The settlement of Clee was in existence by the time of the
Norman Conquest and is mentioned in the
Domesday Book, as a village of over twenty households, held by brothers Erik and Tosti in 1066, and by
Odo, half-brother of
William the Conqueror, following the conquest. Its
Domesday Book name was
Cleia, from the
Old English for clay, in reference to the area's soil. Clee was one of six villages, or
thorpes, within a wider ancient parish, also called Clee. Of the six villages, only Old Clee, as it is now known, remain. while the eastern villages of Hole or Oole, Itterby and Thrunscoe joined to form the town of
Cleethorpes. In 1894 this area was re-constituted as the
civil parish of Clee within the borough of Grimsby a status it retained until 1928. During the following years the open space between New Clee and Old Clee village disappeared as housing developments spread into the Grant Thorold and Carr Lane areas. Also in 1894 the area south of Weelsby Road and Clee Road became the separate parish of Weelsby which remained outside the enlarged borough. Cleethorpes became an
urban district.
Church history An early church existed in Old Clee prior to the
Norman Conquest which was under the supervision of the
Austin canons of
Wellow Abbey. Its
Saxon tower dates to 1050, while a Latin inscription records the dedication of the church, The church was intended to provide not only a place of worship, but also a vantage point from which to watch for Viking invaders and a sanctuary to protect the villagers. During the building of the tower, an image of a face was added to one side.
Clee Hall Clee Hall. In the late 1800s it still had a thatched roof. The house and garden are surrounded by the remains of a
Medieval moat. ==Further reading==