Set in the Cleethorpes coastal path is a steel plate which marks the line of the Greenwich Meridian, the world's prime meridian for measuring longitude and measuring time.

Here East meets West

In 1884 Greenwich Meridian was established by International agreement as the line of zero longitude to be used as the standard for time reckoning throughout the world.

When the marine embankment was built between Cleethorpes Boating Lake and the sand dunes at Humberston Fitties in the early 1930's a metal plate was set in the pathway. It was presented by Sheffield Foundry.

If you stand on the Meridian Line with your watch showing Greenwich Mean Time then you will truly be able to tell the correct time of day. That time will be especially significant at mid-day because the word 'Meridian' derives from the Latin word 'Meridies' meaning mid-day.

Distance from the
Meridian Line

North Pole - 2517 miles
New York - 3481 miles
South Pole - 9919 miles
London - 143 miles
Sydney - 10483 miles
Moscow - 1495 miles

The above article was written by pupils of Matthew Humberston School in Cleethorpes for a brochure issued by North East Lincs Council.

 If you follow the Meridian southwards it passes through Cordeaux High School in Louth - one of only three schools in the world to lie exactly on the meridian. For the millennium the path of the meridian through the school has been marked with a white line. On Eastgate in Louth there is a plaque on the wall which marks the location of the meridian.