river with a
Corn Exchange . Road communications were good with the old Roman road
Ermine Street passing not far away. There are many old
Coaching Inn s, most notably "The Angel" on the route from
Lincoln via Caenby Corner to the
Humber . The Ancholme also gave access to the River Humber and the port of
Kingston Upon Hull .
Brigg became the administrative centre for the local area with a
Grammar School founded in 1669 by Sir John Nelthorpe, after whom the school, a comprehensive since 1976, is named. With the coming of the railways the town grew rapidly. Indeed it could have been still more important had Brigg been selected as junction for North-South lines with the East-West link to
Grimsby . However, local opposition from the influential Carey family pushed much of the traffic through the nearby village of
Barnetby-le-Wold .
Today with the building of a bypass and the pedestrianisation of the town centre, Brigg has regained some of the relaxed qualities of a country market town with a small marketplace at its heart.
Brigg is home to
Brigg Town Football Club , which formed in
1864 , only two years after the first,
Notts County , making it one of the oldest clubs in the world.
The
M180 bypassed the town on September 2nd 1977. The
A15 Brigg & Redbourne Bypass (the extension to the M180 from
Hibaldstow ) opened in December 1989.
Brigg Railway Station is on a branch of the
Sheffield To Lincoln Line (Grimsby Branch) , but receives only six trains a week, on Saturdays.
People from the town include actress Dame
Joan Plowright .
