Scunthorpe is the administrative centre of the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is popularly known as Scunny. Its current population is 62,000. It is also known as the 'Industrial Garden Town'.

Scunthorpe appears in the Domesday Book (1086) as Escumetorp, which is Old English for "Skuma's village".

Ironstone was mined in the area as early as the Roman occupation, but the deposits lay forgotten until the 19th century. The rediscovery of iron ore resulted in the development of an iron and steel industry and rapid population growth.

The nearby villages of Ashby, Brumby, Crosby and Frodingham were incorporated into the Borough of Scunthorpe in 1936. At that time Scunthorpe was in the old county of Lincolnshire; successive local authority boundary changes brought the town into the new County of Humberside in 1974. The new County had many detractors and when on 1st April 1996, the county of Humberside and Humberside County Council was abolished and succeeded by four unitary authorities few mourned its passing.

The existing authorities of Glanford and Scunthorpe and that part of Boothferry district south of the northern boundaries of the parishes of Crowle, Eastoft , Luddington , Haldenby and Amcotts now comprise the unitary authority called North Lincolnshire

Despite decline in the 1980s, the steel industry is still the town's major employer, but there is now a variety of industries including electronics, food, plastics and clothing manufacture.

It gained minor internet notoriety in 1996 when AOL's obscenity filter refused to accept the name of the town, due to its inclusion of the word cunt.

Persons of note from Scunthorpe (and surrounds)

• Tony Jacklin, golfer. US open winner, 1970.
• Kevin Keegan, soccer player and later England manager.
• Iain Matthews, singer.
• Joan Plowright, actress.
• Martin Simpson , guitarist.
• Liz Smith, actress.
• John Wesley, preacher.

External links

• This Is Scunthorpe
• North Lincolnshire Council