Chapman's Pond, known in the local folklore of Grimsby and Cleethorpes as a bottomless pit, a mysterious body of water that has sat near Cleethorpes seafront for very nearly a century. Some of you may know that it was originally a brick pit owned and dug by Walwyn Thomas Chapman and his family from 1881 until it was abandoned in 1915 when it was closed down due to fears that the light from the fir
es of the clay kilns would result in unwanted attention from German Zeppelins. The pit had to be constantly pumped in order to prevent flooding. Such springs are common in this area. There is even one which runs under the riverbed of the Humber and was used to provide water for the soldiers stationed on Bull Fort during WWII. Once the pit was abandoned it was allowed to fill with water. It was fenced off and sold to the local waterworks company. Fish from Abbey Farm, Ludborough, were introduced into the pond in 1919. Chapman died in 1920. The Water Tower which stands next to the pond was built sometime around 1910. As can be seen from the photographs it was originally taller than it currently is. For reasons unknown the original top was replaced with the current one sometime prior to 1963. Over the years the pond has become the stuff of local legend, the most popular of which is that it is bottomless. We can put that one to bed right now! It has a maximum depth of about 40 feet. Not bottomless but certainly very deep! It is approximately 200 yds in length and 150 yds in breadth. There are also many stories associated with it including the one about the horse and cart that accidentally fell in one night drowning both the horse and driver. His ghost is said to still haunt its waters as is the ghost of a drowning girl. There have also been sightings of a figure plunging from the top of the Water Tower. My thanks to Dr Alan Dowling and Mr Anthony Chapman for providing much of the above information.
