I was born in Cleethorpes, locals are known as Meggies, as is the town of Cleethorpes.
There are several theories behind the name. The original thorpes of Clee – Oole, Itterby and Thrunscoe – were located on one of the few areas of high land on this section of the east coast. Some suggest that this boulder clay hill was referred to as Mag’s or Meg’s Highland. Others suggests that it wasn’t highland, but Mag’s or Meg’s Island. Again, this is possible in that the higher land here was bounded by the sea to the east and marsh to the north, south and west. So the higher land could have looked like an island – or been an island at high tide. However, we must remember that the thorpes of Clee were part of the Danelaw and as such were under Danish rule. So it is unlikely that the residents would have used the word ‘island’. But the theory may ring still true if we look a little deeper. The Norse for island is, in fact, ‘ay’. Thus Meggie could have derived from Meg-ay or Mag-ay. What of Meg or Mag? It may be a personal name. Another theory suggests that Meg/Mag derives from the Old English word ‘maegan’, meaning ‘great’.
However, there is yet another theory. This theory puts forward the idea that the term Meggie has its origins in the military history Lincolnshire. Towards the end of the 19th century, the local commandant of the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment was Captain H W Meggitt. Thus the volunteers adopted the term Meggie to distinguish them from the Yellowbellies of the Lincolnshire Fens.
Although I think that it could be renamed Cum-fer-dey or Chavthorpes as the majority of South Yorkshire’s finest seem to arrive over the summer months with several screaming/swearing kids in tow all in matching tracksuit bottoms tucked into the obligatory white Reebok classics
