By 1861 it had a population of 59 and consisted of Saint Michael's church (later rebuilt by Sir Walter Tapper in 1915) and a few cottages.

Situated just within the parish, near present-day Chelmsford Avenue and Westhill Road, were natural water springs.

Supplies were pumped from the springs to homes in neighbouring Grimsby via a reservoir at Scartho.

Previously a separate civil parish covering 1,000 acres (400 hectares), Little Coates stretches northward to the Pyewipe industrial estate, westward to the River Freshney and southward to Laceby Road (A46).

To the east of this line, within Grimsby, were Corporation Road, Armstrong Street and the rest of the West Marsh.

It cooperates with Great Coates and Bradley village churches, and serves approximately 20,000 people at the western side of the town.

Before 2008 community magazines were produced for the Little Coates area – they ceased publication through lack of funding.

A local residents' group, Friends of Kingston Gardens, improve and maintain the site.

The Yarborough Estate, built during the 1950s, is being demolished to be replaced by modern housing, in a joint project between Shoreline and Stamford Homes.