Property Auction Poster – Grimsby, New Cleethorpes and Humberstone (4 October 1922)

This striking auction poster advertised a property sale held at the Yarborough Hotel, Grimsby, on Wednesday 4 October 1922. Conducted by the auctioneers H. & L. Wood, it provides a fascinating snapshot of the local property market during the early 1920s.

Seven lots were offered, including houses in Daubney Street, Heneage Road, Wellington Terrace, Annesley Street and Farebrother Street, together with a freehold bungalow on North Sea Lane, Humberstone. Several properties were advertised as being sold 'with Possession', meaning the purchaser could take immediate occupation rather than waiting for existing tenants to leave.

The Humberstone bungalow was particularly noteworthy. Set in over two roods of land, it was described as containing a living room, two bedrooms, a scullery and wash-house, and was fitted with acetylene gas, a reminder that not every property on the outskirts of the district had yet been connected to a mains gas supply.

The final lot was rather different: 100 fully paid £5 shares in the Great Central Co-operative Engineering and Ship Repairing Company Ltd. Their inclusion alongside houses and land illustrates the wide variety of assets that could be offered at a single auction during the period.

Printed by Albert Gait of Market Place, Grimsby, the poster is an excellent example of early twentieth-century commercial printing. Its bold typography was designed to attract attention from a distance, while the detailed text provided prospective buyers with information about lease terms, annual ground rents, accommodation and the solicitors acting for each lot.

Today, this rare survival offers far more than a list of properties for sale. It provides a valuable record of the local housing market in Grimsby, New Cleethorpes and Humberstone in 1922, preserving details of property ownership, leasehold tenure, ground rents and the way homes were described and marketed during the years following the First World War.