Scunthorpe lies north of Lincoln and is between Grimsby to the east and Doncaster to the west, while Hull is to the north-east via the Humber Bridge.

Scunthorpe as a town came into existence due to the exploitation of the local ironstone which began in 1859; iron production commenced in 1864, steel smelting in 1891.

The boundaries of Scunthorpe expanded to include the former villages of Bottesford, Frodingham, Crosby, Brumby and Ashby.

Scunthorpe was originally dominated, socially, politically and culturally, by Rowland Winn, the most significant landowner in the district.

Scunthorpe is located close to an outcrop of high-lime-content ironstone (~25% iron average) from a seam of the Lias Group strata which dates from the Early Jurassic period and runs north–south through Lincolnshire.

In the 1970s the steel industry in Scunthorpe began to use of ores imported from outside the UK with higher iron content.

Scunthorpe forms an unparished area located within the borough and unitary authority of North Lincolnshire.

[8] North Lincolnshire Council was based in Scunthorpe Civic Centre off Ashby Road (former A159) next to Festival Gardens.

This is also referred to in the Latin motto: Refulget labores nostros coelum or The heavens reflect our labours popularly attributed to the glow observed in the night sky from the steelmaking activities.

From the early 1910s to the 1930s the industry consolidated, with three main ownership concerns formed – the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company, part of the United Steel Companies; the Redbourn Iron Works, part of Richard Thomas and Company of South Wales (later Richard Thomas and Baldwins); and John Lysaght's Normanby Iron Works, part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds.

In 1967 all three works became part of the nationalised British Steel Corporation (BSC), leading to a period of further consolidation – from the 1970s the use of local or regional ironstone diminished, being replaced by imported ore via the Immingham Bulk Terminal.

In May 2019, after a drop in future orders,[16] and a breakdown in rescue talks between the government and the company's owner, Greybull, British Steel Limited entered insolvency.

On the Foxhills Industrial Park, north of the A1077 northern bypass, are many distribution companies, notably a large building owned by the Nisa co-operative type mutual organisation which has its UK headquarters there.

Also on the Foxhills Industrial Park is a 500,000 square foot factory occupied by Wren Kitchens, employing 350 full-time workers.

Scunthorpe railway station is on the South TransPennine Line which has trains from Liverpool Lime Street to Cleethorpes.

The bus station is predominantly used by Stagecoach in Lincolnshire that operate services within and out of the town along with Hornsby Travel.

[26] Scunthorpe is also home to the largest British Asian community in the county of Lincolnshire, followed by both Lincoln and Grimsby.

[29] The Baths Hall, reopened in 2011, a 1,700 capacity venue also hosts visiting musical and theatrical events.

They have made several CDs, performed numerous concerts in the area and further afield, have been subject of documentaries and are internationally renowned as having travelled the world.

[31] Scunthorpe was the setting of a 2012 Cultural Olympiad community opera called Cycle Song, about past steel-worker and Olympic cyclist Lal White.

The Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir, Proper Job Theatre Company and over a thousand locals participated.

The Baths Hall in Doncaster Road was a popular music venue, before it was closed because of the costs of bringing the building up to scratch, and dealing with industrial contamination on site.

According to Home Office data the area has crime rates higher than the national average, especially in the categories of violence against the person, sexual offences, burglary and theft of motor vehicles.

[36] The town has a former Football League club, Scunthorpe United (nicknamed "The Iron") who play at Glanford Park.

England stars Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence both played for Scunthorpe United in the early 1970s before signing for Liverpool, where they made their names.

Former England cricket captain Ian Botham played a number of games for the club, being a resident of nearby Epworth at that time and in an attempt to keep fit during the winter months.

The speedway team has been running since 2005 and won a grand slam of the Conference League trophies in both 2006 and 2007 before claiming the Premier League title in 2012, alongside this Speedway world champion Tai Woffinden was born in Scunthorpe, riding for the Scunthorpe Scorpions in his youth.

The Scunthorpe Anchor swimming club are based at the Riddings Pool on Enderby Road next to South Leys School.

North Lincolnshire Council's website regularly show photographs and videos of how the work is progressing.

[50] In 1996 there was controversy when AOL's obscenity filter (among others) refused to accept the name of the town due to its embedded word 'cunt'.