Continuity in the Age of Reform: Freemen and the Persistence of the Old Order in Nineteenth-Century Grimsby.

A recurrent dichotomy of nineteenth-century urban politics is the frequent failure of popular democracy to 'persuade' civic elites to address fundamental matters relating to the urban condition. This article addresses the case of Grimsby which retained an abysmal record in dealing with such issues despite being, by 1900, the largest and wealthiest town in Lincolnshire. Since its exponential growth and economic development occurred substantially after 1860, a period commonly associated with democratic progress and increasing public accountability, this clearly raises questions regarding political hegemony and the legitimacy of urban governance. This article seeks to address some of these questions by considering the ways in which the town's lengthy history as an incorporated borough, and particularly the enduring influence of its enrolled freemen, might have affected the nature and evolution of political relations in the borough in the latter half of the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]